International Consultant-Revision of Teacher Competency Framework

Call for Consultancy

International Consultant

Terms of Reference

Organizational unit: UNESCO Myanmar Project Office

Title: International Consultant - Revision of Teacher Competency Framework

Duty Station: Yangon, Myanmar

Duration of the contract: 5 September 2022 to 30 December 2022 (contract start date is subject to change.)

Application deadline: 26 August 2022

1. Background

UNESCO works to Strengthen Pre-Service Teacher Education in Myanmar (STEM). The project addresses four fundamentally important aspects of pre-service teacher education. These include:

• formulating a policy framework of pre-service teacher education and identifying standards for quality assurance,
• improving the curriculum and creating good networks to accumulate and share knowledge and experiences,
• developing institutional/management and human resource capacities, and
• mainstreaming inclusion and equity issues in teacher education.

Under STEM project, UNESCO is supporting the development and implementation of Teacher Competency Standards Framework (TCSF) which is developed upon regional and global teacher competencies required for effective teaching and learning, as well as nationally relevant competencies required for teaching in Myanmar and context specific competencies for Indigenous teachers working to support Indigenous education in Myanmar. In collaboration with Rural Indigenous Sustainable Education (RISE) Network, UNESCO will provide technical support to ensure that RISE’s existing Teacher Competency Framework (TCF) is compatible with supporting their teachers to develop inclusive practical and useful competences for teaching in remote and conflict affected and fragile settings. It also aims to support the engagement of more educators (teacher educators, teachers, trainers, etc.) in continued professional development (CPD) opportunities and to improve its existing Pre-service Teacher Preparation Center (TPC).

The individual consultant will i) review RISE’s existing TCF, by developing a review framework including indicators and templates for review using existing resources of RISE, its partners and international conflict sensitive guidelines; ii) revise the TCF in line with its existing Teacher Professional Development (TPD) guidelines and Pre-service Teacher Preparation Center (TPC) programme guide; and iii) draft a review report with recommendations for TCF implementation.

II. Work Assignment:

The individual consultant will perform the tasks under the overall authority of the Director of UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, the direct supervision of the Head of Office of UNESCO Myanmar Project Office, the day-to-day guidance of the Project Officer and in close collaboration with the STEM project team. The individual consultant will be responsible for the review and the revision of existing TCF to be more suitable for the context and produce the development of a review report with recommendations for TCF implementation to ensure the high quality of the documents. The individual consultant’s responsibilities include the following:

• Conduct an initial review of relevant documents such as RISE’s Teacher Competency Framework; TCF mapping; TPD guidelines; TPC programme guide and other related documents;
• Develop a review framework including indicators and develop templates for review using existing resources of RISE, its partners and international conflict sensitive guidelines;
• Conduct further research to ensure the alignment of RISE’s TPD guidelines to support continuous professional development of Indigenous teacher education in Myanmar, while reflecting the international standards and trends;
• Produce a review report (not exceeding 15 pages excluding annex) including but not limited to the findings of the desk review; challenges to the delivery of education in conflict settings; recommendations for TCF roll-out/implementation; and the way forward for TCF awareness raising as well as a revised TCF.
• Facilitate/join consultation meetings with UNESCO, RISE Network and relevant stakeholders, when necessary; and
• Revise and finalise the review report and TCF incorporating comments provided by UNESCO, RISE and its partners.

III. Deliverables and Timeline:

The individual consultant should submit the outputs to UNESCO, taking into account the following:

1. All deliverables need to be submitted in English and in editable format (such as MS-Word and MS-Excel format).
2. All deliverables will be developed by the individual consultant in collaboration with UNESCO and RISE. All comments received from UNESCO, RISE and its partners on the TCF revision, must be thoroughly reviewed and addressed in the revision and finalization process.
3. Prior to submission, the individual consultant ensures that proper copyediting and proofreading should have been carried out for all deliverables and the relevant templates and formats should have been closely followed. The individual consultant may be requested by UNESCO to revise the deliverables if they are determined by UNESCO to be unsatisfactory and/or incomplete against the required standard of quality. No additional payment will be made for any correction of the deliverables.

The timeframe for submission of deliverables is as follows:

1. Submission of review TCF with presentation file by 30 September 2022;
2. Submission of draft review report and TCF with presentation file by 31 October 2022; and
3. Submission of final review report and revised TCF with presentation file by 30 November 2022.

IV. Location and travel:

The work of the international consultant is home-based.

V. Fees:

• International consultants; and
• The lump sum is established on the basis of a daily or monthly rated based on UNESCO rules and regulations on Level of Assignment and Remuneration and depending on qualifications.

VI. Qualifications:

Education:

• Advanced University Degree in Education, Social Science or a related filed.

Experience:

• A minimum of ten years of experience in education, capacity building and assessment preferable at both national level and departmental level.
• Previous experience in teacher education reforms, preferably the development of teacher competency standards framework (TCSF) would be desirable.
• Experience in working in developing countries and/or in Myanmar would be an asset.

Skills and competencies:

• Proven research and analytical skills;
• Excellent organizational skills;
• Proficiency in using common office ICT productivity tools;
• Ability to work independently on delegated tasks and collaboratively in a multi-cultural environment; excellent communication skills; and
• Excellent writing and speaking skills in English.

How to apply

Interested applicants are invited to submit in writing to the UNESCO Myanmar Project Office:

1. A cover letter (in English) and clearly referencing “International Consultant –Revision of Teacher Competency Framework”, indicating how your qualifications and experience make you suitable for the assignment, and the methodology and approach(es) to be adopted to carry out the assignment;
2. The expected consultancy fee; and
3. An up-to-date CV, with contact details including telephone numbers and email address.

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 terms of the criteria in the Terms of Reference, UNESCO shall select the proposal that offers the Organisation best value for money.

Your application should reach yangon@unesco.org by email no later than 17:00 Hours (Yangon time) on 26 August 2022.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.