International Consultant for providing technical assistance to universities in Georgia in developing course curricula for BA programs in early childhood education inTbilisi, Georgia

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1. Background

A study on early childhood education (ECE) quality in Georgia (2018)[1] demonstrated that the preschool workforces lacks the qualifications and necessary competencies to provide quality ECE in Georgian preschools. Only 30% of preschool educators have higher education in an ECE field and 44% have no pre-service training. At the same time, many educators with higher education have received their pre-service training decades ago and did not have opportunities for professional development to upgrade their knowledge and skills. This issue has been exacerbated by the complete absence of higher education programmes in ECE in Georgian universities for more than a decade, leading to the intake of unqualified staff in preschools.

In 2016, the Government of Georgia adopted mandatory Professional Standards for Educators (“caregiver-pedagogues”) which serves as the basis of all pre-service and in-service trainings intended for ECE educators. Based on these standards, in 2018-2019, the National Center for Education Quality Enhancement Center developed Subject Benchmarks for Higher Education Programs (Bachelor level) in ECE[2]. In 2019, with the support of UNICEF and the Government of Poland, nine state universities in Georgia have developed draft Bachelor degree programme in ECE. To support development of the course curricula of these programmes and to ensure their quality, UNICEF is committed to further strengthen the capacity of university academic teams and provide international guidance and support in the process of finalizing BA programmes in ECE.

2. Overall goal of consultancy

The overall goal of this consultancy is to support academic teams (professors, lecturers, university quality assurance specialists) of nine state universities in developing and finalizing the course curricula for Bachelor programmes in ECE.

3. Specific Tasks, timeframes and deliverables

Activity/Task 1. Review BA programme drafts developed by 9 Georgian universities and provide initial feedback describing main challenges and suggestions for improvement focusing on the specific topics/themes/modules that are essential for BA programs to meet national standards/regulations as well as requirements of best practices and quality BA programs in ECE.

Timeframe: 5 days (online) November 2020

Deliverables: Written feedback and recommendations on draft BA programmes. 

Activity/Task 2. Facilitate 3 half-day online workshop sessions for university teams working on the content of BA programme modules/courses considering the best practices in the field, newly developed national Sector Benchmark Document for Preschool Education and other documents regulating the field of early and preschool education in Georgia 

Timeframe: 1.5 days (online) December 2020

Deliverables: Workshop agenda and presentations; report on the conducted workshops; and participant list.

Activity/Task 3. Develop a workshop report with recommended steps for finalization process of BA programmes.

Timeframe: 1.5 days (online) December 2020

Deliverable: A workshop report describing the process and outcome of the workshop and providing recommendations on next steps for universities to finalise the early and preschool education BA programmes. 

The consultant will be obliged to meet the set deadlines as described above and produce high quality deliverables. UNICEF will measure the consultant’s performance and quality of deliverables in accordance with UNICEF’s regulations.

4. Duration and mode of consultancy

The consultancy service will be remote and is required for the duration of 8 working days without in-country visit.

5. Supervision:

The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the UNICEF Deputy Representative. Day-to-day supervision and guidance will be provided by UNICEF’s Early Childhood Education Officer.

6. Required qualifications:

• Advanced university degree in early learning, early childhood education, early childhood development/pedagogy;
• At least 5 years of academic work (teaching) in higher education institution in the field of ECE;
• Experience in developing higher education programmes in the field of ECE;
• Good familiarity of and work experience in the Europe and Central Asia region is an asset;
• Flexible and communicative with excellent articulation, negotiation and presentation skills;
• Excellent knowledge of English.

7. Payment terms and rates:

The payment rates are subject to agreement between the consultant and UNICEF, based on an initial proposal to be submitted by the consultant as part of the financial proposal with the application.

UNICEF will pay a lump sum for the entire service of 8 working days to be disbursed to the consultant (through bank transfer) in December 2020, upon successful completion of all deliverables .

8. Contract arrangement and duration:

Contract duration is November – December 2020.

The consultant has no entitlement for annual leave, sick leave, maternity, adoption or paternity leave or any other kinds of special leave.

UNICEF does not provide or arrange health insurance coverage for consultants. Health Statement forms must be submitted to UNICEF prior to signing the contract.

9. Termination of the Contract

The contract may be terminated by either party before its expiry date by giving a 14 days’ notice in writing to the other party.

However, in the event of termination on the ground of misconduct, UNICEF will be entitled to terminate the contract without notice. In such case, the Contractor will be compensated on a pro-rata basis for no more than the actual amount of work completed to the satisfaction of UNICEF.

10. Required documents for application

To apply for this consultancy, the following documents should be submitted:

• CV;
• Cover letter;
• Samples of earlier developed higher education programmes or parts thereof;
• Financial proposal including consultancy fee and travel related costs.

 

For every Child, you demonstrate

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

 

 

 

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

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.

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.