CONSULTANT: RESEARCH AND REPORT WRITING EXPERTISE - HEALTH AND EDUCATION

OVERVIEW

Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)

Duty Station: Multiple

Job Family: Education

Type of contract : Non Staff

Duration of contract : From 1 to 6 months

Recruitment open to : External candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 06-OCT-2021

 

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

 

Long Description

 

In July 2019, UNESCO convened with WFP an inter-agency meeting, which gathered UNICEF, WHO, FAO, UNESCO, WFP, GPE and WB, to determine a renewed joint approach to promoting school health and nutrition to strengthen education outcomes. Recognizing that quality, comprehensive school health and nutrition programs are a highly effective investment to improve both children’s education and health and nutrition outcomes, and that much more needs to be done in this area, so far under-prioritized in national and global agendas, the agencies formed a new partnership ‘Stepping up effective school health and nutrition’ (https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000373431?posInSet=1&queryId=75f0161e-ce13-48a8-8d2b-1f1837178df2), to advance the health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents, through comprehensive school health and nutrition (SHN). One of the four priority areas for joint action is producing and disseminating more and better data on SHN to guide action.

 

The production of a Global Status Report on School Health and Nutrition (SHN),  understood as a multi-sectoral approach to design and deliver coordinated and comprehensive strategies, activities and services that are integrated and sustained within the education system for protecting and promoting the physical, emotional and social development, health and well-being of students and the whole school community”, is foreseen as a next milestone to assess the state of progress and help put school health and nutrition as a priority on national and global agendas. While several reports and surveys address parts of SHN, today, there is no systematic information on the types of SHN policies and programs available in countries, and the scale and quality of implementation.

 

Long Description

The first of its kind, the School Health and Nutrition Global Status Report will provide a tool for evidence-driven advocacy and programming by governments and partners. The goal is to document the status of current SHN efforts worldwide: it will cover all countries for which data is available.

The specific objective of the report is to take stock and provide systematic and most up-to-date data on the following elements, building on the FRESH (Focusing Resources for Effective School Health) framework and the Global standards for Health Promoting Schools as guiding frameworks:

Long Description

• Health and nutritional status of children in pre-school and school years

• The existing evidence base on the benefits of SHN/integrated approaches such as HPS
• SHN legal and policy environments: What are the global and regional frameworks, strategies, and indicators to guide action? Do countries have multi-component national policies, strategies and plans to support integrated SHN?  How SHN policies and frameworks have evolved over time, and what are the current trends?
• Availability, coverage, scope and quality of core components: Health literacy and school curriculum; healthy and supportive socio-emotional environments; healthy, safe, and inclusive physical environment; school health and nutrition services: How many countries are implementing them, at what scale and with what level of quality of delivery? What health topics do they prioritise?
• Governance and resources for SHN, including inter-sectoral coordination, resources/funding allocated (domestic/local), and partnerships.
• Student and community participation: Do policies recommend or require students and communities' participation and establish/ recommend mechanisms for such participation?   
• Data available and existing efforts from different agencies to monitor school-aged children and adolescents’ health and SHN policies and programmes at the global level, including an analysis of the challenges and gaps in collecting and analysing the data.

The Status Report will identify best practices in developing and implementing integrated SHN policies and programmes, and areas for further attention. It will outline how global, regional and country approaches to school health & nutrition have evolved over time. It will also incorporate a gender lens in the presentation and analysis of data, and in the formulation of the recommendations. UNESCO’s Section of Health and Education will lead the development of the Status Report, with partners invited to co-publish and contribute relevant data, and encouraged to contribute to the analysis.

II. Scope of work and Duties and Responsibilities

The activities outlined in this Terms of Reference are part of a suite of work managed by UNESCO, which will culminate in the publication of the Global Status Report in 2022. In a first phase, to be completed in December 2021, UNESCO commissioned the compilation, analysis, and synthesis of the best available statistical and qualitative data on SHN to inform the scope and content of the Report. This consultancy covers the second phase dedicated to drafting the report, bringing together in a coherent narrative the existing data and additional contributions.

