Non-Staff Consultant

OVERVIEW

Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)

Duty Station: Paris

Job Family: Programme Coordination

Type of contract : Non Staff

Duration of contract : From 1 to 6 months

Recruitment open to : Internal and external candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 03/05/2021

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

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

Background COVID-19 crisis and youth and adult literacy

The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on economies and societies. In education, school closures have occurred on a ruinous scale, even as educators scramble to maintain educational momentum in the front line, demonstrating their creativity, flexibility, and commitment. At the peak of the crisis, 94 per cent of the world’s student population - 1.6 billion students - were forced out of school. At least one out of three school children (463 million) was unable to access remote learning (UNICEF, 2020). According to the UNESCO Institute of Statistics, by November 2020, an average child had lost 54% of a year’s contact time, which could be interpreted as the loss of over a year’s learning if the time of forgetting what was previously acquired is counted. This learning loss and disruptions will have long-lasting impacts on children and young people, including 617 million children and adolescents who were already failing to achieve minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics prior to the COVID-19 crisis. In 2020, an estimated 24 million learners from pre-primary to tertiary education may not return to their studies, including 5.9 million students in South and West Asia, and another 5.3 million students in sub-Saharan Africa. 

In this context, many of the 773 million non-literate youth and adults, two thirds of whom are women, have been the hardest hit. Their insufficient reading and writing abilities have exposed them to greater risk of missing on some of the life-saving information and losing their livelihoods, while their poor literacy skills and life circumstances also limit their access to distance learning. 

Rationale for the proposed survey

Since March 2020, several surveys have been conducted to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on different sub-sectors of education systems around the world. However, these surveys have tended to target younger populations, leaving a gap of data and knowledge between youth and adult literacy undertakings. 

 It is in this context that this survey on ‘national policies, programmes and governance: lessons learnt from the COVID-19 crisis to write the future’ (provisional title) with all UNESCO Member States is proposed to enhance an evidence base for ensuring strategic responses to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on youth and adult literacy.

Objectives:

To contribute to ensuring strategic and practical national responses to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on youth and adult literacy during the crisis and beyond. Specifically:

• To collect empirical data on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on youth and adult literacy and measures taken by Member States through the proposed survey and produce a report based on the survey key findings, the results of the August 2020 survey focused on the programme-level impact and a literature review.
• To provide policy-makers, partners and practitioners with recommendations, guidance and a policy brief for effective and efficient responses to the COVID-19 crisis in youth and adult literacy based on the needs, effective practices, and areas of future intervention, as well as innovative methodologies and tools identified.  
• To advocate for youth and adult literacy as an integral part of lifelong learning for greater support and funding. 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Advanced post-graduate degree (Master’s or higher) in education, social sciences, international development, and other related fields.
• Extensive professional knowledge of topics relevant to the posting, and at least 10 years’ experience.
• Proven record of research, projects and publications in one or more of the fields of youth and adult literacy, lifelong learning, monitoring and evaluation in education, and other related fields.
• Experience in collecting and/or analyzing and triangulating complex data sources, managing both quantitative and qualitive data. 
• Professional experiences in conducting survey studies.

Language:

• Strong command of the English language and excellent writing skills.  

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

• Demonstrated ability to organize and coordinate multiple tasks and deliver the result within specified timelines.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Proven interpersonal and communication skills.
• The ability to effectively work within a complex and multicultural environment.
• Prior relevant experience of working with UN organizations.

Language:

• Knowledge of another official UN language.

APPLICATION

All applications should be submitted in English to literacy@unesco.org by 3 May 2021 COB in GMT. (No need to register and apply in this system.)  Please label the subject line ‘Consultancy work for the survey’. 

Interested candidates are kindly requested to submit the following documents in their applications:
•    CV and a cover letter indicating the relevance of the qualification and experiences of the candidates to this consultancy work;  
•    List of publications and projects for last 5 years; 
•    A proposed analytical framework (one page);   
•    Estimated fee / resource requirements.  

For any inquires and additional information, please contact: literacy@unesco.org.  

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