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Rapid education sector gender analysis consultant (International), Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, 2 months (45 working days) (Remote/Work from home)

Apply now Job no: 579816
Work type: Consultant
Location: Guinea-Bissau
Categories: 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.

The Education System in Guinea-Bissau is guided by laws and policy documents, such as Basic Education Law of 2011 and the Education Sector Plan 20217-2025. These emphasize education as a human right, compulsory and free at the primary level. Despite progress in enrollment, 27% of children remain out of school (MIC 2018-2019), and primary school completion rates are among the lowest globally at 27%, as per the Global partnership for Education (GPE, 2023). Contributing factors include a shortage of qualified teachers, insufficient learning materials, and non-conducive learning environments.

Guinea-Bissau has reaffirmed its commitment to gender equality by ratifying several key international agreements, including the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and its Optional Protocol, both ratified in 2008, as well as the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. Additionally, the country is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Political Rights of Women and Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, adopted in 2000.

In the education sector, the MICS6 report from 2018-2019 reveals that gender parity has been achieved in primary education, with a Gender Parity Index (GPI) of 1.00 in both rural and urban areas. However, disparities emerge in the third cycle of education (grades 7-9), where the overall GPI is 0.90, with rural areas maintaining parity at 1.00, while urban areas lag at 0.80. According to the 2022 National Statistics Institute, the adjusted net primary enrollment rate for children aged 6-11 stands at 68.09%, leaving 31.91% out of school. This disparity is more pronounced among girls, particularly in the regions of Oio, Bafatá, and Gabu, where the out-of-school rates for girls reach 40.61%, 40.78%, and 48.24%, respectively. Furthermore, rural areas exhibit lower enrollment rates, with boys at 63.28% and girls at 59.63%. In addition, girls experience schooling in differentiated ways than boys; teaching materials are not consistently gender sensitive, the teaching force is predominately male, and anecdotal evidence suggests that female students in Guinea-Bissau face elevated levels of physical and sexual harassment and violence.

The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) is a partnership and mobilizes and delivers funding to countries most in need of education support to transform their education system. GPE’s goal is to accelerate access, learning outcomes and gender equality through equitable, inclusive, and resilient education systems fit for the 21st century.  Guinea-Bissau’s Partnership Compact has been approved by the GPE in November 2024. Based on the findings of the Enabling Factors Analysis, the partnership compact has articulated the general education sector priority reform as ensuring that all children have access to quality basic education, with an emphasis on all children completing basic education with the necessary basic skills, strengthening the preparation of teachers and the management of the education system. The transformative thrust of this priority reform is on improving access and retention of students and decreasing grade repetition so that all children successfully complete grade 6.  The outcome areas identified in the Compact and endorsed by Local Education Group (LEG) are:

  1. Strengthened equity in access, retention and internal effectiveness of students in schools;
  2. Improved educational quality by strengthening the pedagogical skills of teachers and improving student assessment;
  3. Strengthened governance of the education system at central, regional, school and community levels.

The STG is intended to support the implementation of these priority reforms that the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research (MENESIC) and its development partners have agreed upon, as set out in the Partnership Compact.

Under the GPE 2025 strategic plan, Guinea-Bissau is eligible for the STG of $5.71 million. The primary purpose of this grant is to support the country in transforming its education system by making focused, evidence-based investments in programs that unblock system bottlenecks.

MENESIC, with support from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) acting as a Grant Agent (GA) for the STG, is currently developing the grant application and related documents to access Guinea-Bissau’s approved indicative allocation for regular GPE system transformation grant in accordance with the strategic parameters for GPE support

How can you make a difference? 

UNICEF is seeking an individual short-term consultant to conduct a rapid gender analysis of the Education Sector that will inform the development of the Global Partnership for Education’s System Transformation (STG) application package for Guinea-Bissau in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Investigation (MENESIC) and in consultation with the Education partners.

The consultant will work in close collaboration with the technical task team comprised of MENESIC, development partners, Civil Society Organizations, and other key stakeholders.

