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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, a Champion! 

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:
The Ministry of Education and Sports in Albania has adopted a comprehensive Education Strategy for the period 2021-2026. Central to this strategy is the vision of creating an inclusive education system founded on principles of equality and lifelong learning. One of the key objectives is to expand the “School as a Community Centre” initiative, which aims to foster cohesive communities while simultaneously improving students’ learning outcomes. According to an OECD study, Albanian students spend fewer hours in school per year compared to their peers in other OECD countries. This limited time in school has implications for both academic performance and social development. Research indicates that providing students with more structured time in an educational environment can enhance their overall learning and social outcomes and prevent drop out of children. Many countries with advanced education systems have explored extending school hours to improve academic performance, promote equity, and support families by offering students a more structured environment. While extending the school day can be beneficial, it must align with clear policy goals, and the success of such initiatives depends on the quality of the activities introduced during the extended hours. Rather than merely lengthening the school day, reforms should focus on creating a space for holistic student development, integrating academic, social, and emotional support. In recent years, several countries, including Austria, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Mexico, Portugal, and Uruguay, have restructured and extended school hours. In the United States, where many schools already offer extracurricular activities, longer school days have been leveraged to promote equity and provide tailored support to meet students' diverse needs. However, extending school hours alone does not guarantee better learning outcomes. Successful implementation requires thoughtful planning, including adjustments to physical spaces, group sizes, staff qualifications, and resources like school meals and materials. The key to achieving desired outcomes lies in making the extended hours meaningful, with engaging and well-structured activities that address students' needs. Educational authorities will need to support schools through this transition, providing teachers, school leaders, and staff with opportunities to enhance their pedagogical skills. Equally important is building partnerships with parents to ensure that learning continues at home.
Albania already has a foundation for reform, with existing programs such as “Doing Homework at School,” the “JOM Programme,” and the “School as a Community Centre” initiative. These initiatives provide a basis for further development of after-school programs and extended school hours, offering opportunities for both boys and girls by creating an environment that supports both academic growth and social cohesion.

Scope of work:
MOES aims to develop an efficient and equitable program for after school to increase in children’s (boys and girls) of compulsory school the social and academic outcomes.
UNICEF Albania is supporting the Ministry of Education and Sports and will engage an international consultant which will design an after-school model that aims to increase in boys and girls the foundational skills, life skills, as well social emotional learning with a focus on girls and boys alike.

Main tasks:
- Desk review of the best international and national practices on the after-school programs related to the compulsory school as well on the Albanian legal framework.
- Review the relevant legal and policy framework in Albania to ensure alignment with the country’s educational regulations and strategic objectives.
- Conduct interviews with local actors such as children coming from various background, youth, teachers, parents (mother and fathers), psychologist, school directors, ASCAP staff, MOES staff, and other line ministries involved.
- Develop an after-school program based on the best international and national practices.

The program should include:
- Main stages for implementation from pilot to large scale,
- Different scenarios, roles and responsibilities within the school,
- Relationship with parents and communities,
- A gender responsive program/curriculum for implementing it in the school.
- Highlight the mechanisms that schools have in place to identify and refer cases of physical and online violence within the afterschool programme

Deliverable 1
- Deliver an inception report, detailing: Desk review summary, best practices, detailed methodology, workplan and timeline

Tasks:
- A desk review of all relevant documents (Albanian legal and normative education framework, studies as well international studies on extended school hours and after-school programs).
-Organize an online call with UNICEF and MOES staff to discuss on the work plan.
- Draft and finalize the inception report, based on feedback from UNICEF.

Delivery deadline:
7 November 2024 (from residence) - 6 working days

Deliverable 2
-Develop a detailed outline of the final report and summary of consultations

Tasks:
Conduct a field visit in Albania:
- Consultation meetings with UNICEF, staff.
- Conduct 6 in-depth interviews with the main education actors at national and local level (MOES, ASCAP, Local Education Offices).
- Organize 3 focus group discussions with young people (both boys and girls) in various municipalities.
- Organize 3 focus group discussions with parents, teachers, school directors, school social worker and psychologist.

Delivery deadline:
25 November 2024 (from Albania) - 7 working days

Deliverable 3:
- Submit the final report with the proposed gender responsive after school program in Albania based on the best national and international practices

Tasks:
-Draft the final report with the proposed after school programme in Albania and share it for feedback with UNICEF.
- Incorporate the feedback from UNICEF, MOES and other stakeholders.

Delivery deadline:
15 December 2024 (from Albania) - 12 working days

How can you make a difference? 

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

- Advanced university degree in Education, Social Sciences, or other relevant science.
- At least 10 years of professional experience in education policy development, curricula development after school programs and curriculum development/review.
- Proven track record in social-emotional learning, and foundational skills development.
- Excellent inter-personal and written communication skills in English language.
- Strong skills in program evaluation and data-driven decision making.
- Excellent communication, report writing, and stakeholder engagement skills.
- Proven ability to design scalable programs with clear implementation phases.
- Previous working experience in working with UNICEF and in Albania will be an advantage;

What to submit:
1. Letter of interest, summarizing the educational background, the working experience that is relevant to the
assignment, and the specific role the candidate will play.
2. Proposed methodological approach as for deliverables set forth.
3. Updated Resume
4. Financial proposal

The financial proposal shall be submitted in USD, and must include the consultancy fee, the communication costs
and all other individual expenses or applicable costs. The travel lump sum will be defined by the consultant in the
financial offer in USD as a separate line.
The financial proposal must be broken down for deliverables.

If any question related to the TOR of this assignment, please contact Erjola Themeli at ethemeli@unicef.org

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.