UNICEF recruits International or National Consultants
UNICEF Zimbabwe is inviting applications from qualified international or national consultants to support strengthening education sector Disaster Risk Reduction and Resiliency Plan with focus on school-based interventions
Job Number: 523405 | Vacancy Link
Locations: Africa: Zimbabwe
Work Type : Consultancy
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.
How can you make a difference?
1. Background
The education sector in nearly all African countries face a multiplicity of challenges in regard to providing quality education for all including preparing for and mitigating the impacts of natural hazards and climate change. In the past and present, Zimbabwe has experienced an increase in hazardous events which have included disease outbreaks, localized floods (in low-lying areas), droughts, wind and rain storms (including lightning strikes) and potential influx of refugees from neighboring countries. These events have often led to complex emergencies which have had severe impacts on an already vulnerable population. Like any other institution that is affected by the disasters, schools have also not been spared from these disasters and can become unsafe environments for learners.
Schools often get closed during an emergency leading to loss of instructional time and even drop out of children. Under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) children have inalienable rights in all circumstances – including disasters, especially when they are at their most vulnerable. Moreover, they have the right to participate in decisions that ultimately affect them. Vulnerability has increased due to the increase in the rural/urban migration, environmental degradation and lack of planning and preparedness. The CRC and disaster risk reduction are mutually reinforcing. While schools might be greatly affected by disaster, the education system is also key to reducing risk and strengthening disaster resilience. It is the critical thread connecting humanitarian assistance and development programmes to enable children to realize their rights to education. Disaster risk reduction and resiliency helps build long term resilience of the education system, as encompassed in the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP).
While some disaster risk reduction measures and training have taken place led by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE), together with the Civil Protection Unit (CPU), the overall lack of a national strategy and plan on how to address any emergency within the education sector with detailed roles and responsibilities outlined has made the approach patchy and unsustainable.
Zimbabwe needs to develop a national DRR frame that incorporates the Comprehensive School Safety standards with a clear and unified focus for education sector partners to work more effectively, as well as to link with similar efforts in all other sectors.
Education plays a vital role in providing safe and stable environment for children in humanitarian context and clear plan and guide on preparedness planning to respond to emergencies will help the national, provincial, district and school community more prepared and resilient to the shock of any disaster.
The recent experience form Cyclone Idai that hit Zimbabwe in March showed the need for a coordinated mechanism to address the emergency with clarity of action in terms of who should be doing what and how especially when lines of communication are affected. The harmonized action based on a sound plan will reduce duplication of work and increase efficiency in response. While the CPU has a national disaster management plan, it is not specific to education sector and school communities with much less focus on building resiliency of the sector and its beneficiaries: children and communities to cope with and address disasters. The key gap areas are need for capacity building on disaster Management arrangement & governance structure, education cluster leadership and coordination especially at sub-national level, understanding of comprehensive School Safety Framework, damage assessment and analysis, and risk informed planning. There is a need for development of a national disaster risk and resiliency preparedness plan and strategy for the education sector at all levels that will not only focus on preparedness, but also to develop knowledge to institutionalize the culture of safety and resilience of all school communities on disaster and climate change.
UNICEF through support from the Government of Germany has made a commitment to support Zimbabwe to strengthen education in emergency, disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction and resiliency at national, provincial, district and school levels so that they can be better prepared for natural disasters while building resiliency to address disasters and maintain community cohesiveness.
Objectives
The objective of this consultancy, therefore, is to support Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE) in Zimbabwe to develop a national DRR and resiliency plan that would guide the education sector in preparing and responding to disasters at provincial, district and school level while building resiliency and capacity of national, sub-national and local authorities to manage and sustain the results for education sector and in particular the school-based DRR and resiliency.
Methodology and Expected Outputs
Major tasks, Deliverables, Timeframes and Payment Schedule
| Major Task | Deliverable | Comment | Time Frame | Payment Schedule |
|
|
1st month | 10% of total consultancy
amount |
|
|
|
2nd month | 10% | |
| Conduct consultations on what a national plan should entail, and based on the need assessment results draft and in consultation with the working group draft the national education DRR costed 3-year plan with monitoring tools and ensure approval and finalisation by senior management of MoPSE |
|
4th month | 30% | |
| Conduct at least 4 trainings (1 national, 3 regional including the districts) on the plan and its implementation |
|
5th month | 15% | |
| Develop simple training handbook on school-based DRR for teachers & Head teachers to guide implementation of the school-based DRR plan
TOT on the training guidebook for District level authorities |
|
7th month | 25% | |
| Conduct monitoring and prepare final consultancy report with recommendations |
|
8th month | 10% | |
| Total | 100% |
All deliverables will have to meet expected quality and standards as assessed by the supervisor of the assignment. Should the consultant fail to deliver as per expected quality and standards, UNICEF reserves the right to amend the payouts accordingly, or to delay them until satisfactory submission has been received.
