National Consultant – Learning Passport Platform Initiative at UNICEF

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (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.

• Job Position: National Consultant – Monitoring and Evaluation for Implementation of the Learning Passport Platform Initiative (11.5 months)
• Job No: 538324
• Job Location: Nigeria
• Contract type: Consultancy
• Level: Consultancy
• Categories: Education, Monitoring and Evaluation, Planning, Consultancy, Programme Management

For Every Child, Education

• The Learning Passport, a partnership between UNICEF, Microsoft, Cambridge, and supported by the Boston Consulting Group, has been established to, 1) provide local, contextualized content with a supplementary library of global content, mapped together via research by Cambridge; 2) provide a platform to serve this content to children and youth online or offline, via a platform being developed by Microsoft, and 3) with an individualized record of learning for a user, that is portable across physical and digital borders. The Learning passport, as an extraordinary emergency response, will create country-level sites available that would like to make access to curriculum and learning materials available for students with connectivity both at school and at home.
• The envisioned digital platform aims to enhance continued engagement with families and parents on learning at home by providing practical resources and materials that can be applied in home settings.
• The envisioned digital platform aims to enhance continued engagement with families and parents on learning at home by providing practical resources and materials that can be applied in home settings. Its second aim is to strengthen professional development opportunities and facilitate collaboration between educators at preschool, primary and secondary education levels, and other staff on sharing ideas, best practices and activities that can be implemented in schools.
• COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique challenge for Nigeria’s education system and the emerging situation is going to transform the way public education is being delivered ever before. With this new normal, education system both private and public is being prepared to deliver blended form of classroom- both face-to-face and through using online digital platforms. In Nigeria, there have been efforts by governments, private sector and key education stakeholders to promote continued learning and bridge potential learning gaps. These efforts range from large-scale, low-tech solutions that do not require internet-enabled devices (radio and television), to high-tech alternatives (virtual classrooms, video conferencing, animated lessons, and online resources libraries) that require internet-enabled devices.
• In short, while the key focus of this initiative is learning, quality and portability for children whose education has been disrupted by emergencies, the medium and long-term goal is to help establish a quality system of online and offline education, collaboration and support to children and parents.

How can you make a difference?
Scope of Work:

• Under the overall supervision of the UNICEF Nigeria Education programme section, guidance of Learning Passport Global Program Manager and in close cooperation with Director ICT of the Federal Ministry of Education, Nigeria, an individual consultant is required to provide the following services:

Learning Passport Platform monitoring, data analytics and quality assurance:

• Lead the data, user-friendly analytics, monitoring and evaluation, reporting of  Learning Passport Platform and serve as key focal point and liaison among all key actors related to data sharing, change stories, the impact of learning passport including the CO, HQ, WCARO, and the Federal Ministry of Education.
• Design, prepare, validate and administer different survey instruments e.g, for online survey for user testing, behavioural pattern in accessing Learning passport, and learning outcome studies
• Analyse data and disseminate its findings with UNICEF as well as with other internal and external stakeholders
• Serves as lead for monitoring and impact evaluation of Learning passport and user experience.
• Provide on-the-ground support for generating evidence for upscaling the Learning passport and for user friendly usage of learning passport.
• Provide inputs and support the drafting of reports to internal and external stakeholders and funders of the Learning Passport.
• Coordinate and supervise the work of the Learning Passport national team.

Support coordination with national and international stakeholders:

• Maintains regular communication with UNICEF Country office and Global Learning Passport manager.
• Maintains regular communication with all relevant national counterparts, including civils society, academia, and institutions
• Shares best practices between Learning Passport participating countries and other countries in the region with similar efforts.

Job Responsibilities

• Learning Passport Platform monitoring, data analytics and quality assurance
• Monitoring instruments developed and validated for user testing, impact evaluation, access to platform and its effectiveness
• Data analytics prepared and disseminated from different surveys with multiple stakeholders.
• Survey and analytic reports prepared and shared with different stakeholders
• Coordination and supervision of the Learning Passport team conducted
• Monthly monitoring progress report on implementation and operationalization of digital learning platform
• Other activities needed to support the purpose of this contract.
• Logistics support provided for meetings/interviews/focus groups with actors and stakeholders

Deliverable / Timelines:

• Monitoring plan developed; User survey designed / 15 April 2021
• Monitoring, survey and assessment instruments developed and trialled / 15 May 2021
• Monitoring data collected, compiled and presented to different stake holders / 15 June 2021
• Data analytics from learning passport platform prepared and shared with stakeholders / 15 July 2021
• Simple assessment designed and stakeholders trained for survey administration / 15 August 2021
• Assessment data analyzed a draft report prepared / 15 Sept 2021
• Three case studies conducted on best practices on digital learning and system/ school engagement / 15 Oct 2021
• Case study report prepared and shared with stakeholders / 15 Nov 2021
• Consolidation of monitoring activities of learning passport, training of FME and state colleagues on learning passport monitoring / 15 Dec 2021
• Capacity transfer to FME, state and consolidation / 15 Jan 2022
• Final report, process documentation, Human interest story / 15 Feb 2022

Job Requirements
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Computer Science / Education, preferably in curriculum design and alternative learning program, or any other social science degree.
• At least five years of professional work experience in Programme monitoring and evaluation, education technology, formal and non-formal education, teacher training, e-learning, and distance learning.
• At least two years of proven experience in project management/programme coordination, involving multiple stakeholders.
• Excellent knowledge of information management systems.
• A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with two additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
• All applicants will be screened against qualifications and requirements set above. Candidates fully meeting all the requirements will be further evaluated based on the criteria below.

Technical Criteria – Interview – 70 % of total evaluation– max. 70 points

• Education: 20 points
• Previous experience: 25 points
• Technical questions at the interview: 25 point
• Only candidates who obtained at least 70% of points from the technical part (who will score at least 49 points) will be qualified for considering for financial proposal evaluation.

Financial Criteria – 30 % of total evaluation – max. 30 points.
For every Child, you demonstrate…

• UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA)
•  To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Closing Date
5th March 2021 W. Central Africa Standard Time.

How to Apply

Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Important Information / Notice

• 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 be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
• Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage).
• Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors.
• Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local laws.