Consultancy – Education research consultant – Bangladesh – Global Office of Research and Foresight – 12 months – Remote/Work from Home

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, answers

Since 2021 three large scale programmes and policies have been introduced in Bangladesh to provide children and young people with the skills they need to learn in school and thrive in society. These programmes include 1) the Educate the Most Disadvantaged Children (EMDC) programme that provides community based accelerated learning to over 300,000 out of school children, bridging them into the formal education system. 2) New competency based secondary curriculum which is a major transformation in development of children’s skills and competencies and the 3) Skills focused literacy for out of school adolescents (SKILFO) which supports out of school adolescents with foundational literacy and numeracy skills along with pre-vocational skills.

UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight (UNICEF Innocenti) is working with UNICEF Bangladesh to embed implementation research within these three large scale initiatives. Research will utilize and strengthen large scale data collection processes already in place for the EMDC, and SkillFO programmes as well as qualitative and quantitative data collection from a sample of schools where the new competency-based curriculum has been introduced, in collaboration with Dhaka University. This is a remote consultancy for UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight, to be based in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Country Office will provide logistical and administrative support.

How can you make a difference? 

The consultant will coordinate and support the implementation of research activities in Bangladesh under the supervision and guidance of the UNICEF Innocenti education research team, working closely with the implementation team at UNICEF Bangladesh, and the University of Dhaka.

Major areas of work and responsibility

1. Coordination of research across the three initiatives, developing workplans and holding regular meetings with UNICEF Innocenti, UNICEF Bangladesh, Dhaka University and implementing partners.
2. Leading the design of quantitative and qualitative data collection tools and supporting data collection training and data collection management for the three initiatives under the guidance and supervision of UNICEF Innocenti education research team.
3. Data analysis and drafting of research outputs, including internal feedback loops from implementation research and external evidence briefs.

Supervision

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Education Manager in GORaF. The consultant will work in close coordination with the UNICEF Bangladesh Education team who are leading the implementation of different education initiatives.

Methodologies and Tools

Software to be used and subscription required for data analysis: Stata 14 or higher

Conditions of Consultancy

1. This consultancy may require the consultant to travel in order to complete the required deliverables effectively and efficiently. Travel costs should NOT be included in the bid for the contract as travel costs will be provided at time of travel and approved by consultant’s direct supervisor. UNICEF Innocenti does not make travel arrangements for consultants. The consultant will arrange their own travel, clear the anticipated cost with UNICEF and invoice UNICEF for the travel cost as soon as the travel has been completed. UNICEF Innocenti will assist consultants with arrangements for visas, work permits, vaccinations, etc.

2. All other costs related to completing the deliverables such as hardware, required software, certificates/ subscriptions and associated running costs are expected to be factored into the proposed professional fees.

3. UNICEF Innocenti will assist consultants with arrangements for visas, work permits, vaccinations, etc.

4. UNICEF does not regard Individuals engaged under a consultancy contract as “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures. Consultants are therefore not entitled to benefits such as leave, pension 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.

5. Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant. Prospective consultants are encouraged to ensure that they fully understand (a) the requirements of each deliverable and (b) the workload associated with reaching a deliverable.

6. UNICEF Innocenti recognizes that, due to the locations of some of its research, events may occur that either delay deliverables or prevent them from being completed. These events need to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine the impact on the payment schedule of the contract. It is UNICEF Innocenti’s objective to be fair to consultants in situations where deliverables are delayed or no longer attainable through no wrongdoing of the consultant.

7. Consultants 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.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have:

An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Economics, Social Policy, Education, Statistics or related social sciences.

Essential skills:
• A minimum of five years of progressively responsible professional work experience at national or international levels in the design and implementation of rigorous research, with developing country-level experience essential
• Experience in managing large rounds of data collection and related trainings; experience in using common online / offline data collection packages (e.g. ODK, Kobo, SurveyCTO).
• Strong data and analytical skills and extensive knowledge of common statistical software packages (e.g. STATA, R, SPSS).
• Demonstrated experience in both qualitative and quantitative research designs and methods, including experimental and quasi-experimental methods.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and excellent attention to detail.
• Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work well as part of a geographically dispersed team and to forge and manage partnerships.
• Commitment to UNICEF’s core values of care, respect, integrity, transparency, and accountability.

Desirable qualifications:

• Experience working in Bangladesh very desirable.
• Experience working on education research and utilizing large scale education data very desirable.
• Ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment; experience working in the UN or other international development organization.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset. 

For every Child, you demonstrate:

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

 To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

 UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

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. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.