National Research Coordinator to coordinate evidence generation activities with USAID Pre-Primary Education Activity, 150 w/ds, Dushanbe, Tajikistan (for Tajik nationals only)

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, Education 

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations. 

UNICEF in Tajikistan has received funding from USAID Tajikistan to support a 5-year project called “Inclusive Pre-Primary Education Activity” in 20 selected districts of Tajikistan aiming at strengthening national systems at central and local level to deliver quality, inclusive and affordable PPE services for all children. The project will demonstrate an evidence-based approach to develop inclusive, quality PPE programming in Tajikistan, using evidence, research, and real time learning in the inception phase to inform program design and implementation. This evidence, research and real-time learning is essential to designing services that are responsive to the many different needs of young children and their families.

In the first year of the project implementation, UNICEF will conduct several comprehensive stock-taking exercises, which together constitute a landscape analysis including the Knowledge, Attitude, Practice. This landscape analysis will inform nature and scale of interventions and activities for the coming years, ensuring that the project is evidence-based and data-driven, and that activities are fine-tuned and contextualized to the needs in the community. Collected data will also establish the baseline against which the activity progress and results shall be measured.

Landscape analysis: The landscape analysis will provide the review of PPE status in the 20 selected districts/locations, where the project will be implemented. The 240 Early Childhood Education (ECE) centers, that UNICEF previously set up and supported, are located in these 20 districts/locations. PPE landscape analysis will set baseline across the following, but not limited to areas including:
a. Number of children attending ECE centers (disaggregated by gender, nationality, disability), including their overall school readiness level (enrolled in ECE services during school year September 2023-May 2024).
b. Number of teachers/staff by gender and their qualification/education background and availability of necessary ECE training experience to deliver high quality service (understanding of Early Learning Development Standards, ECE curriculum for alternative models, availability of ECE training packages and teacher guide).
c. Physical and learning environment assessment of centers, accessibility and affordability (cost) of the centers against inclusivity and equity benchmarks (FGDs with parents and teachers).
d. Major funding sources/stakeholders/partners of current and/or future funding and support for pre-primary education in the selected locations.
e. Availability of child-friendly and disability sensitive teaching and learning materials, which promote and enable child-centered and play-based service delivery.

Revisions of the current quality assurance framework for PPE in Tajikistan on issues of inclusion. This activity will review the current quality assurance systems for PPE in the country. Specifically, the review will examine existing indicators within the quality assurance tools, and the extent to which the current quality assurance mechanisms focus on issues pertaining to teachers’ pedagogical competencies, the quality of interactions between teachers and students and early learning environments within ECE settings. The review will also focus on the degree to which current quality assurance mechanisms include indicators on young children with disabilities and delays, and relevant indicators pertaining the inclusivity of PPE learning environments. This activity will also include an analysis of the work that the World Bank is supporting on strengthening monitoring and evaluation for early childhood development in the country, ensuring that activities within this Sub-objective are complementary.

Measurement of Learning Outcomes of children enrolled in PPE services in 20 selected districts. During the Year I of the project, the preparation activities will start to measure learning outcomes with the treatment cohort of children enrolled in project supported ECE centers during school year September 2024 – May 2025 (start of intervention phase). UNICEF will explore IDELA (Save the Children) and/or MELQO/MODEL (World Bank) assessment toolkits to measure skills/abilities of children during their first day of PPE experience in ECE centers (Sep 2024). The observation of the same children will continue over the course of 9 months of ECE service and there will be second/final assessment to understand what children gained at the end of service (May 2025). The assessment will gather information on five child development domains (cognitive, language, motor, socio-emotional, and executive function/self-regulation) to demonstrate developmental domains children are benefiting least from. This information shall inform evidence-based decision making, address critical needs and adaptations and changes in the curriculum, teaching practices and parental engagement, and trigger policy dialogue about advancing and reforming the primary education curriculum.
In addition to children’s assessment of learning outcomes, classroom quality assessment tool will be used, with a focus on learning environments for all children, including those with and without disability and from national minority. This tool is used in collaboration with assessment of children’s learning and development skills, which was mentioned above.
As part of this assessment, the caregivers/parents of children in ECE centers will be interviewed on disability-inclusivity services to raise their awareness and increase their participation in their children enrolment in ECE centers and necessary learning support mechanism in home environment.

Behaviour assessment (KAPB). The studies will collect information and data to prepare baseline on the ECE landscape in the selected districts and provide critical and timely information about the state of ECE services, including overall enrolment rates, teachers’ capacity, community engagement, governance, planning and finances. At least in the 5 targeted districts, a situational analysis of the existing local systems involved in addressing the needs of young children with disabilities and their families across social, health and education sectors will be initiated including analysis of themechanisms for referral of children with disabilities to ECE centers and support for inclusive learning. The situational analysis will be implemented through local and international consultants during Year 3.

