Consultancy - Technical Assistance to review the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centres Registration and Assessment System of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, Namibia, and for capacity development of relevant Ministry's officials
- Référence cDiscussion: 1052581
- Publié le: 08/07/2019 à 11h58min54s
- Niveau d'études: Non précisé
- Expérience: 5 ans
- Expire le: 21-07-2019
UNICEF
Namibie
Humanitaire (ONG, Associations, ...), Projet/programme de développement
Consultancy - Technical Assistance to review the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centres Registration and Assessment System of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, Namibia, and for capacity development of relevant Ministry's officials
Job Number: 523663 | Vacancy Link
Locations: Africa: Namibia
Work Type : Consultancy
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PART I |
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Title of Assignment |
Individual Technical Assistance to review the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centres Registration and Assessment System of the the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, Namibia, and for capacity development of relevant Ministry's officials |
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Section |
CSD |
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Location |
Namibia |
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Duration |
4 Months (80 days) |
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Start date |
From 15/08/2019 |
To: 31/12/2019 |
Background and Justification
1. Background:
Every child deserves the best start in life. There is strong evidence that the early years from conception up to the age of 8 years are very critical in terms of building a strong foundation for healthy development, lifelong learning and well-being, successful communities, economic productivity, and harmonious civil societies. With quality implementation, integrated early childhood development is a highly effective and cost-efficient approach to ensure that all children develop their full potential. In 2010 WHO indicated that there is strong evidence that quality service provision, including robust parenting programmes, are effective in preparing the child for lifelong learning and development. The first 1000 days, which cover the period from conception to a child's second birthday, is known as the critical window of opportunity because it is within this time frame that learning challenges and the negative effects of malnutrition can be prevented or reversed, and is a period when the child's critical skills are developed. The 2017 Lancet series on ECD stressed that the human brain develops faster between conception and the ages of 2-3 than at any other time in life. It further points out that it is during the first 1000 days that a childs development responds most readily to nurturing care in terms of health, nutrition, responsive care giving, safety and security, and early learning. The agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calls for nations to ensure that children survive and thrive. In particular SDG Goals 4.2. (education); 3.2 (health); 2.2 (nutrition) and 16.2 (protection) address key outcomes to realise young children's developmental potential[1]. 1] UNICEF Programme Guidance for Early Childhood Development, 2017.
Although Namibia has made commendable progress since independence in 1990, and has attained Upper Middle Income status, poverty remains very high in Namibia, with a big disconnect between economic development and social development, creating inequities among regions, ethnic groups and wealth quintiles. Disparities continue to persist in the provision of quality early childhood development (ECD) services, especially amongst the rural and poor communities. 14% of Namibia's population are under 5 years old and 87% of children between 0-4 years old do not attend any early childhood development centres while 60% of children of pre-primary age do not access pre-primary education. But Namibia's Fifth National Development Plan (NDP5) 2017/18-2021/22 has identified ECD as one of the contributing factors to harnessing the demographic dividends and contribute to human capital development.
In Namibia, ECD service provision falls under the responsibility of individuals (parents/educarers/caregivers), communities, churches and the private sector. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare (MGECW) has the mandate to register and supervise ECD centres notably their level of compliance with established minimum standards for ECD centres (Namibian Standards for ECD Centres, 2012). The Ministry also provides subsidies to educarers working in registered centres and having qualifications in ECD. There are 2,373 ECD centres operating in all the 14 regions of the country with 4,452 ECD Educarers providing services to 74,061 children from 6 months to 4 years old. More than 70% of ECD caregivers do not have the necessary qualifications and expertise in ECD which has a negative impact in terms of the early identification of special needs and early interventions. Negative experiences and lack of early interventions increases the risk for poor social and health outcomes, low educational attainment, economic dependency, etc. In addition, ECD centres are faced with challenges of obtaining relevant child stimulation and play materials to enhance holistic child development. Support from MGECW to ECD centres is limited due to insufficient human and financial resources, which has also resulted in lack of adequate monitoring of ECD service provision at centre and community level.
The European Union, through the 11th EDF Education Sector Reform Contract, in collaboration with UNICEF Namibia, is supporting the government, in particular the MGECW and the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture (MoEAC) to strengthen integrated ECD service delivery and pre-primary education outcomes. In particular, support is provided to the MGECW to enhance the implementation of the Integrated Early Childhood Development (IECD) Framework. The main aim is to strengthen multi-sectoral and inter-ministerial coordination in ECD service delivery at all levels. One of the key outcomes of the IECD Framework is to ensure quality ECD service provision and improved quality of data. The Ministry has therefore started with the process of revitalizing the ECD-Management Information System (ECD-MIS) including developing a decentralized web-based database. This database will house a component for inputing the registration status and the assessment scores of ECD centres..
