Global Partnership for Education Consultant vacancy-Zimbabwe 2016
Consultancy duration – 15 July 2016 to 31 December 2016
Background
UNICEF is a managing entity for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) grant of $23.6 million awarded in 2013 to the Government of Zimbabwe through the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. This grant covers interventions implemented largely in the 72 districts spread across the 10 provinces of the country. Some of the activities are also implemented at the district and sub district levels of cluster and school. The education programme supports Ministry in the monitoring of the usage of these funds at these levels as well as in the building the capacity of the education officers and accountants in managing, administering and reportage on the usage of the funds. The education programme also works very closely with Head Office in the coordination of the activities implemented at these various levels.
UNICEF is desirous to engage a consultant to support these components of the education programme from 15 July 2016 to 31 December 2016.
Introduction
In the 3rd year of the GPE programme in Zimbabwe, a number of tasks need to be accomplished to achieve the year 3 targets. With the district and provincial funds continuing to be sent directly to them, it is essential to have someone in the team who can analyze action plans, district budgets, reports and data. Of particular importance in 2016 will be supporting the finalization of the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP), the GPE application process (2017-2019) as well as the development of associated operational plans. These processes will be ongoing.
Objective (s)
The goal of this consultancy is to support the education programme in: coordinating the analysis of GPE data, finalization of the ESSP, development of operational plans as well as monitoring of district plans, budgets and activities.
Methodology
The consultant will support the education team with effective and successful completion of the following tasks working closely with the Country Office team:
1) Assist Ministry in the finalization of the ESSP (2016-2020)
2) Support Ministry in the development of the GPE application (2017-2019)
3) Support Ministry in the development of the operational plans for provinces and districts
4) Assist in UNICEF’s management of the GPE component, including: a) processing of Ministry requests and acquittals and related follow ups, including planning, preparations and keeping records of workshops and meetings; b) documentation of best practices, lessons learnt and experiences from interventions under GPE; c) assist with monitoring of programmes at national, provincial, district, cluster and school level; d) compilation, actioning and filing of GPE programme documents and correspondence; e) compilation, actioning of grant application process for next GPE grant application process
5) Liaison between Ministry, UNICEF and other partners on issues of GPE reporting, budgeting, planning, acquittals, trainings
Expected Outputs
1) Weekly and monthly updates on status of GPE funds and requests and acquittals
2) Timely agenda and detailed minutes of meetings, monitoring visits and workshop
3) Up to date records of ESSP, GPE application, operational plans, all GPE activities and interventions
4) Comprehensive documentation of key lessons, best practices and experiences from GPE interventions with a view to finding solutions and improvements
5) Sound communication channels for all GPE activities across partners, provinces, districts, clusters
6) Communication strategies for advocacy, sensitization and information sharing in key intervention areas of the GPE programme
7) Documents required for the new GPE application and scheduled meetings
8) Documents required for the ESSP process and schedule meetings
9) Documents required for the ESP finalization and scheduled meetings
10) GPE publications including donor reports and GPE information dissemination
Major tasks
1) Status report on fund requests and acquittals – for tracking purposes
2) Analysis of field monitoring reports – for reporting and recording purposes
3) Analysis of national, provincial and district budgets and action plans and reports on activities – for decision making and resource distribution
4) Track achievement of targets and indicators for the GPE using district reports and M&E framework
5) Accurate filing of GPE documents – for record keeping purposes
6) Compilation of key documents required for ESSP/sector review and analysis/quarterly donor reports – for record keeping purposes
Deliverables
The following deliverables should be achieved on a monthly basis effective 15 July 2016 up to 31 December 2016:
1) Six lots of monthly reports on status of GPE fund requests and acquittals and progress towards targets.
Outputs:
· Weekly and monthly updates on status of GPE funds requests and acquittals
· Timely agenda and detailed minutes of meetings, monitoring visits and workshops
2) In close liaison with Ministry; draft 2 quarterly reports and final programme report for GPE using data from districts and provincial field reports; Maintain a record keeping system for all district and provincial data for reporting against GPE indicators.
3) In close liaison with Ministry at various levels:
· Sound communication channels for all GPE activities across partners, provinces, districts, clusters
· Communication strategies for advocacy, sensitization and information sharing in key interventions areas of the GPE
· Comprehensive documentation of key lessons, best practices and experiences from GPE interventions with a view to find solutions and improvements
4) Monthly and quarterly monitoring reports
5) Monthly reports and documents inventory. All GPE documents are filed in hard copy and soft copies with ease reference and table of contents; All key documents needed and used in the ESSP and for GPE donor reports are filed for UNICEF and consultants.
6) GPE files on shared drive are updated with most recent copies of GPE documents, key documents for GPE and ESSP briefings and research studies for the GPE
All deliverables should meet the expected quality and standards as assessed by the supervisor of the consultancy assignment. Should the consultant fail to deliver as per expected quality and standards, UNICEF reserves the right to amend the payouts accordingly, or to delay them until satisfactory performance has been received.
Consultancy Requirements
Education
· A Masters degree in Social Sciences, Humanities, Human Rights, Human Development or Education related field
Work Experience
· Five years experience working in a development context
· At least two years experience in the education sector in Southern African context
· Excellent oral and written communication skills
· Good computer and data analysis skills
· Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to support multi-disciplinary teams in a multi- cultural environment
· Familiarity with the Zimbabwean education context
· Ability to interact with government and non-government partners
· Good understanding of the Global partnership for Education
Payment schedule
Payments will be made upon submission of a monthly report detailing the extent to which deliverables for this assignment have been achieved on a monthly basis and according to agreed standards as follows:
1st payment – 10% of total contract value (30 July 2016)
2nd payment – 18% of total contract value (31 August 2016)
3rd payment -18% of total contract value (30 September 2016)
4th payment – 18% of total contract value (31 October 2016)
5th payment – 18% of total contract value (30 November 2016)
6th payment – 18% of total contract value (31 December 2016)
HOW TO APPLY:
If you have experience of working in a similar capacity, meet the above profile and want to make an active and lasting contribution to build a better world for children, please send your technical and financial proposal, application letter and CV quoting consultancy name and number to the following address email address: hararevacancies@unicef.org
Applications submitted without an all-inclusive fee/rate (professional fees, travel and living expenses etc) will not be considered. Applications should be received by 5 May 2016. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
UNICEF is committed to gender equality in its mandate and its staff. Well qualified candidates, particularly women are especially encouraged to apply.