Consultant

Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)

Duty Station: Hamburg

Job Family: Education

Type of contract : Non Staff

Duration of contract : From 1 to 6 months

Recruitment open to : Internal and external candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Duty Station Time) : 24.07.2025

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

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

1. Background and Context

Inclusive lifelong learning systems and policy development

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) supports Member States in building inclusive, sustainable lifelong learning systems at national and local levels. UIL’s work is grounded in the right to education across the life course, and focuses on fostering flexible learning pathways, strengthening education governance, recognising outcomes of non-formal and informal learning, and mobilising actors across sectors and communities.

UIL collaborates with partners globally to build national capacities for policy design and implementation. A key element of this work is a hybrid capacity-building workshop series on “Strengthening education systems from a lifelong learning perspective,” developed in partnership with Shanghai Open University (SOU). The next edition of this series, taking place between October and November 2025, will support policy-makers from seven countries in advancing lifelong learning policy and practice. The workshop will combine virtual sessions and an in-person component hosted in Shanghai, with a focus on learning cities, recognition of prior learning and flexible pathways.

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UIL also supports local-level transformation, particularly through the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities. This includes direct assistance to learning cities in Ukraine, which are developing lifelong learning strategies as part of broader recovery and resilience-building efforts. In this context, UIL collaborates closely with the UNESCO Kyiv Office and DVV International.

Additionally, UIL is engaging with countries in Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Lao PDR and Thailand, following a successful round of regional dialogue. These countries are now seeking more structured support to translate commitments into concrete lifelong learning policies and plans.

Finally, UIL is contributing to global knowledge sharing by developing learning resources based on real-world practice, including documenting experiences of education systems and cities operating in conflict-affected and post-crisis contexts.

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Purpose of the Consultancy

The purpose of this consultancy is to support UIL in consolidating and extending its country- and city-level policy support on lifelong learning between September and December 2025. The consultant will coordinate the organisation of the UIL-SOU hybrid capacity-building workshop, including both online and in-person components, and ensure meaningful engagement of participating teams from seven countries. They will also lead follow-up work with Ukrainian learning cities and coordinate collaboration with the UNESCO Kyiv Office and DVV International, including through the organisation of a regional event in Moldova focused on adult learning and education (ALE).

The consultant will additionally support UIL’s ongoing engagement with Southeast Asian countries by reviewing technical documents, providing feedback and helping shape follow-up processes tailored to each context. Finally, the consultant will contribute to the development of learning materials that document and distil insights from UIL’s work in Ukraine and other conflict-affected settings.

Main duties and responsibilities 

Under the overall authority of the Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) and the team leader of the Skills Throughout Life Team, the individual consultant will undertake the following main responsibilities:

• Coordinate the organisation and delivery of the UIL-SOU hybrid capacity-building workshop (October–November 2025) for policy-makers from seven countries, including planning logistics, developing content, supporting facilitation, and documenting outcomes. The consultant will coordinate communications, speaker engagement, and preparation of guidance materials, and will travel to Shanghai to support the in-person phase.
• Provide targeted follow-up support to Southeast Asian countries (particularly Cambodia, Lao PDR and Thailand), including reviewing national documents, providing technical feedback, and helping coordinate further engagement with national stakeholders.
• Support the finalisation of lifelong learning strategies for selected Ukrainian learning cities, including providing written feedback and convening coordination meetings with the UNESCO Kyiv Office and DVV International.
• Co-organise a regional event in Moldova (end-September 2025) focused on the role of local actors in adult learning and education, in partnership with DVV International.
• Contribute to the development of a guidance note or online learning module based on experiences in Ukrainian learning cities, focusing on lifelong learning in conflict-affected and post-crisis contexts.
• Draft internal synthesis notes and communications inputs as requested, drawing on lessons learned across the above areas of work.

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By 10 November 2025, the consultant will:

• Coordinate and contribute to the successful delivery of the in-person phase of the UIL-SOU workshop in Shanghai
• Support the facilitation and documentation of the online phase of the UIL-SOU workshop
• Submit a synthesis of lessons emerging from workshop interactions with participating countries

By 5 December 2025, the consultant will:

• Submit final inputs and documentation on the Ukrainian learning cities’ strategy process
• Provide written technical inputs to at least two Southeast Asian countries and outline proposed next steps for UIL
• Draft a guidance note or online module content outline on lifelong learning in conflict-affected cities
• Submit a final short internal note summarising the consultancy’s contributions and identifying priority areas for continued UIL engagement

UIL will provide feedback to each deliverable submitted and hold regular meetings to ensure the progress and quality of the consultant’s work.

The contractor should ensure that all visibility materials are produced in line with UNESCO’s branding guidelines. Please refer to the UNESCO Style Manual for citation style, terminology and spelling, abbreviations, references, etc.

In line with UNESCO’s overall gender mainstreaming strategy, the contractor is expected to integrate a gender perspective in all activities and apply gender analysis and mainstreaming concepts whenever feasible.

The documents produced will be the property of UIL.

Logistic arrangements and travels

The consultant will work remotely.

Long Description

Required Qualifications

Education

• Advanced university degree (masters) in education, social sciences, development studies, global area/regional studies or any other related fields

Work experience

• Minimum 5 years of experience in the areas of lifelong learning, adult education or education policy development
• Demonstrated experience in facilitating and coordinating international workshops and capacity-building activities in the field of lifelong learning
• Knowledge of lifelong learning and education policy development processes across Africa and Asia, including Southeast Asia
• Experience supporting cities and communities to develop local learning strategies, including in crisis or post-conflict contexts

Skills

• Excellent drafting and communication skills.
• Excellent facilitation and instructional design skills.
• Excellent independent working skills.
• Excellent analytical skills.

Language

• Fluency in English (both written and spoken).

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)

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Long Description

Application process

Content of the application

Interested candidates will need to submit one consolidated PDF document which includes the following information:

A short description, one page only, explaining the approach proposed for completing this project.

A financial proposal, one page only, for delivering the activities described in the call;

A short CV, focusing on previous relevant working experience, consultancy assignments and deliverables and relevant expertise to this project.

The proposal should not exceed 5 pages. Proposals missing any of the above will not be considered.

Selection process

A shortlist of the three most suitable applicants will be drawn up, and the selected candidates will be contacted by the team leader of the Skills Throughout Life Programme. The successful candidate will be selected and offered a contract based on the application review.

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