4. Consultancy Timeframe
The consultancy assignment must be completed in 8 months.
5. Consultancy Requirements
Under the supervision of the MoPSE’s focal point for emergencies and UNICEF Zimbabwe Chief of Education with support from the Education Specialist based in Harare, the consultant will support Zimbabwe MoPSE to:
Conduct a desk review of secondary data sources and information, outlining key gaps and best practice approach in developing a national DRR plan for the education sector and capacity building needs and implementation of the plan at national, provincial, district and school level, and propose the design of a sectoral and school-based DRR and Resilience preparedness and management plan with a handbook and training guide for Zimbabwe highlighting the importance of gender responsivity and inclusion during emergency planning and response.
In-country discussions should reach key partners and cluster members relevant to EiE/DRR. The desk review and consultations should cover ECD, primary and secondary education. Submit inception report outlining the results of the desk review and stakeholder consultations, as well as propose methodology and timeline.
Conduct a need assessment at national, provincial district and school level to determine the needs, gaps and tools needed for a comprehensive education sector DRR plan.
Adapt and contextualize a gender-responsive and inclusive education sector DRR plan that also contains practical school-based DRR preparedness and management with handbook and training guide. These will primarily be designed with a focus on primary education but should also consider the specificities and potential continuity of coverage of ECD and secondary education. Design monitoring tools to be used at school, Provincial and District levels for implementation and sustainability of school-based DRR and resilience, building on existing systems wherever possible. Develop a concept note to guide the development of complementary communication resources to be used at school-level. Submit national plan, handbooks, training guides and monitoring tools for review by UNICEF and MoPSE and partners, and integrate feedback received. Prepare draft agenda and materials for national ToT.
Conduct national/provincial ToTs in Zimbabwe to build the capacity of MoPSE HQ Officers, Provincial and District Education Officers to train teachers and school committees on school based DRR and Resiliency planning, including with a simulation exercise, using the practical handbooks, training guides and monitoring tools developed through the consultancy. The training should also build capacity of MoPSE Officers to identify how gender-responsive and inclusive school-based DRR preparedness and management plans can form part of national and regional standard operating systems for DRR and education, and how local education authorities can train and support school-based DRR planning and implementation, and to conduct regular participatory monitoring and evaluation on school preparedness and safety activities, including simulation exercises. Engage participants in delivering training material to build their capacity as trainers. Take note of and integrate any final revisions to the materials that emerge from this process. Complete final report documenting the full process of development, revision and implementation, including national/provincial trainings in Zimbabwe, as well as challenges, lessons learnt, key achievements and recommendations for better strengthening the 3 pillars of DRR for all schoolchildren and communities in the future. Submit final sets of materials Zimbabwe. Complete final debriefing with UNICEF Zimbabwe.
6. Supervision
The consultant will report to the MoPSE focal point and the Chief of Education at UNICEF.
7. Consultancy Classification
This is middle level consultancy. The competitive market rates will apply.
8. Other Consultancy Costs and Payment Modalities
Competitive market rates will apply.
The consultant should submit an all-inclusive fee (lump sum) in his/her proposal covering fees and travel expenses, for estimated 20 field travel days. Travel will be on actual basis.
Financial Proposal
Assessment/review will include:
Overall Price.
Completeness of the Financial Proposal (ensure that all costs, including professional fees, costs of travel and subsistence allowances are included in the price offered).
Payment terms/schedule of payment proposed.
Competitive market rates will apply, and the consultant should submit an all-inclusive fee (lump sum) in his/her proposal.
Payment of fees to the consultant under this consultancy contract is subject to the consultant’s full and complete performance of his or her obligations under his/her contract. Payment is subject to MOPSE’s satisfaction and recommendation to UNICEF for payment,
If interested and available, please submit your application letter, CV, Technical Proposal and an All-Inclusive Financial Proposal detailing daily professional fees, proposed daily subsistence allowance fees for field travel and other relevant miscellaneous consultants costs for delivering this.
Additional Comments
It is anticipated that this assessment will be conducted by a reputable consultant with experience in similar studies in Zimbabwe and or other countries.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Qualifications
Advanced University degree in Social Sciences or Education with focus on Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience.
Experience and Skills
At least 5 years of experience in DRR and Resilience development;
Expertise in developing education benchmarks;
Experience in developing materials on DRR in education systems
Experience in developing M&E frameworks;
Proven ability to conceptualize, innovate, plan and execute ideas in national contexts;
Good facilitation and communication skills;
Good versatility, judgment and maturity skills;
Computer skills, including internet navigation and various office applications.
Previous working experience with MoE and UNICEF education programmes
Languages
Fluency in written and spoken English required.
Competencies
Good analytical, negotiating, communication and advocacy skills;
For every Child, you demonstrate…
UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.
View our competency framework at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
Remarks:
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
Closing Date Tue Jul 09 2019 22:55:00 GMT+0100 (Afr. centrale Ouest)