National Consultant on Inclusive Education Policy Development – 11 Months

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The programme aims to support the most marginalized children to access quality education and integrated services which address multiple needs, including a focus on children with disabilities (CWD), refugees, out of school children (OOSC), stateless children, most vulnerable women and girls, and the poorest.

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Background: 

Lebanon ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1991 and has exhibited commitment to improving the condition of the child and protecting its well-being. Lebanon was also among the first to sign the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2007 but has yet to ratify the Convention and implement the articles of Law 220/2000 to secure the inclusion of people with disabilities.

Ensuring that inclusive education opportunities are available for the most vulnerable children and families is essential for UNICEF’s work in the education sector in Lebanon. For this, UNICEF supported the Ministry of Education’s implementation of the pilot inclusive education project in 30 public schools and included the girls and boys with disabilities in non-formal education programmes. UNICEF has focused strongly on capacity building, provision of specialized services, developing policies and procedures around inclusion, and advocacy and technical support. Moreover, the IE Pilot Project has generated evidence-based data that would be used to inform the development of the Inclusive Education Policy of Lebanon. For the 2021-2022 scholastic year, the number of inclusive schools will be increased to a total of 60 public schools. UNICEF has also supported inclusion of CWD in the non-formal education programmes and provided education and rehabilitation services to children with moderate and severe disabilities through the network of the specialized civil society organizations.

In the light of the above, Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE), with the technical support of UNICEF, is  planning to develop a National Inclusive Education policy and its implementation roadmap.

Purpose of the consultancy:
The overall objective of the consultancy is to provide technical support to MEHE and UNICEF in developing the inclusive education policies in Lebanon. The policy development process will require a thorough discussion with MEHE and other stakeholders and will provide recommendations on what can be done in a multiple crisis environment. These recommendations will look at what is feasible to implement with existing human and financial resources or through resources that can be mobilized.

The role of the national consultant is to carry the local expertise in the field of inclusion, disability, gender, and education within the context of Lebanon. They will be required to build on partnerships with multiple stakeholders at national and local levels. The national consultant will be the main resource and facilitator for MEHE in supporting the inclusive education and policy development agenda. In addition, the national consultant will be well versed in effective and quality implementation in crisis environment such as Lebanon. 

Scope of work:
The national consultant will coordinate the policy development process among departments and will report directly to the DOPS General Director and UNICEF Education Specialist. To ensure smooth coordination, the national consultant will act as a liaison with the MEHE, UNICEF, national stakeholders i.e. CERD, MOSA, etc. and local stakeholders i.e. education sector partners and facilitate a consultative process.

The national consultant will support in a desk review of relevant documentation on inclusive education policies and practices within Lebanon by researching and identifying essential resources in the development of the IE policy framework and roadmap. The national consultant will have knowledge of the currently ongoing crisis in Lebanon; therefore, being able to identify bottlenecks and challenges that are applicable to the local context.

The national consultant will facilitate in the scoping mission to Lebanon by coordinating all meeting arrangements. Likewise, the national consultant will gather all related local research inclusive education policy provisions in different sectors and identify complementary national policy practices, legislative provisions and gaps on disability inclusion, gender, and out-of-school children against the CRDP General Comment #4 on Inclusive Education. The Consultant should be able to incorporate best fit practices relevant to the content of Lebanon which will be socially and culturally equitable, gender sensitive, ecologically effective, economically efficient, and reflective of stakeholders needs. 

Under the overall guidance of the UNICEF Education Specialist, the Consultant will be based out of MEHE, supporting the DOPS-SEN Unit, and working bilaterally with the International consultant on Inclusive education policy development in providing local and national expertise.

In agreement with the Supervisor, the National Consultant will draft a work plan based on the key deliverables upon initiating the consultancy. Depending on the rapidly changing needs, some adjustments may be required to the deliverables.

Work Assignment Expected Results:

Tasks/Milestone 1:

Review relevant studies, technical papers, regulations and other available documentation on inclusive education policies and practices in the country and provide written inputs for a Desk Review Report.

Deliverables/Outputs 1: Written analytical inputs to a Desk Review Report.

Timeline 1: Within the two initial months from the start of consultancy.

 

Tasks/Milestone 2: 

Provide technical support to a scoping mission of the international expert on inclusive education to Lebanon.

Deliverables/Outputs 2: Agenda, list of key informants, minutes of the meetings.

Timeline 2: Within the first quarter from the start of consultancy.

 

Tasks/Milestone 3:
Provide support to the DOPS Director and UNICEF for conducting a consultative strategic planning exercise with MEHE, CERD and relevant stakeholders to develop the IE policy outline; provide technical assistance to the international expert on inclusive education during the second mission to Lebanon.

Deliverables/Outputs 3: List of participants of the workshop with partners, minutes of the bilateral and team meetings.

Timeline 3: Within the second quarter from the start of the consultancy.

 

Tasks/Milestone 4:

Provide technical inputs to the development of inclusive education policy provisions and identification of the complementary legal and policy practices; gaps on disability inclusion, gender, and out-of-school children against the CRPD General Comment #4 on the Right to Inclusive Education.

Deliverable 4: Written technical inputs to the draft Policy Framework and its Implementation RoadMap prepared by the international consultant in collaboration with MEHE/DOPS and UNICEF.
Minutes of the meetings. Agenda, list of participants and materials of the workshop for stakeholders and a few round tables.

Timeline 4: Within the second and third quarters from the start of consultancy.

Tasks/Milestone 5:

Serves as liaison and coordinates inclusive education programme activities with the DOPS Director, SEN Unit, other involved stakeholders, and consultants

Deliverable 5:Written inputs to the monthly progress reports prepared by the international expert on inclusive education.

Timeline 5: From the start till end September 2022.

Tasks/Milestone 6: Develop quarterly work plans

Deliverable 6: Workplan to be developed based on the key deliverables.

Timeline 6: First work plan to be developed two days after the inception meeting.

Tasks/Milestone 7:Update the DOPS Director and UNICEF Education Specialist on progress.

Deliverable 7: Biweekly debrief on progress with a monthly written report on progress against work plan at the end of each month.

Timeline 7: From the start till end October 2022.

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

• Education: An Advanced University Degree in one or more of the following areas: Education, Psychology, Social Sciences, or other relevant degree

• A minimum of five years of relevant professional experience in education, gender and disability inclusion or related field.
• Previous experience of working in/with the public education sector is an asset.
• Proven experience working with government and ministries on policy development.
• Familiarity with UNICEF’s mission and mandate is an asset.
• Strong background in inclusive education programming, pedagogy, education policy and systems development.
• Previous work on gender mainstreaming or disability inclusion is an asset.
• Fluency in Arabic and English is required; knowledge of French would be considered an asset.
• Experience in data collection, analysis and reports writing. 
• Ability to work in a team and as a team leader. 
• Strong interest in the topic.

For every Child, you demonstrate Integrity:

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

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.

 

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

The assessment is counted via pointing system over 100. It is split into technical over 75 % and financial proposal over 25%. 

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 or other applicable laws.