CONTEXT

With more than 50 years of experience developing the capacity of member states, IIEP-UNESCO is the only specilaized organization with the mandate to support education policy, planning, and management in the UN system. IIEP”s Africa office (IIEP-UNESCO Dakar) contributes to the mission by producing rigorous analysis and data-driven evidence, developing cutting-edge analytical tools, and delivering technical assistance to identify, facilitate and promote the adoption of effective solutions to Africa’s most pressing educational challenges. Through its Research and Development program (R&D), IIEP-UNESCO Dakar is actively involved in the curation, generation, refinement, and expansion of bodies of knowledge for the strengthening of education decision and policy making in Africa.  At the backbone of its strategy and commitment to reducing inequalities in education, IIEP Dakar ensures the technical lead of the Gender at the Centre Initiative – CGI. Launched in 2019 at the G7 summit, the GCI aims to strengthen the gender mainstreaming capacities of education system stakeholders and support the development of resources to achieve gender equality in and through education.

Women in Learning Leadership (WiLL) is a joint initiative of IIEP-UNESCO, the Gender at the Center Initiative, and UNICEF- Innocenti -Global Office of Research and Foresight. Through an approach that combines the co-creation of evidence with national capacity development, hand in hand with Ministries of Education and partners, WiLL seeks to promote the adoption of best school leadership practices while promoting equitable gender representation in school management positions in low- and middle-income countries. Combining quantitative and qualitative methods, the research will focus on examining the opportunities and challenges concerning female school leaders, the promising interventions to advance women’s participation in school leadership and management practices that prove effective to improve learning and well- being at school and reduce gender gaps. At the global and country levels, WiLL adopts an school leadership and improve education opportunities and foundational learning for all girls and boys in sub-Saharan Africa.

 IIEP-UNESCO Dakar is recruiting a consultant to support the WiLL research agenda.

DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES

DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES

The consultant will work under the direct supervision and guidance of IIEP Dakar’s Research and Development Programme Manager, and the overall supervision of IIEP Dakar’s Head and Deputy Head of Office. WiLL includes both global level research as well as country-specific activities. The consultant will be in charge of providing technical and support to reach the project objectives.

Global research :  Global research will be conducted mainly in partnership with the WiLL team at UNICEF Innocenti. The consultant will contribute to:

• Desk review and report on gender-responsive education, successful management and leadership practices, gender responsive leadership practices, women’s participation.
• Identification and analysis of assessment tools for measuring social norms, SGBV, socio-emotional skills and well-being at school.
• Development of a conceptual framework on gender-responsive school leadership. The conceptual framework will then be further refined with inputs from primary data collected by the project at the school level.

Country level work :  WiLL is being implemented under the lead of IIEP-UNESCO Dakar in Benin and Madagascar, with potential development to other Sub-Saharan African countries. The consultant will lead or contribute to:

 Analysis

• Identifying and accessing relevant datasets to document gender reality and disparities over national territories.
• Analyzing secondary data (DHS,EMIS,MICS, etc.) to document gender inequality at disaggregated levels in terms of education, norms, harmful practices, etc.
• Analyzing institutional and administrative data to assess women school leadership characteristics, barriers and levers in order to identify policy recommendations and inform further research.
• writing reports, policy brief, blogposts.

Long Description

Data collection: At the country level, an important part of the work will be conducted in close collaboration with staffs from the Ministries of Education in partner countries. Both qualitative and   quantitative data collection are planned. Data collection activities will require the consultant to lead or participate in:

• Managing ethical and legal protocols to conduct in-country research.
• Refining interview guide and conduct interviews towards Ministry officials at central and decentralized levels and headteachers.
• Establishing the sampling strategy to collect quantitative data at the school level (sampling method, sample size, weights).
• Drafting, revising and piloting quantitative survey questionnaires to be administered to headteachers, teachers and students. Developing implementation guidelines.
• Documenting and adapting measures of specific indicators related to socio-emotional skills, gender norms, SGBV.
• Recruiting survey firm and training enumerators.
• Supervising data collection.
• Taking care of data storage as well as data entry and anonymization.

Long Description

Project management  : The consultant will have to work with high-level counterparts, colleagues and partners from diverse cultures and organizations. The consultant is expected to:

• Collaborate with national focal points and supervise interns.
• Facilitate policy dialogue and research design workshops (online and in-country).
• Liaise with and facilitate technical teams from MoE and country consultative groups in partner countries.
• Liaise with external partners to communicate about the project, identify synergies and potential funding opportunities.
• Report to donors on activities and budget following M&E processes.
• Represent the project and the institution in international conference, workshops or seminars.
• Perform other tasks as may be directed by IIEP Dakar’s R&D Manager and the Head of Office.

Specific work assignments will depend on project constraints and workload allocation.

DELIVERABLES AND DEADLINE

The consultant will submit each month an activity report stating all the activities and outcomes he or she conducted for the project during the last month.

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)

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REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Academic qualifications

• Advanced university degree (Master or PhD) in Education, Economics, social sciences, gender, or related fields.

Years of experience

• At least ten years of professional experience in quantitative research and report writing in education and gender, including at least two at the international level.

Competencies

• Strong analytical and writing skills. Track record of publications.
• Strong experience working with high level counterparts.
• Demonstrated experience in managing research projects and leveraging funds.
• Good knowledge of educational issues in Africa.
• Good knowledge of gender issues in Africa.
• Good knowledge of statistical software.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Ability to travel internationally, including in fragile and challenging context countries.

Language requirement

• Excellent written and oral proficiency in French and English.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Years of experience

• Experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection.

Competencies

• Good understanding of gender responsive education.

Language requirement

• Proficiency in Spanish or Portuguese

DURATION OF CONTRACT

• The consultancy will run for 11 months and requires full-time commitment. The consultant is expected to start during the first quarter of 2024.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Candidates who meet the required qualifications are invited to apply by submitting:

• An updated CV (maximum five pages) via UNESCO CAREERS
• A technical and a financial offer (maximum 3 pages) to consultant.r&d@iiep.unesco.org

NOTE: The CV MUST be sent via UNESCO CAREERS and the technical and financial offers MUST be sent to the email address consultant.r&d@iiep.unesco.org for the file to be eligible.

The technical and financial offer should briefly outline:

• The candidate’s strengths and relevant experience in line with the contents and requirements outlined above (400 words max).
• The candidate’s understanding of the assignments and appreciation of the mission, its scope, its feasibility, and the challenges for its implementation.
• The candidate’s proposed monthly remuneration rate.

The applications that do not include this information will not be considered for the following phases of the counting process.

The deadline for submitting applications is February 15th 2024. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The consultant may be selected before the date indicated above.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews.

Payment is conditional on the completion of the tasks and the satisfactory submission of the deliverables within the deadlines defined above, unless otherwise agreed with IIEP Dakar’s R&D Manager.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• The position is home-based with frequent travels to partner countries.
• Travel expenses will be covered by IIEP according to UN travel rules (airplane tickets + DSA).
• All travel will have to be organised by the consultant him/herself, including the visa required. secondary cost associate (visa processing, etc.) must be included in the monthly fee proposed as a separate item.

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

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