It is expected that the gender review provides answers and recommendations on:

  • The extent to which the education sector strategies address the root causes of demand-side gender-related barriers to education. Do context-specific, targeted and evidence-based strategies to address socio-cultural and financial barriers to quality education for marginalized girls (or boys where they are at a disadvantage) exist? Are these strategies implemented and regularly monitored with a focus on: community mobilization to address discriminatory gendered social norms, including child marriage and gender-based violence; social protection measures, including cash transfers, school feeding, scholarships or stipends?
  • The extent to which the education sector plan/policies support gender-transformative environments.  Does the national education sector plan/policies support gender-transformative environments with regard to at least three of the following: (i) gender-responsive (OR TRANSOFRMATIVE) teacher pedagogy and curriculum; (ii) Girl-specific policies such as, for example, sanitation infrastructure and hygiene education including menstrual hygiene management (MHM) or re-entry policies for pregnant girls and adolescent mothers; (iii) policies to prevent and address SRGBV, including bullying, corporal punishment and sexual harassment/abuse (iv) Teacher deployment i.e. improved gender balance among teaching and management staff across levels of education, subject and/or regions;  Sufficient budget is available for the corresponding activities?
  • The level of development of national School Related Gender Based Violence (SRGBV) prevention and response mechanisms.  Did holistic mechanisms of prevention and response to SRGBV are established at the national, sub-national and local levels? Did they include at least four of the following: (i) gender analysis to map types of common forms of violence and sites of violence in and around schools; (ii) codes of conduct for teachers and school governance and school-wide monitoring mechanisms; (iii) safe spaces (e.g. girls’ clubs) for peer support, mentoring and co-curricular activities; (iv) functioning school based reporting, response (including counselling support) and multi-sectoral referral systems; (v) curricular approaches to prevent violence and promote gender equality (vi) On-going pre and in-service training of teachers, head teachers and SMC/PTA members on SRGBV and gender-transformative pedagogy?
  • To what extent is data from the Education Management Information System (EMIS) disaggregated by gender?
  • What are the government incentives for female (or male when relevant) teachers where they are under-represented (specific areas, subjects or levels of education)?
  • To what extent does the education sector plan/policies support gender-transformative teaching and learning? Does the national education sector plan/policies support gender-transformative teaching and learning with regard to all of the following: (i) Gender-transformative curricula and/or learning materials; (ii) gender responsive pedagogy; and (iii) reducing gender-based disparities in learning including STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) subjects. Is their sufficient budget available for the corresponding activities. 
  • The extent to which the national education/training policies and plans support the mainstreaming of gender equity in opportunities for skills development. Does the national education/training policy(s) and/or sector plan includes and fully implements at least three of the following: i) policies for gender parity in student enrolment and learning in traditionally gendered vocational training programmes and subjects such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM); ii) policies for gender parity in the teacher workforce in vocational training programmes and STEM subjects; iii) curricula and materials for skills development (including skills for learning, personal empowerment, active citizenship and/or employability) programmes that are gender-transformative and explicitly promote gender equality; iv) incentive mechanisms (e.g. scholarships, apprenticeships, cash transfers, etc.) for disadvantaged adolescent girls to access training aiming for formal sector employment (e.g. STEM, business and other formal sector).

Scope of Work:

The scope of the gender review will cover pre-school and basic education (grade 1-9) education levels, including alternative education (i.e. formal and non-formal accelerated learning programmes, skills development, vocational trainings, employability programmes).

The consultant is expected to:

  1. Develop a timeline and methodology for data collection and analysis, including both qualitative and quantitative data. The methodology should include a desk-review of existing laws, MENESIC and government policies, sector development plans, the national budget, administrative data from the EMIS and school mapping, academic research, the Partnership Compact and other GPE strategic documents, and identify key stakeholders and actors to be interviewed (e.g., government agencies, NGOs, teachers, parents, civil society, community leaders, students, etc.).
  2. Review the Guinea-Bissau curriculum, including teaching and learning materials, as well as teaching practices through sites visits and classroom observations, to assess the extent to which they are gender sensitive (or transformative).
  3. Conduct qualitative data collection, including but not limited to secondary document review data collection, and primary research including interviews, focus groups, site visits and classroom observations.
  4. Complete an analysis of quantitative data, including EMIS, school mapping, and budget data
  5. Analyse the social, cultural, or economic barriers (within and outside of the education sector) that impede girls’ right to quality education in Guinea-Bissau, as well as concrete suggestions on how to address the root causes of these barriers
  6. Develop a comprehensive gender analysis that examines the extent to which the Guinea-Bissau education system is gender sensitive/gender transformative, as well as recommendations on how to transform the education system so that it is more equitable for girls and boys. The gender analysis  should, at a minimum, examine the following components:
    1. Enabling environment and governance (education policies and budgets, monitoring and supervision)
    2. Access (infrastructure, safety and violence)
    3. Quality and learning outcomes (teacher attitudes and practices related to gender, curriculum)

The gender analysis should propose actionable recommendations to address identified gaps and challenges, as well as include at least one case study highlighting systemic/supply-side barriers or demand-side barriers (social, cultural, and economic) impeding access to education for adolescent girls.

