Education Research Consultant – Zimbabwe (Multiple, Multiple) contract NEW

Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)

Duty Station: Remote, preferably located in Zimbabwe

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 Paris Time) : 20-JAN-2025

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

IMPORTANT: APPLICATION PROCEDURES

In place of the Employment History Form, please upload required documents. The whole package needs to be uploaded as a single PDF document (CV, Technical and financial proposal):

1)    an updated curriculum vitae, including a description of past research experience in this field and in the country
2)    a technical proposal describing the proposed methodology, including data collection techniques, and workplan
3)    a financial proposal consisting of the amount to be charged for the assignment, which should be quoted in US dollars, GBP or in Euros.

The assignment will be carried out remotely.

Please reflect how your profile and experience meet the mandatory requirements for this assignment.

Please submit your supporting documents in English or French.

UNESCO places great emphasis on ensuring that the objectives of the work assignment, as described in the Terms of Reference, are met. Accordingly, in evaluating the proposals for the assignment, attention will focus first and foremost on the technical elements. From those proposals deemed suitable in relation to the criteria set forth in the Terms of Reference, UNESCO shall select the proposal that offers the Organization best value for money.

Only complete applications will be considered.

UNESCO is inviting written proposals from Individuals for the work assignment described below.

I.    Background

The Global Education Monitoring Report (or GEM Report) is an editorially independent, authoritative, and evidence-based annual report that monitors progress in education in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have been adopted as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Report is funded by a group of governments, multilateral agencies and foundations and published annually by UNESCO to serve the international community. It has the mandate, established in the Incheon Declaration of the World Education Forum in May 2015, to monitor progress (i) on education in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and (ii) on the implementation of national and international strategies to achieve SDG 4. 

In line with its strategy, the GEM Report has explored how its outputs can be put to good use to influence policy at national level, particularly in countries at risk far from achieving SDG 4, and regional level. The Africa Spotlight series aims to foster peer-learning and dialogue on policies at national and continental level to improve primary education completion and foundational learning in reading and mathematics, with the ultimate aim to support progress towards SDG target 4.1. It is a collaboration with the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and the African Union (AU). 

The Spotlight report series is implemented in a three-part cycle. Each cycle focuses on a dozen countries, of which five to six are analyzed in greater depth leading to a country report developed by a country research team and validated by high-level officials. The country reports, alongside other country case studies and background papers, lead to the continental report. The first continental report – Born to Learn – and associated country reports and case studies were launched in October 2022 at the ADEA Triennale. The second continental report – Learning Counts – and associated country reports and case studies were launched in May 2024 at the Africa Federation of Teaching Regulatory Authorities (AFTRA) conference. 

At national level, the country reports will build on existing education sector processes, where possible. They aim to provide education leaders with recommendations based on evidence and compelling diagnostics to contribute to a shared understanding of key challenges in primary education. Further, they will support coalitions and advocacy mechanisms to hold governments and partners to account for the achievement of universal basic education completion and foundational learning outcomes. Engagement with education leaders, civil society organizations and the media are therefore central for the effectiveness of the Spotlight series.

At continental level, the Spotlight series aims to work with three clusters of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa 2016-25 – curriculum, teacher development and planning – as part of the Leveraging Education Analysis for Results Network (LEARN). This peer-learning mechanism aims to act as a catalyst for cross-cluster collaboration to address foundational learning issues in Africa.

The series is based on an analytical framework that consists of seven factors which play key roles in improving foundational learning outcomes – vision on foundational learning; teaching and learning; teachers; school management; school support and monitoring; community and parental engagement; and learning assessment – and, by doing so, remove a major barrier to universal completion.

As part of the third Spotlight cycle in 2024/5, the research will focus on instructional leadership and it will explore selected aspects of three of these seven factors: school leaders as instructional leaders, district officers as instructional leaders and the role on parents and communities. The focus countries are Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Kenya, Zimbabwe and one state in Nigeria.  In each country, there will be two levels of analysis, which will be connected and will inform each other.  

