A situational analysis on teacher recruitment, retention and career pathways in selected Pacific Islands countries, 10 months

UNICEF Pacific is in search of a dedicated and proactive international Consultant. This consultant will be supervised on a day-to-day basis by the UNICEF Education Specialist in the Suva MCP office in coordination with the Education Specialist from the relevant Field Offices (North Pacific, Samoa and Kiribati) in coordination with relevant department staff and team of the different Ministry of Education.

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, education 

Every country in the Pacific acknowledges the importance of quality teachers to achieving national education goals and the best possible outcomes for young people. Teachers and the teaching profession are a specific policy area of the Pacific Regional Education Framework (PacREF) with the objective of ensuring the teaching profession is supported and empowered through opportunities for continuous development, shared understanding and accountability. It speaks to the qualifications and skills of teachers, the range of support provided to them, the profession’s status and the confidence it holds in the community. However, every country also struggles in some way to attract to, train for and retain in the profession. Perceptions on teaching in communities vary widely as do conditions of service, career opportunities and the legislative and policy environment regarding teachers.

Three countries (Kiribati, Tuvalu, Samoa), each with their own particular emphasis, want to understand the situation of teachers and the teaching profession for Early Childhood and Education (ECE), Primary and Secondary level in order to make evidence based and informed decisions on policies, initiatives and strategies to enhance and support the profession and ultimately improve the quality of education for all learners and communities.

This consultancy will engage an education consultant with significant experience in teacher training/management/planning to undertake a situational analysis across the countries identified providing an overall report as well as country specific findings and recommendations. By working in this manner, this work will both contribute to the specific areas of national interest and the priority focus area of PacREF overall.

How can you make a difference? 

Although each country has a specific emphasis (outlined below), the overall objective of this consultancy is to conduct a comprehensive situational analysis on teachers to understand the current landscape of education, including challenges, opportunities, and trends impacting teachers’ roles, effectiveness, and well-being. This will include consideration of:

• Policy: The legislative, regulatory and policy environment in relation to teachers
• Teachers’ conditions of service: In theory and practice including recruitment, remuneration, workloads, teacher well-being, recognition and career development
• Equitable teacher allocations: Teacher allocations and demographics, resource allocation, and support systems across different communities and schools (levels and types and geographic locations)
• Status, value and perceptions of the profession

Considering the interconnectedness of this study with teacher pedagogical practices and learning outcomes, the consultant is expected to reference, review and in some cases integrate and harmonise other studies, data and tools utilised at the national and regional level pertaining to teachers and their development to enhance the quality of education in this region to this study. This will also include the regional study on the role of education in regional mobility and brain drain. Both desk reviews of relevant documentation and stakeholder engagement through a range of modalities are expected to contribute to both an overall report and individual country briefing papers with national level findings and recommendations. The approach to stakeholder engagement should be carefully considered and discussed with each country in order to use the most relevant approaches. The Pacific Guidelines for Consultation and the PacREF Research Framework should also be reviewed to support and guide this. PacREF IA Fono members engaged in supporting the teaching profession could also be included as stakeholders.

The consultant will deliver the following specific deliverables through this contract:

1. Desk Review and Inception Report

An initial inception report that includes desk review, identifies methodology and approaches to the work, co-constructed with each national agency to ensure their leadership and ownership, and the use of strategies and consultative processes fit for context. The desk review will include, but not limited to, the following: mapping and analysis by each education level (ECE, Primary and Secondary), of the profile of the teachers regarding gender, language, disability and wellbeing of the teacher, highlighting synergies and gaps amongst the different characteristics of the teachers. Further data collection will be conducted during the below activity through the stakeholder consultations and field observations where data/information cannot be found through the desk review.

2. Stakeholder consultations and field observations

A brief thematic synthesis of documentation and findings from stakeholder consultations and field observations including inputs to possible future regional research based on gaps and opportunities observed from the desk review, consultations and field observations.

3. Draft Report and individual country briefs (findings and recommendations)

The full draft report as well as individual country briefs for the four countries to be disseminated for feedback. Consideration of remote joint meeting or at least national level presentations to encourage feedback.

4. Final Report and Country briefings validated and submitted

Feedback to draft report and country briefs completed and shared back for validation (remote) by relevant stakeholders. Finalisation and submission of final report and country briefs.

5. Cross country learning and sharing

Hosted virtual meeting of all countries engaged in the research to share findings and recommendations and discuss possible next steps.

The notes below outline particular areas of interest of each country to be taken into account in the desk review and stakeholder engagement and development of country briefing papers.

For Kiribati

Understanding the expected graduate profile of new teachers with consideration to knowledge, skills and attitudes of graduates (this may be complete at some levels, but a review would still be required) and how this translates to early career teaching.

What kind of training is available and offered at the teachers’ college and how are these translated into the classrooms by the new teachers? To what extent is the pre-service curriculum relevant and useful for the new teachers?

Provide recommendations for both Kiribati Teachers’ College and MoE to ensure quality graduates and then early career support of quality practice in the teaching profession.

For Tuvalu

Analyse teacher workforce needs and trends in recruitment identifying factors that impact on attracting, deploying, retaining and managing quality teachers for and in Tuvalu.

Compare and contrast different approaches to meeting teacher workforce requirements including attracting and training teachers with consideration to Tuvaluan diaspora, short term inline surge capacities, attracting those from other sectors.

For Samoa

An overall situational analysis of teachers in Samoa – with a particular view on equity across sub-sectors. This will include but not be limited to:

Policy and governance tools relating to teachers (including professional standards and regulations)

Training and qualifications

Employment conditions – including comparison to other professions in government sector

The Teaching Environment

Perceptions of the profession with different stakeholder groups.

Please refer to the TOR ( ToR_MCO_Teacher Retention.pdf) for further information on the deliverables and the timelines. 

GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS:   

 This consultancy is for individual consultants only. Candidates are requested to submit a brief technical proposal and CV. Candidates are asked to submit a separate financial offer along with their application. The financial proposal should be a lump sum amount for all the deliverables and should show a breakdown for the following as applicable:

• Monthly / Daily fees: based on the deliverables in the Terms of Reference above
• Travel: economy air ticket where applicable to take up assignment and field mission travel
• Living allowance: where travel is required
• Miscellaneous: to cover visa, health insurance (including medical evacuation for international consultants), travel insurance, communications, and other costs

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

Education:

 Master’s degree in social sciences, education, psychology or other relevant field with at least 7 years of demonstrated experience in:

• Education policy, planning and data analysis with some dedicated work in human resources development or teacher management.

 Experience & Skills:

• Strong writing synthesis and analytical skills and report writing experience.
• Proven experience in developing HR/teacher development strategies and interventions in education.
• Proven ability to work with a team, including government and non-government bodies, and facilitate consultations with a high degree of stakeholder participation.
• Previous relevant work experience in Pacific contexts will be well regarded.
• Experience in working with UNICEF, other UN agency or regional organization
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.

Language:

• 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.