  1. Present the findings to stakeholders for validation and feedback and collaborate on a roadmap for implementing recommendations, including developing a framework for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of recommendations (including indicators to track progress on gender equity in the education sector).

Work Assignment #1

Develop a comprehensive timeline and methodology for data collection and analysis, review key policy documents and strategies related to education and gender, analyse curriculum materials for gender biases, examine relevant laws and plans, and identify key stakeholders for collaboration.

Deliverables (10 working days)

  • Desk review/inception report submitted in English, with:

    • A proposed timeline and methodology for data collection and analysis, including the proposed structure of the final report;

    • Mapping of key stakeholders to be consulted.

Work Assignment #2

Analyse the social, cultural, and economic barriers to gender equality in education and their intersection with factors like poverty, ethnicity, and disability, using a structured methodology that includes interviews, focus groups, and surveys with diverse stakeholders.

Assess disparities in access, quality, and learning outcomes in pre-school and basic education levels, while evaluating gender-sensitive features of school infrastructure (including WASH facilities), safety mechanisms, and teacher practices.

Review the integration of gender equity in policies, budgets, textbooks, and education management systems to identify gaps and recommend improvements.

Propose prioritized, actionable recommendations achievable in 3-5 years.

Provide a concise report with findings, supported by data and case studies.

Deliverables (30 working days)

  • A comprehensive Gender Analysis of the Education Sector Report is submitted in Portuguese and English*, including:
    • A desk review of key policies, strategies, education sector budgets, projects and interventions to identify gender gaps and challenges;
    • Findings from interviews, focus groups, and surveys with students, teachers, parents, and education authorities;
    • Detailed analysis of gender disparities in access, quality, and learning outcomes in pre-school and basic education levels;
    • Recommendations to address identified barriers and disparities in education access, quality, and outcomes;
  • At least one case study highlighting systemic/supply-side barriers or demand-side barriers (social, cultural, and economic) impeding access to education for adolescent girls, including possible responses

 Work Assignment #3

Present findings for stakeholder validation.

Develop a collaborative implementation roadmap, that integrate a monitoring and evaluation framework with indicators.

Deliverables (5 working days)

  • A national workshop is organised with key stakeholders and findings from the Rapid Gender Analysis are validated.

  • A PowerPoint presentation (in Portuguese) which summarizes the Gender Analysis with slide(s) on Key findings and

    Recommendations

  • A roadmap (in Portuguese) to support implementation of recommendations is developed with SMART indicators.
 

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

  • An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in a social and behavioural science, including sociology, anthropology, communication for development, gender studies, psychology and/or related field is required.
    *A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree. 
  • Demonstrated experience undertaking gender analyses, preferably in the education sector.
  • A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in developing, implementing, evaluating, and managing social and behavioural change strategies and content is required.
  • Demonstrated expertise in the use of social and behaviour change science, theories, research, and analysis, to support the development and or implementation of policies, development programme/project is desirable.
  • Proven ability to manage social research, including quantitative, qualitative, and participatory methods for formative assessments, identifying behavioural drivers, and tracking, measurement and evaluation of social change is desirable.
  • Ability to engage and work with a variety of stakeholders (Government, development partners, civil society, indirect and direct program/project beneficiaries).
  • Familiarity with new and emerging approaches such as behavioural insights, human centered design, social listening, gender analysis, among others is a plus.
  • Sound knowledge of GPE guidelines and processes is a plus.
  • Analytical, with good computer and data analysis skills.
  • Familiarity with the Guinea-Bissau education context or similar fragile or low and middle-income countries.
  • Experience of work in a UN organization is desirable.

Criteria for Selection – Interested candidates should submit the followings:

  1. A cover letter
  2. A CV/resume (including the number of successful Gender Reviews conducted)
  3. A technical proposal
  4. A financial proposal, including a breakdown of their all-inclusive fees (including professional fees, travel related costs for at least 22 days in Guinea-Bissau).

The final selection will be based on the principle of “best value for money” i.e. achieving desired outcome at lowest possible fee.

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 committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

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. 

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