2. Justification
As stipulated in the National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy of 2007, ECD centres should be registered with the MGECW for regulatory and oversight purposes. The Namibian Standards for Early Childhood Development Centres were developed in 2012 through a consultative process. They provide guidelines on how to establish an ECD centre before they can be registered with the Ministry while providing a certain standard of service, and protecting the rights of the children in the centre. In 2017, an on-line survey concluded that these ECD Standards are still very relevant but that they needed to be made more user friendly especially for those living in remote and low-literacy communities. And while the intention of opening ECD centres may be good, lack of adhering to the ECD standards poses a risk to the safety and well-being of the children.
The Standards were developed for the use by ECD centre manager and educarers for self-review, to identify strengths and weaknesses and to make plans for improvements. They are also the basis for the needed assessment done by the MGECW's officials before registration of the centres.
The current ECD Registration and Assessment system is a paper-based one that attempts to regulate the adoption of minimum standards for quality service provision in all ECD centres. In 2017, a revised ECD Centre Assessment Tool was designed and developed for use by the Community Liaison Officers (CLOs), or selected Assessors, at regional level. It was modelled on an international ECD Environment Rating Scale, which is recognised as a highly robust and reliable assessment instrument for ECD centres, and is used widely in a number of countries. In addition, the ECD Centre Assessment Tool is accompanied by a Step-by-Step Training Manual for Using the ECD Centre Assessment Tool. The Training Manual is designed to be self-explanatory for use by individual CLOs, or, it can be used to train groups of Assessors. This new Assessment tool adds further value by providing Educarers with an Improvement Plan, which is shared and discussed with them immediately after the Assessment has been conducted by the Assessor.
However, this developed tool still needs to go through a process of validation, testing, training and printing before being endorsed and disseminated for usage in Namibia. Validation should be done by a focused Working Group of ECD stakeholders, under the IECD National Committee. The tool should then be vigourously tested in a diverse range of locations as part of an iterative process that increases the tools reliability and ease of use. To roll-out the new ECD Centre Assessment Tool, a cascade training model to induct at least one CLO from each region as a Master Trainer of Assessors using the tool is to be adopted.
The Master Training should take place at national level and it needs to liase with the new ECD-Management Information System (ECD-MIS) so that there is an understading on how to enter the rating scores into the ECD Database and to see how registration status is allocated and to observe the printing of the ECD centre certificates. This will enable trainees to fully understand the current Registration and Assessment cycle.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, with the support of the EU and UNICEF, is seeking for an individual consultant to conduct the process of validation, testing and training of the ECD Centre Assessment Tool.
As part of this activity the consultant will also be expected to work closely with the developpers of the new ECD-Management Information System (ECD-MIS) on the e-component of Registration and Assessment of ECD centres and developing a fit-for-purpose work flow for registering, assessing,monitoring, reporting and if necessary de-registering centres based on their adherence to the standards.
Scope of Work
The consultant will be responsible for the process of validation, testing and training of the ECD Centre Assessment Tool. In particular, the consultant will be responsible for the following:
Produce an Inception Report with detailed information on the process of validation, testing and training of the ECD Centre Assessment Tool, including a plan on how the tool is going to be tested to ensure reliability and ease of use and how the trainings are to be conducted.
Conduct interviews with selected MGECW officials at national and regional level and with selected educarers in five regions to obtain information on how the new tool should be implemented.
Based on the information obtained, review and revise, if needed, the tool and the Training Manual, as well as the Improvement Plan.
Advise on the development of the associated database module and work with the software developers of the new ECD-Management Information System (ECD-MIS) to make sure that processes are decentralised, web-based and user-friendly.
In coordination with the software developers develop the following:
a work-flow for registration and assessment of centres.
a process for centre de-registration with clear justifications..
Train national and regional MGECW staff on the use of the ECD Assessment Tool, and other documents and work-flow for registration and assessment of centres.
Develop a simple monitoring and evaluation tool to oversee progress in monitoring and assessment, this can be based on reports developed through the database.
As some preliminary work has already taken place in the area of registration and assessment and database development, it is essential that the consultant ensures that all activities build on existing mechanisms wherever possible, especially centre numbers developed in the process of ECD-MIS revitalisation.
