International Consultant to develop a course content handbook for students on Master of Arts in Political Science and International Affairs program

Maldives has maintained a star track record within the region for ensuring quality education for everyone in the country. The country also boasts the highest percentage of literacy in the region and is making strides in providing free primary, secondary, and higher education to satellite islands within the geographically separated and stretched country.

Despite the varying quality of education across the country especially within the urban and rural divide, the Maldivian education system has proven that it can produce highly skilled individuals. Students from all over the country often get listed under the world top achievers, attaining highest marks or distinctions from all subjects taken in Cambridge O Level exams, and EdExcel A Level exams. Higher achieving students coupled with shortcomings in the job market has led to an increased brain drain in the country where there is noticeable lack of highly technical and specialized resource people within the country. However, it should be noted that commendable efforts have been made by the successive governments to circumvent the problem. Introduction of academic disciplines of higher demands within the local education system and ensuring there is access to such fields of study within the atolls, making scholarships more accessible to Maldivian students, and as of recently the free undergraduate degree scheme ensures that students are offered diverse opportunities and incentive to stay in their homeland to attain the academic degree.

The area of governance has always remained a significant interest for Maldivian students. Degrees such as law are among the most offered academic discipline in the Maldivian higher education system. The Maldives National University is the leading academic institution producing highly skilled individuals in various field of governance, not limited to law. Its Faculty of Arts offers an interdisciplinary undergraduate degree in Political Science and International Relations, creating a pool of individuals who are more attuned to the Maldivian political system and are equipped to support various branches and fringes of the State.

UNDP Maldives in its support to the Maldivian Government works closely with the Maldives National University in providing support for research and providing avenues for dialogue. UNDP Maldives also support the Maldives National University in conducting the first ever social values assessment that aims to track how Maldivian values have changed amid a pandemic. The Faculty of Arts in the Maldives National University recently announced the introduction of two courses that will be key for the governance sector – Bachelor of Arts in Governance and Development, and Master of Arts in Political Science and International Affairs.

Factoring in the existing needs and the developmental priorities, UNDP Maldives under its Integrated Governance Program seeks the technical expertise of an international consultant to develop course content handbook for students on one of the aforementioned courses.

Under the guidance of UNDP Maldives, and the Maldives National University, and with the support of a local consultant, the international consultant will develop a student coursebook for the Master of Arts in Political Science and International Affairs program. The tasks to be undertaken by the consultant under the Terms of Reference include, but are not necessarily limited to the following;

Home based (65 days):

1. An inception report featuring a desk review on the course outline provided by the Maldives National University, approach to the development of the handbook, reflection and applicable elements from similar internationally acclaimed coursebooks and proposed structure of the end product.
2. Based on the guidance received by the Maldives National University and UNDP Maldives, developing the student coursebook for Master of Arts in Political Science and International Affairs.
3. Conducting a validation meeting with the Maldives National University to review content in the student coursebook and incorporate any revisions suggested during the validation meeting to the finalized version.

Expected outputs and deliverables

The consultant will work closely with the Maldives National University and UNDP Maldives Focal point, and the local consultants to deliver the following results:

1. Inception report: The inception report provides a desk review of the course outline shared by the Maldives National University. It outlines fundamental themes and ideas explored throughout the course, how one module compliment and builds on the ideas and presented in another module, emerging perspectives on a subject, and opportunities where students can be guided to seek differing perspectives on the theme or subject.  It should also outline general structure of internationally acclaimed coursebooks and how the consultant will approach the development of the coursebook. The inception report should provide an insight into the structure of the end product (viz. how information will be organized in close observation to the course outline provided), and steps taken to ensure that the content provided is relatable to the local context.
2. Development of coursebook: Based on the guidance received by the Maldives National University and UNDP Maldives, the consultant will provide technical guidance to the local consultants in developing assigned course modules, develop modules assigned to the international consultant and curate the overall coursebook tailored for students enrolling in the aforementioned courses. The coursebook should specifically feature an introduction to the unit/theme, student objectives, detailed exploration of ideas and perspectives, applicable case studies, summary at the end of each unit/theme, reflection or tutorial questions, and a list of required readings and supplementary readings to further the understanding of the student on any given topic.
3. Validation Meeting: Once the coursebook is developed, the consultant with the assistance of UNDP Maldives will convene the relevant personnel from the Maldives National University in a validation meeting to review the coursebook developed. This exercise will further finetune the work of the consultant and suggestions from this meeting should be reflected on the final product submitted UNDP Maldives by the consultant.

The table below summarizes the main deliverables and estimated duration to complete the output.

Institutional Arrangement

The consultant will be accountable to the Programme Officer of the Democratic Governance Unit at UNDP Maldives and will work closely with the Maldives National University. Weekly meetings will be held with the Programme Manager and Programme Officer. A debriefing meeting will be organized with UNDP senior management at the end of assignment.

Duration of the work

This assignment will approximately take 65 working days between November 2020 – March 2021.  The consultant should come up with a clear timeline while submitting the proposal taking into consideration the estimated time durations for each deliverable as stipulated above.

Duty Station 

Home-based (possibility of travel can be explored if there is a need to do so, upon lifting of COVID-19 related restrictions)

• Corporate Competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards and acts in accordance with the Standards of Conduct for international civil servants;
• Advocates and promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

• Functional Competencies

• Knowledge about the UNDP programmes would be an advantage;
• Proven strong analytical abilities;
• Ability to work under pressure with several tasks and various deadlines;
• Ability to actively generate creative, practical approaches and solutions to overcome challenging situations;
• Excellent writing, presentation/public speaking skills;
• A pro-active approach to problem-solving;
• General IT Literacy

Education

• A minimum of graduate degree in Political Science, Comparative Politics, International Relations, or related fields such as Government and Politics, Democracy studies, Political Sociology.

Experience

• A minimum of five years of professional experience in developing knowledge components, especially for undergraduate or graduate programs.
• A minimum five years of engagement in academic research, thesis supervision, or lecturing/professorship will be an added advantage  

Language requirement

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required

Application process

Interested individuals must submit the following as proposals in order to demonstrate their qualifications.

• A letter indicating why the candidate considers himself/herself suitable for the required consultancy;
• Submission of an updated detailed Personal CV and P11 form which can be downloaded from http://sas.undp.org/documents/p11_personal_history_form.doc
• Financial proposal indicating daily consultancy fee in USD.
• Details of similar work/proof of work undertaken by the consultant
• At least two references from recent previous jobs or three references contact details

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