•    Quantitative analysis will be based on a school sample survey. Two questionnaires will be administered (to the school principal and to a parent or community representative) to gather information on how leaders focus on learning. 
•    Qualitative analysis (desk-based, institutional analysis; interviews with local officials in the sampled districts under the quantitative analysis; key findings of the quantitative analysis; and interviews and consultations with central officials) which will lead to a country report.

II.    Objectives

The objective of this Work is to prepare a Spotlight country report on instructional leadership for Zimbabwe, focusing on both school principals/teacher leaders and local education officers. In particular, the tasks include the following: 
•    Building on the GEM Report PEER profile (to be provided by the GEM Report team), collect additional evidence on national policies and regulations on school and system leadership, with a particular focus on how the government is trying to help school and system leaders focus on instructional leadership in primary education. 
•    Provide advice on the design of a survey of 60 primary schools (school principals and parent/community representatives) in four districts/counties.  
•    Interview education officers in the four districts/counties sampled for the school survey.
•    Consult with ministry and other education stakeholders to understand government efforts and priorities on instructional leadership in primary education.
•    Draft a report based on the above four inputs (documentation, school survey report, interviews at district/county level, consultations at central level) and finalize based on feedback.

This country report is expected to: 
•    stimulate informed and strategic policy dialogue, at national level on the role of school and system leader to improve foundational learning outcomes; and
•    be an input to the Spotlight continental report on basic education completion and foundational learning in Africa.

III.    Tasks, timeline and deliverables 

The following tasks are envisaged:

•    Review Spotlight tools and processes to fit the country context. This includes: 
o    a review of the GEM Report country PEER profile; 
o    an analysis of plans, policies, strategies and budgets; 
o    an initial set of stakeholders’ interviews and literature review; 
•    Hold an initial meeting with senior officials to launch the project, receive insights, validate a set of priority policy issues, and identify possible actions to be explored and validated during fieldwork. 
•    Conduct semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders at the four sampled districts/counties. 
•    Produce an interim report based on the four main inputs (institutional analysis, school survey report, interviews at district/county level, consultations at central level) 
•    Facilitate a validation workshop during which conclusions and recommendations are presented to senior officials. 
•    Produce a final report incorporating feedback from validation workshop and senior policy makers. 

The following timeline and deliverables are envisaged, in alignment with the school survey:

1. Document collection, instrument review, senior officials meeting (Weeks 1-3)
Following an induction meeting, the researcher will carry out a desk review of available documents to produce the first interim report. The purpose of this review is to provide a strategic overview of major issues and trends.
At this stage the researcher will also review the Spotlight team’s draft interview (qualitative) and survey (quantitative) instruments to ensure they relevance to the national context.
A set of interviews with relevant senior officials at the central level and development stakeholders will be used to: 
develop further understanding of policies on leadership and foundational learning
capture recent changes in policy priorities not covered in available documents
identify two good practices on foundational learning 
A formal meeting with senior officials will be organised to launch the project, ensure key stakeholders are aware of the research scope, and give an opportunity to provide early suggestions to shape the research agenda. 

Deliverables: 
1a. Adapted research tools and updated PEER profile. 
1b. Initial meeting with country officials. 
1c. First version of the interim report. 

2. Semi-structured interviews at the local level (Weeks 4-7)
The researcher will propose to the Spotlight team the most relevant officials to interview on leadership practices at the four districts selected for the sample survey, based on a mapping of the officials that are located at that administrative level (e.g. district education officers, curriculum supervisors, quality assurance officers, inspectors etc.). A draft questionnaire will be provided by the Spotlight team, as mentioned above, which the lead researcher will have the opportunity to review and adapt.

The researcher will then visit the four districts, following permission by the education ministry, to interview these officials. The purpose of this fieldwork is not to produce statistically robust evidence but to collect perspectives on leadership issues from front-line stakeholders in local education offices and identify whether their analysis of issues and solutions is consistent with those of national level stakeholders. After the field work, the consultant will prepare interview transcripts and quotes as background material for the country report.

Deliverable: 
2. Interview transcripts and quotes. 

3. Interim report and consultation workshop (Weeks 8-11)
The lead researcher will prepare the interim report based on the four elements outlined earlier (desk-based, institutional analysis; interviews with local officials in the sampled districts; key findings of the quantitative analysis; and interviews and consultations with central officials). 