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Deliverable |
Number of days |
Due by |
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1. Inception report with detailed steps to be followed |
3 |
20 August 2019 |
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2. Testing and validation of ECD assessment tool |
15 (with consultations) |
10 September 2019 |
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3. Review of assessement tool and related documents (Training Manual, Improvement Plan) |
5 |
18 September 2019 |
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4. Development of work flow for registration and assessment of centre, and the process for centre de-registration with clear justifications |
10 |
1 October 2019 |
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6. Advising on database module development |
15 |
20 September 2019 |
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7. Training on the use of the ECD Assessment Tool, and other documents and work-flow for registration and assessment of centres. |
30 |
30 November 2019 |
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8. Brief end-of-consultancy report |
2 |
10 December 2019 |
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TOTAL |
80 days |
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Desired profile
UNICEF is seeking the services of an individual expert with the following qualifications and skills:
Advanced degree (Masters degree) in ECD, Education, Social Policy, Public Administration or related field.
Minimum 5 years of experience working in development field in Namibia or sub-Saharan country with similar dynamic, including with communities, government officials and high-level decision makers.
Demonstrated knowledge in working on stakeholder consultation and social behaviour communication change strategy development
Experience working in, particular in ECD, education, child health or other relevant sector in Namibia.
Solid knowledge of planning and operational management.
Demonstrated ability to develop, organise and implement effective workplans.
Strong analytical ability and capacity to prepare strategies and proposals.
Dynamic interpersonal and communication skills.
Energetic, creative and pragmatic.
Excellent writing skills.
Well organised.
Competent with digital technology.
Fluency in English.
The candidate selected will be governed by and subject to UNICEF's General Terms and Conditions for individual contracts.
Administrative issues
The Consultant will be contracted by UNICEF through a competitive bidding process. The consultant should be home-based with at least two in-country visits for initial consultations and for the purpose of conducting trainings. The consultant will be contracted by UNICEF but will work closely with the Directorate of Community Empowerment and the EU/UNICEF/ GRN project steering committee. The consultant will be supervised by the UNICEF ECD Officer and he/she will also report to the Chief of Child Survival and Development at UNICEF.
Conditions:
The contractor will work on its own computer(s) and will be home-based other than the minimum of 2 x in-country visits.
The contractor must be eligible to work in Namibia and are responsible for making their own visa arrangements.
UNICEF shall be entitled to all property rights, including but not limited to patents, copyrights and trademarks, with regard to material which bears a direct relation to, or is made in consequence of, the services provided to the Organization by the consultant. In certain cases, UNICEF would be prepared to share intellectual property rights, requiring at a minimum, that UNICEF must be acknowledged in all use and publications of the data generated under the present consultancy, and retains the right to use the data for further analysis and publication with acknowledgement of the research institution concerned.
Financial proposals must be inclusive of all costs including to-country and in-country travel.
Please also see UNICEF's Standard Terms and Conditions attached.
As per UNICEF DFAM policy, payment is made against approved deliverables. No advance payment is allowed unless in exceptional circumstances against bank guarantee, subject to a maximum of 30 per cent of the total contract value in cases where advance purchases, for example for supplies or travel, may be necessary.
Proposals should be submitted by close of business (17h00) on 18 July 2019. Proposals should include;
Interpretation of the ToR and deliverable (identify relevance or possible gaps),
Brief proposal outlining approach to undertaking activities detailed including travel plan and proposed training plan,
Consultancy profile and summary of similar work completed, examples of previous work to be included.
Detailed budget including travel. Tax to be included as separate line item.
Applications submitted without financial proposals will not be considered.
4. Evaluation weighting
70% technical
30% financial
100% total
5. Conditions
The contractor will work on its own computer(s) and use its own office resources and materials in the execution of this assignment.
The contractor's fee shall be inclusive of all office administrative and travel costs including any visas required.
The contractor must be eligible to work in Namibia and will be responsible for making their own visa arrangements.
UNICEF shall be entitled to all property rights, including but not limited to patents, copyrights and trademarks, with regard to material which bears a direct relation to, or is made in consequence of, the services provided to the Organization by the consultant. In certain cases, UNICEF would be prepared to share intellectual property rights, requiring at a minimum, that UNICEF must be acknowledged in all use and publications of the data generated under the present consultancy, and retains the right to use the data for further analysis and publication with acknowledgement of the research institution concerned.
For every Child, you demonstrate…
UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
Remarks:
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
Closing Date Sun Jul 21 2019 22:55:00 GMT+0100 (Afr. centrale Ouest)