Afghanistan: National Consultant (Project Evaluation)

Background and Context

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) strives to promote education in Afghanistan as a fundamental human right while aiming to provide access to quality, relevant and inclusive education for all. Across Afghanistan, UNESCO Kabul is currently providing technical and financial support to the Deputy Ministry of Education for Literacy (DMoEL) or Literacy Department (LD) to implement Basic General Literacy (BGL) and Skills Based Literacy (SBL) programmes, and to strengthen the quality of adult literacy programmes and non-formal education more broadly. The Programme for Enhancement of Literacy in Afghanistan (ELA) has been implemented since 2009 to 2018 as a national literacy programme. With the new funding from the Government of Republic of South Korea, further coverage has been extended to 21 districts of five provinces (Farah, Kabul, Logar, Parwan and Panjshir) in 2018. The aims of the Support for Adult Literacy in Afghanistan (SALA) project are as with ELA to improve the proficiency level of literacy and numeracy of the youth and adult populations, particularly for women and girls, by targeting 60% female learners aged 15 and above. This project purposed to also increase awareness about the importance of literacy among national-level stakeholders and to address the challenges of literacy in a sustainable manner, noting that the current budget allocated to literacy under the MoE is approximately only 2% of the national education budget.

Main duties and responsibilities

Under the overall authority of the Director of UNESCO Kabul, the general direction of the Chief of Education and the direct supervision of the SALA project manager as well as in consultation with the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist for SALA, the lead consultant will conduct the final evaluation of SALA. The national consultant will assist the international consultant to provide a detailed evidence-based analysis and assessment of its major achievements, constraints and lessons learned; and, based explicitly on this evidence, recommend directions for future programming as applicable to both UNESCO and the DMoEL. Specifically, the national consultant will perform following tasks:

1. Support the lead consultant in the evaluation process, including the evaluation questions, the evaluation design, data collection tools, data collection activity, collation and analysis of data, drafting the reports including major findings and recommendations;
2. Assist in translating required documents from local language (Dari/Pashtoo) to English and vis-versa;
3. Work collaboratively with the government staff members in data collection and analysis;
4. Conduct meetings with key stakeholders to design the evaluation, data collection, and knowledge sharing;
5. Conduct fieldwork (KII, FGD, observation) for primary data collection from provider and beneficiary stakeholders;
6. Organize a knowledge sharing workshop with key literacy stakeholders to confirm, elaborate and/or correct preliminary findings, and communicate with relevant stakeholders as required;
7. Provide inputs in preparation of a draft report on evaluation and incorporate comments and feedback from the stakeholders in final report; and
8. Provide support to submit final report of final evaluation of SALA.

Project Goal:

Through the acquisition of literacy skills, to prepare young people and adults, in particular women, to pursue their human rights, access to quality continuing education, further learning opportunities, and improved livelihoods. In parallel, to contribute to the fulfilment of the Economic and Social Development Pillar of Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS), National Priority Programs, National Education Strategic Plan Phase III (NESP III), the national Citizens’ Charter programme, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 4.

Project Objectives:

Acquisition of literacy skills for all men and women aged 15 and above.

The specific objectives of this intervention can be summed up as:

To complete the development and implementation of youth and adult literacy curriculum and instructional materials up to the general basic education level as embodied in the Third National Education Strategic plan (NESPIII), 2017-2021;

To improve access to quality, equitable and inclusive youth and adult literacy education for illiterate and semi illiterate youths and adults (15 years and above), in particular women and girls;

To strengthen the capacity for planning and decentralized management of Governmental Organizations (GO) at provincial and district levels, and in doing so support the national literacy strategy, and to reinforce the linkages between lifelong learning and vocational skills development.

