Middle-level Consultant on Education
Organizational Context
UNESCO's Education Sector is addressing the challenge of educational exclusion, affecting an estimated 273 million children and youth globally. This exclusion spans from early childhood to tertiary education, with significant attrition rates in higher education. The issue arises from the complex interplay of learner profiles facing risks and systemic barriers, compounded by factors like poverty, disability, and displacement. Understanding these multifaceted challenges requires a holistic approach to learner trajectories.
Job Purpose
This consultancy aims to deepen the understanding of educational exclusion by focusing on data systems that track out-of-school children, dropout rates, and learner pathways across all education levels. The consultant will conduct a comprehensive literature review on existing approaches and tools, particularly those related to the UNESCO OOSCI framework. This will involve examining how these systems function and can be adapted beyond basic and secondary education, including early childhood care, TVET, and higher education. The purpose is to identify the capacities and enabling conditions necessary for effective data collection and utilization to inform policy and interventions, ultimately contributing to more inclusive and equitable education systems.
Responsibilities
The consultant will conduct a thorough literature review on data systems for tracking out-of-school children, dropout, and learner pathways, drawing on OOSCI documents and other relevant work. This review will examine approaches beyond basic and secondary education, including ECCE, TVET, and higher education, and identify system capacities and data gaps. Additionally, the consultant will prepare six country case studies on national data system capacities, primarily through desk review and remote interviews. These case studies will align with UNESCO's programme teams and cover diverse contexts. A cross-case synthesis of findings will be produced. Finally, the consultant will develop a module for the EMIS-PATT framework focused on out-of-school children and learning pathways, defining assessed capacities, producing a self-assessment matrix, facilitation guide, and roadmap template, and validating drafts with relevant teams.
Work Experience
A minimum of five years of relevant professional experience is necessary, specifically in the development of Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) or education data systems. This experience should include work with learner-level data, attendance monitoring, and dropout tracking.
Skills
Key skills include in-depth knowledge of the UNICEF and UNESCO OOSCI framework, proven expertise in quantitative and qualitative research, and experience developing analytical tools for national education systems. Familiarity with data systems for ECCE, TVET, or higher education, and early-warning systems for dropout is essential. Experience with international organizations is also highly valued.