The consultant will develop the draft the Global School Health and Nutrition Status Report with overall guidance from the project manager and significant inputs from UNESCO’s Health & Education Section:

1. Collaborate with the project manager and colleagues to critically review and identify key findings from desk reviews and the analysed, country level data, and agree on the scope of the report.
2. Prepare a detailed outline for the final report. An indicative draft structure is provided at the end of these ToRs.
3. Draft core sections of the report, according to the agreed outline in collaboration with the project manager. This may involve limited literature review and interviews with key informants to validate key findings/trends. The consultant will synthetize the existing evidence on SNH benefits from existing summaries and reviews.  
4. Draft a series of up to 12 country case studies on key themes in agreement with the project manager, leveraging as much as possible country case studies that have already been published.
5. Draft with the project lead a series of key messages and recommendations in consultation with UNESCO and external stakeholders (through a series of internal and external workshops/consultations).
6. Finalise the draft report, including case studies and contributions from experts and leaders in the field, based on feedback from UNESCO colleagues and external partners. Contributions will be requested from different partners and technical experts on specific topics/ case studies.

III.  Deliverables:

Specifically, the consultant will deliver:

• A workplan and proposed detailed outline for drafting the Status Report, building on the emerging findings of Phase 1 
• A first draft for the Global Report, of approximately 130-150 pages of length, consolidating inputs into a coherent report, to be reviewed by the UNESCO Health and Education team
• A series of 12 country case studies, of 2 pages.
• A second draft of the report, including annexes, incorporating comments from UNESCO, to be shared more widely for peer review. The draft report will be presented to partners during one or several validation workshop(s) at a date to be agreed.
• A final draft of the report, incorporating feedback from the review and validation workshops.

The consultant shall write the report in a style that is reader-friendly for its intended audience, i.e., policy makers and planners and development partners involved in school health and nutrition,  and follow the UNESCO Style Manual for English (http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001418/141812e.pdf).

IV. Place of Work and Management

The consultancy is home-based and will take place in the consultant’s usual place of residence. No travel is foreseen to carry out the assignment. The consultant will report directly to the Project manager, under the authority of the Chief, Section of Health and Education, Division of Peace and Sustainable Development, Education Sector, UNESCO HQ, Paris. Payments will be linked to specific deliverables negotiated and agreed between the consultant and UNESCO during the finalisation of the contract.

 

Education

Advanced university degree (equivalent to Masters) in education, social sciences, public health or related field

 

Work Experience

• At least 7 years of relevant post qualification experience, with demonstrated experience in analyzing data and writing reports on topics related to education and health. Experience working with the UN is highly desirable.

 

Skills/Competencies

• Professional knowledge and experience on school health 
• Experience and understanding of country contexts in different regions and a clear understanding of development work
• Strong analytical and synthesis skills; Good communication and interpersonal skills
• Excellent writing skills in English; working knowledge of French and Spanish is an asset
• Ability to prioritize and deliver to deadline, as well as work under pressure.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, please send your CV along with a one-two page statement outlining i) your approach to the work, ii) your key relevant skills or experience and iii) cost proposal (in EUR or USD) for the full consultancy, in English to e.sidaner@unesco.org.

Deadline for submission: 6 October 2021 before midnight (CET time). Additional information about UNESCO and its work on school health is available from the website: https://en.unesco.org/themes/health-education/

 

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial) Accountability (C) Communication (C) Innovation (C) Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement (C) Planning and organizing (C) Results focus (C) Teamwork (C) Professionalism (C) - For detailed information, please consult the UNESCO Competency Framework. SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the UNESCO careers website. No modifications can be made to the application submitted.

The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as a competency-based interview. 

UNESCO uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates.

Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided.

Footer

UNESCO applies a zero tolerance policy against all forms of harassment.

UNESCO is committed to achieve and sustain gender parity among its staff members in all categories and at all grades. Furthermore, UNESCO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities, as well as nationals from non-and under-represented Member States (last update here) are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the highest level of confidentiality. Worldwide mobility is required for staff members appointed to international posts.

UNESCO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.