Related outcomes and its indicators of UNDAF, and target country’s development strategy to the Project:

• Afghan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF) 2017-2021
• Third National Education Strategic Plan (NESP III) 2017-2021
• Education for All, the Millennium Development Goals[1] 2020
• The Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (in particular SDG 4)
• UNDAF Output 2.2 – Improved capacity of Government and Non-Governmental organization to increase accessibility and demand for inclusive quality formal and non-formal education.
• UNDAF Indicator 2.2.2: Number of population to receive skilled-based literacy or occupational literacy training – (disaggregated by sex) and -formal education. Number of qualified teachers for literacy programme by sex and number of qualified teachers for literacy programme by sex. Number of youths and adults received literacy training.
• UNDAF Indicator 2.2.6: Number of competency based teaching and learning material developed

Objective of Evaluation

The overall purpose of the final evaluation is to assess the extent to which SALA has or has not been successful in meeting its objectives. In this, the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, sustainability, and gender perspective of SALA will be measured. The organizational capacity of SALA managers in DMoEL and UNESCO will be taken into account with respect to (but not limited to) programme design, planning, implementation and monitoring including data management, progress reporting, provision of feedback and the timeliness and appropriateness of management decisions.

Though the project has been implemented only for one year and completed one cycle of a nine-month literacy programme the evaluation will assess the factors influencing SALA operations and results at both national and subnational levels (provincial, district, community). This will include the perspectives of SALA policy-makers, programme developers or monitors, managers and, especially, beneficiaries (learners and facilitators). These will look at (i) what they expected from the SALA programme; (ii) their satisfaction with SALA in terms of programme design, implementation and management of risks/challenges; and (iii) their assessment of “what difference” the SALA programme has made (e.g. what has changed for them as policy-maker, programme developer or monitor, facilitator, community member - and female or male).

Issues related to strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) from the perspective of the DMoEL and UNESCO in managing the SALA delivery mechanisms, and of the donors should be clearly identified and addressed. This should include an assessment of the nature, quality and long-term implications of the partnership between DMoEL and UNESCO with respect to providing technical assistance to the design/management of the Implementing Partnership Agreement (IPA). More broadly, the levels and types of capacity that were required by and provided to the Department to independently design and implement a national literacy programme of the scope of SALA.

Methodology

The evaluation approach and method must ensure the most reliable and valid answers to evaluation questions, which will be designed and developed by the international consultant while national consultant will provide the required supports. This will be done in consultation with LD and UNESCO team members within the limits of resources; an evaluation matrix will be prepared as part of the inception process. The methodology will include:

a) Desk Study

b) Development and finalization of methodology

c) Field Visits

d) Interviewing key stakeholders

e) Review and finalization of report

Timelines:

The final evaluation should be completed between mid-July and mid-August 2019 with a final report submitted by end of August 2019.

Expected deliverables as follows-

• Produce progress report in supporting the inception report outlining the evaluation questions (and reasons for the selection of the evaluation questions).
• A detailed outline of the evaluation process, the data collection tools and a detailed work plan for the final evaluation.
• Provide required write up or a draft report of the narrative evaluation of SALA that includes achievements, lessons learned, challenges and constraints, and recommendations on the scope for new directions of youth and adult literacy programme in Afghanistan as directly derived from the evidence of the SALA evaluation;

Expected time Duration of the assignment: Initial duration of two months.

Competencies

A successful candidate will be required to demonstrate the following competencies:

Core Competencies

Accountability

Communication

Teamwork

Innovation

Planning and organizing

Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement

Result focus

For detailed information please consult the UNESCO Competency Framework

Required qualifications

Education

• a university degree preferably Masters in education, psychology, sociology or related studies in social science field is required. Applicants for the position of national consultant should have at least Master’s degree in similar fields.

Experience:

• at least 5 years of professional experience in the evaluation of education policy development and implementation, with particular focus on Adult Literacy and Non-Formal Education. Relevant experience in education and related areas, program/project development and management in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.
• experience in organizational management, structures and systems, operations, capacity development, reporting, and monitoring; and
• a minimum of two years of work experience in conflict-affected areas; experience in Afghanistan is highly desirable.

Languages

Applicants must be fluent in both written and oral English and one national languages;

Assessment

An assessment exercise may be used in the evaluation of candidates

[1] Afghanistan’s Education for All Goal 4 has been set to be achieved by 2020, 5 years later than other countries given their immense challenges. Related goals are Goal 2 Achieving universal primary education; Goal 3 Promote gender equality and empower women; Goal 8 Develop a global partnership for development

How to apply

To apply, please send your application letter and UNESCO CV (CV Form to be used) in English to k.human- resource@unesco.org before 14^th July 2019 (Kabul time).

Please note that only pre-selected candidates will be contacted.