Summary
Date Posted: Monday, August 10, 2020 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Terms of Reference:
Needs Assessment on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) for Learners with Disabilities in Eastern and Southern African countries.
Call for NATIONAL Consultants:
Eswatini, Malawi, Tanzania and Zanzibar, Zambia and Zimbabwe
1.Background
The O3 programme, and its acceleration builds on current efforts by UNESCO to improve sexual and reproductive health, as well as gender equality and education outcomes for adolescents and young people.
The programme follows a 3-tier system with programme acceleration countries at the top followed by focus countries and then networking countries. This 3-tier system will allow countries to learn from each other as they work towards national coverage. Institutionalizing the CSE programs will ensure governments provide domestic funding and contribute to fully scaled up CSE interventions.
UNESCO is scaling up the current programme to sub-Saharan Africa by implementing programmes designed to:
1. Secure and sustain strong political commitment and support for adolescents’ and young people’s access to comprehensive sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health services across sub-Saharan Africa.
2. Support the delivery of accurate, rights-based and good quality comprehensive sexuality education programmes that provide knowledge, values, and skills essential for safer behaviours, reduced adolescent pregnancy, and gender equality.
3. Ensure that schools and community environments are safer, healthier, and inclusive for all young people.
4. Strengthen the evidence base on comprehensive sexuality education and safer school environments.
1.1 Delivery of CSE under the O3 Programme:
Through the O3 programme acceleration, UNESCO is supporting the delivery of CSE that aims to equip children and young people with knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that will empower them to realize their health, well-being and dignity. It aims to develop respectful social and sexual relationships; consider how their choices affect their own wellbeing and that of others; and understand and ensure the protection of their rights throughout their lives. Through the O3 programme, UNESCO is working to ensure that the CSE delivered is gender transformative, through addressing unequal or harmful gender norms, questioning gender stereotypes, and preparing children to face gender-based violence both inside and outside of schools.
UNESCO recognizes that school settings provide an important opportunity to reach large numbers of young people with sexuality education before they become sexually active, as well as offer an appropriate structure within which to receive CSE systematically over time. Teachers remain central to the process given their critical role in effective delivery of sexuality education with the right knowledge, skills and comfort levels. This information guides the learners through adolescence and enables them to make responsible decisions that impact their current and future sexual and reproductive health and overall well-being. Likewise, adequate preparation of teachers ensures delivery of accurate and age-appropriate CSE information to learners for responsible decision making regarding their SRH needs. In 2019, UNESCO developed a CSE In-person Training Module for In-Service teachers which is being rolled out in 2020 to all ESA countries
1.1.1 Key thematic areas for comprehensive sexuality education:
Comprehensive sexuality education has been defined by UNESCO as:
CSE covers sexual and reproductive health issues, including sexual and reproductive anatomy and physiology; puberty and menstruation; reproduction contraception, pregnancy and childbirth; and STIs, including HIV and AIDS. ‘Comprehensive’ also refers to the breadth and depth of topics and to content that is consistently delivered to learners’ overtime, throughout their education, rather than a one-off lesson or intervention. It includes other life skills for health and well-being in relation to: sexuality, human rights, a healthy and respectful family life and interpersonal relationship, personal and shared values, cultural and social norms, gender equality, non-discrimination, sexual behaviour, violence and gender-based violence (GBV), consent and bodily integrity, sexual abuse and harmful practices such as child, early and forced marriage ) and female genital mutilation/cutting (UNESCO,2017)
1.2 Children with disabilities and provision of CSE
UNESCO acknowledges the existing gap in the delivery of CSE to learners with special educational needs and disabilities. At the centre of this gap is the lack of training that teachers of learners with special educational needs and disabilities have when it comes to delivery of CSE.
Whilst the new ITGCSE is aimed at all children and young people, UNESCO recognises they need to be complemented with tools that are focused on the needs of teachers working with learners with special educational needs and disabilities.
2 The Assignment
2.1 Needs Assessment
The overall aim of the assessment is to understand the current state of delivery of CSE to learners with disabilities in ESA countries and most importantly the needs of learners with disabilities with regards to CSE.
This needs assessment will then inform the next steps of delivery of inclusive CSE to learners with disabilities in the UNESCO ESA region. .