A consultation workshop with up to 20 decision-makers and stakeholders will be organized to present the draft report for their review and receive insights to draft the conclusions and recommendations. The workshop facilitation must encourage participants to contribute ideas, inviting them to write brief responses to questions, which will be prioritized. The workshop should include representatives from: 
•    the education ministry or any implementing agencies, particularly those with responsibility for primary education school and system leadership, but also for curriculum, textbooks, teacher education and support, and assessment
•    academic researchers
•    civil society 
•    development partners (e.g. Local Education Group or sub-group focusing on primary education)

Deliverables: 
3a. Second version of the interim report 
3b. Stakeholder workshop and summary of discussions

4. Validation workshop, presentation to senior officers, final report (Weeks 12-14)
After the consultation workshop, the consultant will integrate the feedback to the draft report. The revised draft will be shared with the education ministry as an input for a validation workshop with senior officials to present, discuss and agree on the findings. Ideally, some of these officials will have been involved in the central level interviews and the consultation workshop so will have a degree of ownership of the findings. Following this presentation, the lead researcher will finalize the country report.

Deliverables: 
4a. Validation meeting with country officials
4b. Final country report with annexes

The proposed country report structure (11,000 words) is described below:

1.    Background information (2500 words)
a)    Description of the country’s primary education system, including types of schools
b)    Governance and financing of primary education
c)    Performance assessment of primary education
[The Spotlight team will provide data on out-of-school, completion and learning rates]
d)    Recent reforms in primary education
e)    Two good practices on foundational learning:
[These two practices do not need to be related to school leadership but will be selected from the lead researcher’s judgement and the government’s preferences]
i.    Good practice 1 (750 words)
ii.    Good practice 2 (750 words)

2.    Legal/regulatory framework of local education management of primary schools (1500 words)
[To be informed by the interviews with local officers]
a)    Description of laws and regulations framing school management at central/local level
b)    Description of decentralisation and institutions involved; hierarchical links between them; and structure, roles and responsibilities of local education office
c)    Recent policy developments affecting school management
d)    Tensions between local education officials’ mandate, available resources and capacity

3.    Responsibilities and tasks of primary school leaders (2500 words)
[To be informed by the quantitative analysis]
a)    Review of school leaders’ administrative, pedagogical, and community tasks 
b)    Description of leadership standards if they exist
c)    Extent to which learning is among primary school leader responsibilities, especially at the early primary grade level
i.    in official documents
ii.    in practice
d)    Tensions between school leader mandate, available resources and capacity

4.    Primary school leaders’ selection, hiring and appointment (1500 words)
a)    School leader selection and hiring: required and actual qualifications
b)    School leader appointment, rotation and promotion
c)    School leader salaries, working conditions and incentives

5.    Pre-service and in-service training options available to primary school leaders (1500 words)
a)    What specific training do school leaders receive before or upon taking the job?
b)    What opportunities do school leaders have for continuous professional development?
c)    How are school leaders (i) appraised and (ii) supported?

6.    Relationships between school leaders and other stakeholders (1000 words)
[To be informed by the interviews with local officers and the quantitative analysis]
a)    Description of relationships between school leaders, central, and local administration
b)    Description of relationships between school leaders and the community 

7.    Recommendations (500 words)
[To be informed by the consultations]

To support the research, the GEM Report team will make available to the consultant: 
•    PEER country profile 
•    tools for review 

In addition, it will: 
•    facilitate the initial interactions with relevant national stakeholders, in collaboration with the ministry of education national focal point

The final country report and annexes shall follow the UNESCO Style Manual for English (https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000141812) or the UN manual for French (https://ls-fts.unog.ch/sites/default/files/2019-02/Manuel%20du%20traducteur-ONU.pdf). 
 

Education 
A master’s or PhD in social sciences; a focus on education is an asset  

Work experience and skills
•    A minimum of eight years of progressively responsible experience working in the production of similar studies, including for development agencies.
•    Qualitative and quantitative analysis skills  

Languages
Fluency in writing and communicating in English or French is required.