National consultant to provide technical support to the MoES RT in enhancing Learning Assessments reform, 150 w/ds, Dushanbe, Tajikistan

The consultant will play a pivotal role in the successful planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring of the learning assessments related activities of UNICEF Tajikistan Country Office. This consultancy requires a blend of technical expertise related to learning assessments, coordination skills, and the ability to navigate complex stakeholder relationships. The consultant will serve as a crucial link between the UNICEF Regional and Country Offices including relevant international and national experts, local education authorities, specialized assessment units, development partners and other relevant stakeholders.

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, advocacy, and 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.

The Government of Tajikistan is prioritizing the enhancement of a competency-based approach in education by revising the curriculum, strengthening teacher professional development, and reforming the assessment system. In partnership with UNICEF, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the project titled “Support to National Education Development Strategy for the period until 2030” aims to facilitate these reforms through various activities, achievements, improving teacher training, revising curricula and TLMs for Mathematics and Language, and introducing new assessment strategies.

The second phase of the IsDB/GPE project will focus on deepening the system reforms necessary for making it CBE driven. The Compact Partnership document identifies critical areas requiring transformational change, including curriculum development, teacher preparation, learning assessments, and education management systems. The objective is to integrate CBE practices systematically across all levels of the education system rather than isolating them as separate initiatives, ensuring that reform efforts are owned by national institutions and lead to sustainable improvements.

How can you make a difference? 

Duration: 150 working days between November 2024 - December 2025 

Supervisor: Education Officer, UNICEF Tajikistan. 

The national consultant will be engaged to provide essential support to the MOES and other stakeholder that work NLA in achieving consistent and effective assessment reform. The consultant will focus on several key activities to facilitate this goal:

1. The consultant will play a vital role in coordinating and enhancing engagement in learning assessment-related reform in the country. This will involve liaising with various stakeholders, including educational authorities, schools, and other relevant organizations, to ensure that all initiatives are aligned and that best practices are shared and institutionalized.

2.The consultant will provide technical expertise for mapping existing assessment systems, conducting comprehensive situation analyses, and testing these systems. This supportive effort will help identify gaps, strengths, and weaknesses in current assessment practices, paving the way for informed reform.

3.Effective administration and implementation are crucial for the success of reform efforts. The consultant will implement quality assurance measures, develop monitoring frameworks, and establish reporting mechanisms. This will ensure that all assessment processes are transparent, reliable, and aligned with established standards.

The first year of implementation for both the FCDO and IsDB projects will focus on creating robust processes for broader policy and practice reform based on mapping of assessment practices and processes. These efforts will be closely linked to decision-making at leadership levels, ensuring that reforms are practically applied in schools.

As an outcome of this initiative, the consultant is expected to assist in the development and field-testing of a School-Level Competency-Based Summative Assessment Framework or guide. This resource will contain well-defined recommendations aligned with CBE curricula and assessment practices. By promoting an iterative approach, the guide will enable schools to create effective school-based assessments, significantly enhancing teachers’ capacity to design and implement these assessments in a meaningful way.

The consultant will play a pivotal role in the successful planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring of the learning assessments related activities of UNICEF Tajikistan Country Office. This consultancy requires a blend of technical expertise related to learning assessments, coordination skills, and the ability to navigate complex stakeholder relationships. The consultant will serve as a crucial link between the UNICEF Regional and Country Offices including relevant international and national experts, local education authorities, specialized assessment units, development partners and other relevant stakeholders.
The consultant will be responsible for following streams of activities:

1.Coordination and Engagement Support in Learning Assessments Related Projects and Activities:

- Mapping and maintaining briefs of all projects, initiatives and activities related to learning assessments including through multiple donor funded programmes of the Country Office. This also includes supporting the office in identification of any overlapping and conflicting areas and bringing synergies in the efforts.

-Support in the development of a coherent framework of guiding principles for all learning assessments related activities and initiatives and ensuring the coherent set of guiding principles are applied across all learning assessment related activities, decisions and discussions.

-Develop and maintain detailed timeline of all related activities and initiatives, regularly updating it to reflect progress and any changes.

-Provide regular updates to the country office and regional office on progress, challenges, and achievements.

