Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)
Duty Station: Dakar
Classification of duty station: [[filter12]]
Standard Duration of Assignement : [[filter13]]
Job Family: Education
Type of contract : Non Staff
Duration of contract : From 7 to 11 months
Recruitment open to : External candidates
Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 25-FEB-2025
UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism
With more than 50 years of experience developing the capacity of member states, IIEP-UNESCO is the only specialized organization with the mandate to support education policy, planning and management in the UN system. IIEP-UNESCO Regional Office for Africa contributes to this mission by producing rigorous analysis and data-driven evidence, developing cutting-edge analytical tools, and delivering technical assistance to identify, facilitate and promote the adoption of effective solutions to Africa's most pressing educational challenges. Through its Research and Development program (R&D), IIEP-UNESCO Dakar is actively involved in the curation, generation, refinement, and expansion of bodies of knowledge for the strengthening of education decisions and policy making in Africa. At the backbone of its strategy and commitment to reducing inequalities in education, IIEP Dakar ensures the technical lead of the Gender at the Centre Initiative - CGI. Launched in 2019 at the G7 Summit, the GCI aims to strengthen the gender mainstreaming capacities of education system stakeholders and support the development of resources to achieve gender equality in and through education.
Women in Learning Leadership (WiLL) is a joint initiative of IIEP-UNESCO, the Gender at the Center Initiative, and UNICEF - Innocenti - Global Office of Research and Foresight. Through an approach that combines the co-creation of evidence with national capacity development, hand in hand with Ministries of Education and partners, WiLL seeks to promote the adoption of best school leadership practices while promoting equitable gender representation in school management positions in low- and middle-income countries. Combining quantitative and qualitative methods, the research will focus on examining the opportunities and challenges concerning female school leaders, the promising interventions to advance women's participation in school leadership, and school leadership and management practices that prove effective to improve learning and well-being at school and reduce gender gaps. At the global and country levels, WiLL adopts an approach that combines research and policy dialogue to reduce gender disparities in school leadership and improve education opportunities and foundational learning for all girls and boys in sub-Saharan Africa. Madagascar, Benin, Ethiopia and Guinea are among the pilot countries of the WiLL-AGREE project (Women in Learning Leadership — Advancing Gender-Responsive Education using Evidence), a component of the WiLL initiative that has been funded by GPE-KIX since April 2024. Other countries, including Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire, have joined the initiative (with other funding).
IIEP-UNESCO Dakar is recruiting a consultant to support the WiLL research agenda.
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES
The consultant will work under the direct supervision and guidance of the GCI Lead and the overall authority of IIEP Dakar’s Head of Office. WiLL includes both global level research as well as country-specific activities. The consultant will be in charge of providing technical guidance to reach the project objectives.
Global research
Global research will be conducted mainly in partnership with the WiLL team at UNICEF Innocenti. The consultant will have to lead or contribute to:
Identification, creation and analysis of assessment tools for measuring gender-responsive education, successful management and leadership practices, gender responsive leadership practices and women’s participation. Identification and analysis of assessment tools for measuring gender norms, socio-emotional skills and children’s well-being at school. Analysis of education datasets and drafting policy briefs on school leadership and students’ outcomes.Country-level work
WiLL will be led by IIEP-UNESCO in Benin, Madagascar, Ivory Coast and Senegal. The consultant will lead or contribute to:
Analysis
Analysis of EMIS data, exam data and secondary data to define the best research strategy for WiLL-AGREE in Madagascar considering budget constraints. Analysis of primary data collected in Benin and Madagascar to examine school leadership practices and their links with teachers and students’ outcomes, as well as women’s participation in school leadership. Reports, policy briefs, blog posts, conceptual notes and research protocol writing of Benin and Madagascar. Develop materials to share exploratory analysis of Benin and Madagascar and results with partners. Provide technical guidance to new WiLL data collection and analysis conducted in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire.Data collection
At the country level, an important part of the work will be conducted in close collaboration with staff from the Ministries of Education in Benin, Madagascar, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire. Both qualitative and quantitative data collection are planned. Data collection activities will require the consultant to lead or participate in:
Managing ethical and legal protocols to conduct in-country research. Establishing the sampling strategy to collect quantitative and qualitative data at the school level (sampling method, sample size, weights). Drafting, revising and piloting quantitative survey questionnaires to be administered to headteachers, teachers and students. Developing implementation guidelines. Drafting, revising and piloting qualitative survey questionnaires to be administered to headteachers, teachers, community members and decentralized ministry officials. Developing implementation guidelines. Recruiting survey firms and training enumerators. Supervising data collection, data storage, data entry, anonymization and data cleaning.Project management
The consultant will contribute to the project management for IIEP-UNESCO. As such, he/she will be in charge of supporting the coordination with national counterparts, international organizations, bilateral agencies and other governmental and non-governmental organizations about the project. The consultant is expected to:
Work in close collaboration with the team at IIEP UNESCO and UNICEF-Innocenti. He/she will regularly report to his/her supervisor at IIEP-UNESCO Dakar, pointing and anticipating specific difficulties. Contribute to policy dialogue and research design workshops with officials from MoEs, civil society, local research networks and technical and financial partners. Liaise with and facilitate technical teams from MoE and country consultative groups in partner countries with the objective of fostering ownership of research by local stakeholders and to tailor the research to local priorities. Collaborate with WiLL national focal points, consultants and interns. Participate in GPE-KIX grantees activities as required. Participate in fund-raising efforts by identifying opportunities, co-writing fund-raising proposals, budgets and other material required for the process. He/she will identify potential funders, support presenting the project and adapt content as needed. Contribute to reporting activities, as well as specific monitoring and evaluation processes as asked by donors. Participate in capacity strengthening and knowledge mobilization events as required by the overall project and/or institution.