Specific objectives:
1. To explore perspectives to the provision of CSE to learners with disabilities amongst teachers, teacher educators , caregivers, and other key stakeholders including DPOS and NGOs.
2. To capture how CSE is currently being delivered for learners with disabilities in formalised education settings including (1) mainstream and (2) special settings.
3. To identify current needs, challenges and opportunities of learners of diverse disability types specifically in relation to CSE, from the perspective of children and their guardians/caregivers, and Teachers cahers/teacher educators and other KIs
a. In relation to curricula
b. In relation to pedagogy (including teaching and learning materials)
c. In relation to broader school culture
4. To identify the support teachers and schools need to ensure the effective delivery of inclusive CSE to learners with disabilities, and how this should be best provided.
5. To map out organizations that offer services to children with disabilities on CSE or elements of CSE, not restricted to the education sector, but could include community settings/public health etc.
6. Based on findings make recommendations on the pathway to delivery of CSE in the ESA region: this should include recommendations of who to engage with, mechanisms for delivery, examples of existing materials.
2.2 Specific responsibilities of National Consultant
The national consultant/consultancy organisation will be responsible for collecting data at a national level in each of the following countries: Eswatini, Malawi, Tanzania & Zanzibar, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
1. The national consultant/consultancy organisation will collaborate with the overall lead consultant and the UNESCO national programme officer. This will require regular calls /on-line coordination.
2. Facilitate the ethics process in-country for the local research.
3. Work in close collaboration with a focal point DPO which will provide support for the research.
4. Conduct 10-12 key informant interviews with the following:
• Ministry officials with responsibility for disability
• Ministry officials with responsibility of education and specifically, CSE
• Representatives from teacher training tertiary institutions, including any department of special needs
• Representatives of civil society NGOs/INGO, especially Organisations of persons with disabilities (DPOs) working with learners with disabilities and parent associations.
5. Focus group discussions with the following:
• 4-6 FGDs Teachers/ school heads in mainstream schools which include children with disabilities, and special schools . This may be combined or replaced with individual interviews and small group discussion, dependent on whether schools are operational during the data collection phase.
• 4-6 FGDs Learners with disabilities. It is expected that FGDs with children with disabilities will be conducted in close collaboration with a local DPO/NGO and/or local schools. We may consider a combination of small groups discussions and/or individual interviews if there FGDs are not possible with COVID. It is likely
• 4-6 FGDs with parents of learners with disabilities. This may be combined or replaced with individual interviews, as necessary with COVID.
6. Coordinate with the local DPO/school to ensure interviews are inclusive, for example, arranging for a sign language interpreter to be available for interviews with deaf students, for example. For key informant interviews it would be expected that arrangements are made for sign language interpreters, where needed.
7. Record and write up detailed notes from interviews.
8. Conduct an analysis of key themes. The overall framework for analysis will be provided by the lead consultant, to ensure consistency across the country reports. There will be an initial review phase of key themes per country, before the final analysis and write up is completed.
9. Contribute towards the collection of relevant information and data on the wider context of childhood disability in each country. This will include:
• (1) providing an overview of the structure of special education in the national context. For example, data on numbers of special schools, integrated schools, resource centres in mainstream schools, where data is available.
• (2) a brief overview of the teacher training provision for children with disabilities/special needs. To include both initial teacher training provision as well as the main approaches to continuous professional development in country and/or at a regional level. To also include any specific information on CSE during training.
• (3) share and collate any local research or evaluations conducted in relation children with disabilities and CSE.
• (4) a light review of key education strategies , and policies in relation to learners with disabilities at both primary and secondary education level and provide a synthesis of the key relevant documentation. Detail on any curricula on CSE within special education needs framework.
• Provide a mapping of key players in disability and working on CSE in the national context, with some recommendations of who to be engaged with for a future
10. To prepare a final country report , which will follow an agreed format, and which will feed into an overall final report for the five countries. 11. Work with the lead consultant who will pr
ovide support for the data collection and analysis, including provision of interview guides, and format for reporting. It is anticipated that the national consultant will work in collaboration with the lead consultant and will also attend some regular webinars to ensure consistency in approach in this regional piece of research.
2.3 Data collection during the COVID-19 Period
• Due to the challenges of working brought by COVID-19, the consultant/consultancy agency will work with the National Programme Officers (NPOs), the lead consultant, and the local DPO, on the modalities of data collection in the context of social distancing. This may mean that some interviews are conducted using phone, and software such as Skype and Zoom. The focus group discussions will be conducted through existing groups and forums where possible, and may need to be replaced by on-line small group discussion, where WIFI permits, and/or mix of individual interviews. There will need to be an ongoing review of the possibilities of for data collection in light of COVID-19, and an expectation of flexibility in the approach to local data collection.

2.4 Deliverables:
1. Draft outline of key emerging themes.
2. Draft Country Report and Final country report
2.5 Timeframe:
1. It is anticipated that data collection between September –-October 2020, although this will be dependent on the ethics processes and COVID-19 and there may need to some flexibility. A final report to be due by the end of October.
2. Estimated number of days per country: 20
3. A provision will be made for extra days in case of COVID-19 related delays.

Job Skills: Not Specified

Skills and experience
• UNESCO welcomes proposals from individual consultants
• UNESCO is looking for a consultant(s) who has experience of:
• Prior experience of conducting research or evaluations in the field of education.
• Ideally has conducted research or evaluations in the field of special education, with children with disabilities.
• Has previous experience of conducting qualitative research with children, and it would be desirable to have experience of working with/conducting research children with disabilities
• You will need to be able to conduct interviews in different formats; face to face, phone, zoom interviews etc.
• You need to have a consultative approach, geared towards working as a team with the lead consultant, and in partnership with the local DPO and the UNESCO NPO.
• We anticipate that in this time of COVID-19, that any consultant/s will need to allow for some flexibility
• Experience of writing high quality reports, in English. Please provide and example of this.

Job Education Requirements: Not Specified

Job Experience Requirements: Not Specified

Work Hours: 8

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Job application procedure
Proprietary rights
Outputs delivered under this consultancy contract will remain the property of UNESCO.
How to Apply
Interested Consultants from Eswatini, Malawi, Tanzania and Zanzibar, Zambia and Zimbabwe who meet the set criteria based on the Terms of Reference can submit their resume and short proposal for the assignment via email to: vacancies.harare@unesco.org  copying r.matambo@unesco.org  . Please indicate your daily/monthly rate (in USD and local equivalent) to undertake the assignment above within the proposal (including admin cost if applicable). The resume and short proposal should be accompanied by a copy of a recent evaluation or report.
Applications are to reach UNESCO no later than 14 August 2020 (Midnight Harare time).
For a pdf version of the Terms of Reference please follow the link below:
  https://en.unesco.org/news/call-consultants-needs-assessment-cse-learners-disabilities   

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