How can you make a difference? 

The purpose of this consultancy is to engage a national skilled and experienced Research Coordinator, who will play a pivotal role in the successful implementation of the evidence generation for the project, mainly during the Year I (inception phase). The Research Coordinator will contribute to the refinement of the initiative’s design, ensuring it aligns with the overarching goal of enhancing pre-primary education in Tajikistan and conduct quality assurance for all evidence generation activities. Research Coordinator will focus on overseeing and coordinating a comprehensive analysis of the pre-primary education landscape and assessing school readiness/pre-primary learning outcomes which is aimed for Year 1 of the project.

DUTY STATION/DURATION:
Duration: 150 working days between 1 February 2024 – 31 December 2024
Supervisor: Education Officer, UNICEF Tajikistan

Objective 1: Pre-Primary Context (Landscape) & School Readiness Analysis
1.1. Support the project team with the advertisement and selection of research companies to implement evidence generation activities and analysis
1.2. Coordinate the collection, aggregation and analysis of data related to ECE centers, including the number of children attending (with gender and disability disaggregated data), staff demographics, physical capacities, and funding sources.
1.3. Facilitate and provide technical expertise during thorough review of existing pre-primary education quality assurance mechanism, identifying gaps and areas for improvement jointly with the research company.
1.4. Ensure the inclusion of diverse demographics, such as children with disabilities, girls and ethnic minorities.
1.5. Oversee the training of data collectors and ensure the effective implementation of the chosen tool
1.6. Plan for the measurement of learning outcomes in years 2, 3, 4, and 5, providing a longitudinal perspective on the impact of the initiative

Objective 2. Overall Project Support
2.1. Collaborate with relevant stakeholders, including government bodies, NGOs, and educational institutions, to ensure seamless coordination and information sharing
2.2. Contribute to the development of reports and presentations based on research findings, providing valuable insights for evidence-based decision-making
2.3. Participate in policy dialogue sessions, leveraging research findings to advocate for advancements and reforms in the primary education curriculum.

Objective 1: Data collection and analysis
a) Coordinate the comprehensive collection, aggregation and analysis of data related to ECE centers
b) Include disaggregated data on the number of children attending, with a focus on gender and disability
c) Assess staff demographics, physical capacities, and funding sources of ECE centers
d) Identify gaps and areas for improvement in collaboration with the research company
e) Ensure the inclusion of diverse demographics, such as children with disabilities, girls, and ethnic minorities
f) Oversee the training of data collectors
g) Ensure effective implementation of the chosen data collection tools

Objective 2: Overall Project Support
Stakeholder Collaboration
a. Collaborate with relevant stakeholders, including government bodies, NGOs, and educational institutions
b. Ensure seamless coordination and information sharing among stakeholders

Reporting and Presentation
a. Contribute to the development of reports and presentations based on research findings
b. Provide valuable insights for evidence-based decision-making

Policy Advocacy
a. Participate in policy dialogue sessions
b. Leverage research findings to advocate for advancements and reforms in the primary education curriculum

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

• Education: Advanced university degree in the fields of research, sociology, social science with focus on developing evidence-based education planning.
• Work experience: At least 5 years of professional experience in working with education statistics, information systems or quantitative/qualitative research.
• Understanding the complex socio-economic factors affecting child well-being, including the needs of children with disabilities and developmental delays.
• Explicit experiencing in data collection and analysis statistical software
• Good understanding in statistical analysis is required for this assignment. The consultant should be well-versed in data analysis, interpretation, and modeling to ensure the methodology used is statistically robust and precise.
• Proficiency in research and data collection methods, including mixed methods/research in ECE area with focus on inclusive education and children with disabilities and developmental delays.
• To coordinate different studies is required to gather and analyze data on socio-economic indicators.
• Solid knowledge and experience in working with administrative data and composite indicators.
• Languages: Fluency in English and Tajik/Russian is required.

Qualified candidates are requested to submit:

• Cover letter/application/CV.
• A technical proposal with proposed approach to managing the consultancy deliverables, showing understanding of tasks. 
• Financial proposal specifying consultancy fee, per day of work, requested for the tasks described in the Terms of Reference in TJS as well as travel and subsistence costs: 14 trips for 7 months April – October 2024 (2 trips per month, each 5 days). Total 70 days, DSA for 70 days. 
• Examples of previous, relevant work related to the deliverables.
• Applications without technical and financial proposals will not be considered. 

Applications must be received in the system by 22 January 2024 on UNICEF website.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check. 

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.