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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.

In Nigeria, UNICEF works in a complex humanitarian and development setting to fulfill and protect children's rights in partnership with the government, civil society, children, and families.  UNICEF Nigeria is one of the largest UNICEF Country Offices globally - click the link to learn more about UNICEF in Nigeria: https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/

BACKGROUND:

Nigeria is home to approximately 206 million people, 43 per cent of whom are below 14 years of age. By 2030, there will be close to 126 million children in Nigeria. Rapid population growth and the swelling child population will place significant pressure on the education system, including its infrastructure and resources. At the same time, this growth means that Nigeria has the potential to reap a dividend from the impending youth bulge, but this will require significant investments in children’s and adolescents’ education, well-being and skills development.

However, the country has fallen short of achieving the education and skills development goals. Although basic education is free and compulsory, approximately 10.2 million children of primary school age and 8.1 million children of junior secondary school age are out-of-school (OOS).  One in three children one year younger than the official primary school entry age do not participate in any form of learning, while just 68 per cent of children of primary school age and 48 per cent of children of junior secondary school age attend school . Learning poverty remains an equally important challenge national framework of action to reduce the number of out of school children Due to the limited access to formal schooling and poor quality of education provided, learning poverty remains an equally important challenge. More than 70 per cent of children of primary school age cannot read with understanding or solve simple math problems , and 50 per cent of primary students on average cannot read or write. These gaps in foundational skills are cumulative across the lifecycle, increasing learners’ risk of dropping out and impeding their ability to acquire the skills they need to thrive in the workforce, to be actively engaged citizens and to nurture healthy and prosperous families. Furthermore, the gaps most acutely affect children from the poorest families, children with disabilities, those in rural areas and girls.

How can you make a difference? 

Scope of Work:

Under the overall supervision of the Chief Education, the consultant will report directly to the Education Manager (Learning) and will be responsible for the following over the course of the contract:

1.Undertake a desk review of the Situational Analysis on Alternative Pathways and Distance Learning in Nigeria, the UBEC National Framework of Action to Reduce the Number of OOSC in Nigeria, and the UBEC National Framework of Action for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, and other existing frameworks and policies that supports alternative, flexible and distance learning for formal and non-formal education, including in both development and humanitarian settings, and develop a draft National Policy on Alternative learning pathways in Nigeria.

2.Revision (1) of the draft policy document based on Government and UNICEF feedback.

3.Support stakeholder consultation on the draft policy document (develop PPT presentations on the policy document and group work materials).

4.Revision (2) of the draft policy document based on input from the stakeholder consultation.

5.Revision (3) of the policy document based on a review by the government and UNICEF.

6.Revision (4) of the policy document based on validation and critique by government, UNICEF and partners.

7.Revision (5) and delivery of the final policy document, including PPT presentation covering the final policy document.

Deliverables/Outputs:

1. Inception report including methodology, timeline and deadlines for the assignment

2. Desk review of the Situational Analysis on Alternative Learning Pathways (ALP) in Nigeria, National Policy on ICT in Education and other existing relevant documents and frameworks, development of the first draft of the National Policy on Alternative, Flexible and Distance learning pathways – to include:

1. Introduction: summary situation analysis, policy rationale and objectives, mission and vision statement, Policy objectives, targets and outcomes for alternative and distance learning, guiding principles for the alternative learning policy and overview of the policy.
2. Non-formal education, Alternative, flexible and distance learning pathways in Nigeria: Role and importance of alternative, flexible and distance learning pathways (highlighting peculiarities to the different geo-political zones) in Nigeria education ecosystem, incorporating national priorities on ALP and policy statements
3. Implementation mechanism: A clear roadmap for the policy, including stakeholders, roles and responsibilities, role of Alternative Learning Pathways Task Team at federal, state, community and school levels
4. Planning, research, monitoring and evaluation mechanism: outline of the M&E mechanism, SMART targets, research and data collection, quality assurance.
5. Guidelines for operationalizing the ALP Policy document: rationale, objectives, target audience, partners’ roles and responsibilities, linkages to Federal, state, community and school bodies.
6. Resource mobilization and funding the ALP Policy document: targets, funding mechanisms, roles and responsibilities for resource mobilization, fundraising and resource allocation.
7. Communication and dissemination of the Alternative and Distance learning Policy
8. Policy implementation framework: Strategies, activities, indicators, timeline, responsible stakeholders, resources required.

3. Revision (1) of the draft policy document based on government and UNICEF feedback.

4. Support stakeholder consultation on the draft policy document (develop PPT presentations on the policy document and group work materials) across the Southern and Northern zones and the FCT.

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

• An advanced university degree in Education development, education policy, social policy, international relations or related field
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience with using education data and evidence to inform non-formal education or alternative learning programming and/or policy. 
• Demonstrated strong working knowledge and experiences in current global issues and best practices in Education
• Experience in working on non-formal education and alternative learning will be added advantage. 
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with experience translating evidence for and communicating with a broad range of actors (including government) on sensitive issues. 
• Experience in developing policy documents.
• Strong experience leading and facilitating policy dialogue. 
• Knowledge of the Nigerian political landscape and recent developments in education.
• Ability to work to tight timeframes and flexibility to adjust to needs of government and UNICEF
• Ability to present ideas concisely for diverse audiences and to give practical, actionable advice grounded in evidence
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset. 
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset. 

To view the complete TOR, click here TOR National Policy on Alternative learning consultancy.pdf

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. 

Applicants must submit their financial and technical proposals along with this application. Applications without these will not be considered. Use this form to provide your financial proposal. 

 All-Inclusive Financial Proposal Form-Current.docx

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.