Consultant (Education Sector Analysis: Jordan)

OVERVIEW

Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)

Duty Station: Paris

Classification of duty station: [[filter12]]

Standard Duration of Assignement : [[filter13]]

Job Family: Education

Type of contract : Non Staff

Duration of contract : From 7 to 11 months

Recruitment open to : External candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 20 AUG 2024

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

Background and Objective

The Jordan Ministry of Education (MoE) has requested support from UNESCO and its International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) for the development of an Education Sector Analysis (ESA), to be conducted from July 2024 to March 2025. The financial support for the exercise will be provided by Canada, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland within the framework of the System Strengthening Programme (SSP) with Jordan’s Ministry of Education. This will be the first comprehensive ESA conducted in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, following the internationally recognized and widely used UNESCO/IIEP methodology . The exercise aims to provide a joint evidence-based comprehensive analysis of the whole Jordanian education sector, from kindergarten to higher education. It is designed to highlight the main strengths as well as key challenges in allocating and using resources efficiently. The purpose is to guide the design and implementation of national education and training policies and accompanying resources. It also offers relevant analytical information for the dialogue between the Government and the key actors involved in education sector policy dialogue, including international development partners, national stakeholders, and civil society organizations.

PURPOSE OF ASSIGNMENT

The ESA will be a national document, prepared and validated by the Government of Jordan. The development of the ESA is led by the Ministry of Education’s Directorate of Educational Planning and Research, in close coordination with the Development Coordination Unit (DCU) and supported by the development partners under the overall coordination of the Policy, Planning and Coordination Committee (PPCC). As a member of the UNESCO-IIEP team, the overall purpose of this consultancy is to provide technical support to the Jordan Ministry of Education’s development of the ESA. The IIEP consultant will, under IIEP’s leadership and in close collaboration with MoE actors, guide the data collection process, participate in the data analysis and contribute to the drafting of the national report. In particular, the IIEP team is seeking consultancy support for the development of chapter 2 (school coverage), chapter 4 (quality), chapter 5 (equity) and chapter 6 (ECED).

Long Description

Chapter 1: Demographic, economic and public finance context

This chapter analyses the overall national context, including but not limited to, socio-demographic, macroeconomic contexts affecting the education sector. Specifically, it outlines the country’s development context, including poverty and literacy levels. It studies trends in GDP, GDP per capita, and spending on education over the last decade. The chapter will also pay attention to crisis and risks, including the effects of climate change on the education sector.

Chapter 2: School enrolment, internal efficiency, and out-of-school children

Following a description of the current structure of the education and training system, this chapter analyses the evolution of the number of children enrolled and school coverage by level of education over the last decade. An analysis of enrolment profiles and school life expectancy is also carried out. Internal efficiency and the children out of school are studied, through dropouts, grade repetition, and transitions between levels.

Chapter 3: Financing and costs of education

The chapter traces trends in the volume and structure of public spending on education, in particular current expenditures, distinguishing between expenditure by level of education and by type: intra-sectoral breakdown, unit cost of schooling by level of education, type of expenditure by level of education, level of teacher remuneration by level of education and by status, etc. The chapter also analyses household spending on education when applicable, as well as the cost of school infrastructure.

Long Description

Chapter 4: Education quality and Management of the education and training system

This chapter analyses learning outcomes and the school and training institution environment and how these resources translate to better learning outcomes. The analysis of learning assessments will not only highlight national achievements but also encompass specific demographic groups (boys vs girls, children with disabilities vs children without disabilities, urban vs rural, children from disadvantaged vs children from affluent backgrounds, etc.). The chapter will also examine teacher management including the analysis of the consistency in their postings, as well as the management of other resources and learning time.

Chapter 5: Equity, inclusion, and diversity

This chapter addresses various dimensions of inequality, spanning gender and regional disparities, as well as other forms of inequality linked to the ten vulnerable groups of the Jordan Declaration on Inclusion and Diversity in Education. The chapter also examines equity from the angle of the distribution of public resources. The planned Right to Education Review will inform the ESA.