-Support and facilitate Country Office participation in the sector coordination as well as learning assessments thematic coordination meetings including through planning, preparation and presentation of technical and project specific briefs. This includes ensuring smooth communication between all involved stakeholders.

2.Technical Support for Mapping, Situation Analysis and Testing of Assessment Systems

- Provide technical and coordination support to country and regional office in conducting a comprehensive mapping and situation analysis of existing assessment and evaluation systems in Tajikistan.

-Identify and map key stakeholders in Tajikistan's education sector specifically focusing on learning assessments, including government officials, school administrators, teachers, and relevant NGOs.

-Liaise with relevant government departments and agencies, particularly the Ministry of Education, to secure necessary approvals and support for situation analysis and related activities. This also includes keeping government stakeholders informed of progress and involve them in key decision-making processes.

-Assist in the collection and analysis of data on various types of assessments, their frequency, purposes, and alignment with curriculum and competency-based education principles.

-Collaborate closely with the regional technical team to facilitate the initial testing of current assessment tools. This includes providing technical assistance in organizing and conducting reliability tests (e.g., Cronbach's alpha, test-retest, inter-rater reliability) and validity assessments (content, construct, and criterion-related validity). Ensure that the testing process adheres to rigorous methodological standards while considering local constraints and opportunities.

-Facilitate the work of the regional technical team by providing local context, arranging necessary meetings and site visits, and addressing logistical challenges. This includes acting as a cultural and linguistic bridge, ensuring effective communication between the international experts and local stakeholders.

-Organize and facilitate stakeholder consultations, workshops, and feedback sessions when required.

-Contribute local context and insights to ensure the situation analysis accurately reflects Tajikistan's education landscape.

-Assist in the interpretation of collected data, bringing in local perspective to contextualize findings.

Contribute to the development of the situation analysis report, ensuring it accurately captures the nuances of Tajikistan's assessment systems.

- Support the creation of visual aids, charts, and tables to effectively communicate complex data and findings.

-Support in the translation of terminologies and documents in Tajik/Russian to ensure consistent understanding of assessment of learning in the country context

3.Quality Assurance, Monitoring and Reporting

-Develop and implement a monitoring framework to track progress against set objectives and indicators of all learning assessments related projects, initiatives and activities.

-Conduct regular internal monitoring and reporting of relevant activities and suggest course corrections as needed.

-Prepare comprehensive quarterly progress reports detailing activities, achievements, challenges, and planned next steps.

-Develop and support in development of relevant case studies and success stories to showcase impact and lessons learned.

-Support the reviews and provide feedback on draft reports, methodologies, and other relevant documents to ensure their relevance and applicability to Tajikistan.

By fulfilling these responsibilities, the national consultant will ensure effective and timely coordination, provide crucial technical assistance to country partners, facilitate the situation analysis and assessment processes, maintain strong stakeholder engagement, and support all involved parties in achieving the intended outcomes.

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

• Education: advanced degree in Education, Public Policy, Social Sciences or other relevant fields with focus on assessment.
• Work experience: At least 8 years of experience in education sector development, with a focus on learning assessment systems, educational measurement, and evaluation methodologies, preferably in Central Asia including experience in Tajikistan.
• Demonstrable previous working experience in conducting research, analysis and facilitating policy and strategic planning dialogue
• In-depth knowledge of various types of educational assessments, including national examinations, classroom-based assessments, and international large-scale assessments.
• Familiarity with international best practices in learning assessment systems and their application in developing country contexts.
• Excellent project management skills, including the ability to coordinate complex multi-stakeholder initiatives and manage relationships with government officials, international organizations, and local education stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to convey complex technical information to diverse audiences.
• Languages: Fluency in Tajik or Russian and English languages 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. Special attention should be paid to organizing the process of co-development and capacity building.
• Financial quote for the consultancy in TJS per deliverable, stating also the timeframe for completion of deliverable and/or daily rate in TJS - Annex 3 at the link
• Examples of previous, relevant work related to the deliverables.
• List of at 3 recent referees

Applications without technical and financial proposals will not be considered. 

Applications must be received in the system by 25 November 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 committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

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.