Chapter 6: Early childhood education and development

This chapter analyses the different aspects of early childhood education and development (ECED) in all their key dimensions, with a particular focus on education. It covers the national ECED context and governance arrangements, reviews the different ECED service delivery options, assess the level of access for different groups of children and discusses possible reasons for the existing disparities. Finally, the chapter assesses the quality of ECED services, the impact on children’s development and primary education and present the impact of the subsector.

Chapter 7: Technical and Vocational Education and Training, higher education, and their external efficiency

This chapter will provide an analysis of the technical and vocational education and training subsector, together with an analysis of higher education. Specifically, the analysis will provide information on numbers of learners enrolled, coverage, management, governance, and the financing of the subsectors. The external efficiency is mainly assessed through the links to the labour market. By examining the school-to-work transition period, the quality of jobs, and their alignment with the profiles of school leavers, this chapter provides insights into the relevance of the curriculum in the education and training system. The social and environmental impact of education is also examined.

TASK AND TIMETABLE

This consultancy is planned to start in early September 2024, once the inception phase of the ESA has been completed. The inception phase will include the setting up of the national ESA team and compilation of existing data sources. The end of the assignment is planned for end March 2025. The consultancy will cover the following two main phases:

1.     Development phase: September –December 2024

• Data collection and data analyses (distance mode).
• One to two face-to-face workshops in Jordan (September and November).

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Working with the national team to develop detailed chapter outlines, conduct data analysis, and draft key findings.

• Write-up of draft chapters.

2.     Finalization phase: January-March 2025

• Prepare summary presentations with the national team.
• One face-to-face national workshop to share, discuss, and validate ESA findings.
• Taking stock of comments and revise the ESA document.
• Finalization of the national ESA report including inputs to a summary with main findings and policy guidance based on agreements with the national team.

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

The expected deliverables from this consultancy are:

• Detailed outline of the assigned ESA chapter(s), aligned with the ESA methodology and available data sources : 30 September 2024.
• Conduct data analysis, presented in visually attractive tables and graphs : 15 November 2024. 
• Draft complete versions of the assigned ESA chapter(s), based on the inputs from the national team : 10 January 2025.
• Produce the final version of the assigned ESA chapter(s), integrating comments from key stakeholders : 31 March 2025.

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)

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REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Education, Economics, Social Sciences, or a related field.

Experience

• Minimum five years of experience analyzing education participation and/or quality issues at the education system level.

Competencies

• Excellent quantitative, analytical, and writing skills, demonstrated by providing two relevant examples of written work, with access provided to the actual written work. 

Language requirements

• Excellent knowledge of English, both oral and written.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Supervisory Arrangements

• Under the overall authority of IIEP Director and the Technical Cooperation Team lead, the consultant will report to the Project Manager of the Jordan ESA in the IIEP Technical Cooperation Team.

Additional Information

• This Consultancy is home-based, including travel to Jordan.
•  IIEP will cover all travel costs as and when travel to Jordan is needed.
• Travel expenses will be covered by IIEP according to UN travel rules including the visa required.
•  Payment is conditional on the completion of the tasks and the satisfactory submission of the deliverables within the deadlines defined above, unless otherwise agreed with the project manager.

APPLICATION PROCESS AND WRITTEN PROPOSAL

The CV together with the technical and financial proposal must be also sent to :  consultancytc@iiep.unesco.orgfor the file to be eligible. 

Applications that do not include this information will not be further considered. Only retained candidates will be contacted.

Candidates who meet the required qualifications are invited to apply by 20 August 2024 by submitting:

•  An updated CV (maximum five pages)
•  A technical and a financial proposal (maximum 3 pages) to: consultancytc@iiep.unesco.org indicating Jordan Education Sector Analysis on the Subject line.

The technical and financial offer should briefly outline:

• An approach and methodology for the assignment, a workplan and comments on the Terms of Reference if any (in brief).
• The consultant’s understanding of the assignments, highlighting his/her relevant experience.
• The consultant should indicate which ESA chapter(s) he/she is able to work on and that corresponds to his/her profile.
• It is not expected that the consultant can work on more than two chapters.
• Your proposal and any supporting documents must be in English.
• The consultant’s proposed remuneration based on the deliverables requested

• The amount to be charged for the assignment, which should be quoted in US dollars or in euros only.
• Please indicate any travel costs separately.

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