1.0 Introduction
Since 2022, UNESCO through the Capacity Development for Education (CapED) Programme has been supporting the Ministry of Education, through the Directorate of Teacher Education and Specialized Services to develop the gender sensitive/responsive comprehensive teacher policy to address teacher quantity and quality challenges and contribute towards the delivery of quality education at all levels. Leading Government institutions which have supported this process include the Teaching Council of Zambia and Teaching Service Commission. Further, the process has been collaborative with teacher unions, civil society organisations working in the education sector and cooperating partners all involved.
Since inception, key milestones have been achieved and these include i) national stakeholder consultation meeting held in December 2022, which fostered the national buy-in as well as the roadmap to guide the teacher development process and ii) the capacity building workshop held in June 2023, through which nominated members of the technical committee were trained and empowered with relevant information and knowledge on the process of developing the comprehensive teacher policy. In December 2023, a comprehensive diagnostic study on teacher quality issues was then commissioned to generate data and evidence to inform the policy development process. Its report was validated and approved by a broad range of education stakeholders at a meeting held on 10th May in Lusaka, Zambia.
The next step therefore is to develop a comprehensive National Teacher Policy which will aim to address key issues related to teacher recruitment, training, deployment, remuneration, and professional development. It is envisaged that with the comprehensive teacher policy in place, MoE will be better positioned to attract, develop, and retain effective and quality teachers for improved education service delivery.

2.0 Purpose of the national teacher policy for Zambia
The overall objective and purpose of the National Teacher Policy for Zambia is to provide a comprehensive framework and direction to the Government, civil society organisations and other education development partners towards managing the teaching profession for quality education. This policy aims to enhance the quality of education by addressing key issues such as teacher recruitment, training, deployment, professional development, and retention. The policy seeks to ensure that teachers are well-prepared, motivated, and adequately supported to deliver high-quality education to students across the country. Key objectives include improving teacher welfare, ensuring equitable distribution of teachers, enhancing teacher performance, and promoting continuous professional development.

3.0 Purpose of the national consultancy
The purpose of this consultancy is to support the development of the comprehensive national teacher policy for Zambia to provide guidance on how to attract, manage, and retain effective and quality teachers for improved education service delivery at all levels in Zambia. Key milestones will include two technical workshops, developing of the teacher policy, provincial consultations and national validation. To successfully undertake this assignment, the national level consultant will be supported by the international expert who will enrich the process by remotely providing technical support, including good practices from several other countries and contexts and ensure quality control of the key deliverables as required in line with the specific tasks.
Building on the work that has been previously accomplished on the diagnostic study, this assignment aims at producing a high quality, evidence informed comprehensive national teacher policy which will form the basis for the provision of quality education in Zambia.

4. Specific tasks
Under the framework of the UNESCO Programme “Capacity Development for Education (CapED) in Zambia, under the overall authority of the Director of the UNESCO Regional Office Southern Africa (ROSA) and the direct supervision of the Chief of Section for Education UNESCO ROSA, Harare, the national CapED Coordinator based in Lusaka, Zambia and in collaboration with The Section for Teacher Education Development (TED), the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030, CapED team at HQ and UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA); the international consultant will be required to undertake tasks contributing to three key deliverables and the following are the specific tasks:

*Task 1: Review the diagnostic study, existing literature, policies, reports to guide the development of policy priorities, innovations and best practices for the various teacher policy dimensions that can be adopted for the Zambian context. The key activities under this task include the following;

• Review the diagnostic study on the current state of the teaching profession in Zambia; existing policies, reports, frameworks and other relevant documents related to teacher management and development to outline the key components of the national teacher policy including the policy goals, objectives, priorities, actions, and strategies;
• Identify best ways to address the gender equity and inclusivity gaps in the new national teacher policy for Zambia;
• Benchmark on current best practices and innovative solutions that can be adapted to the Zambian context in strengthening the teaching profession.

*Task 2: Lead the process of developing the comprehensive national teacher policy in Zambia and its implementation plan. The key activities under this task include the following;

• Support the development of a concept note and agenda for the first technical writing workshop technical workshop/meeting aimed at reviewing and identifying key teacher policy dimensions for the comprehensive teacher policy for Zambia;
• Organize and facilitate the first technical writing workshop (2-3 days) with MoE and members of the national technical committee to draft the policy vision, mission, goals, objectives, priorities, actions, and strategies using the findings of the diagnostic study and stakeholder inputs;
• Develop an initial draft of the national teacher policy based to be submitted for validation and consensus building and its accompanying PowerPoint presentation;
• Organize and facilitate the second technical writing workshop (2-3 days) with MoE and members of the national technical committee to finalise the drafting the policy goals, objectives, priorities, actions, and strategies and brainstorm on the policy implementation plan;
• Organize and facilitate the at least two provincial level validation workshops (2 days) with MoE and other relevant stakeholders to present the draft national teacher policy and its implementation plan for validation;
• Revise/consolidate the complete draft of the comprehensive national teacher policy and its implementation plan based on the feedback from the first validation workshop
• Organize and facilitate a national stakeholder validation workshop (2 days) with all relevant stakeholders to present the final draft national teacher policy and its implementation plan for validation;
• Finalise the comprehensive national teacher policy based on the feedback received during the national validation workshop to prepare a version that will be submitted for internal approval in the MOE and Cabinet through the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education

*Task 3: Prepare workshop reports and a process of developing the comprehensive national teacher policy in Zambia and its implementation plan.
The following are the specific tasks:

• Support UNESCO CapED team to plan and organise meetings and execute any other tasks as required. This will include developing detailed agenda for the technical workshop/meeting aimed at reviewing and identifying key teacher policy dimensions for the comprehensive teacher policy for Zambia
• Support the facilitation of the 1st technical workshop with MoE and members of the national technical committee on the comprehensive teacher policy development to review and identify/prioritise key teacher policy dimensions for the comprehensive teacher policy for Zambia.
• Produce a technical and synthesized summary workshop report with detailed evidence drawn rationale for each selected policy dimension and options with clearly associated policy implications and recommendations
• Support the facilitation of the 2nd technical workshop to develop a detailed outline of the comprehensive national teacher policy covering the agreed teacher policy dimensions. Planning meetings will include development of workshop agenda, presentations and tools to guide the process
• Develop the comprehensive national teacher policy based on the agreed teacher policy dimensions as informed by the findings of the diagnostic study following the agreed detailed outline developed during the 2nd workshop
• Initial validation meetings: Present the full draft comprehensive national teacher policy, first the national technical/steering commitee followed by another presentation to UNESCO CapED team. Feedback from these two separate meetings will be incorporated into the draft comprehensive teacher policy
• Support the development of relevant tools, materials and presentations to facilitate provincial consultations on the draft comprehensive teacher policy for Zambia. With UNESCO participation, the national consultant will lead members of the technical committee mobilised to facilitate provincial consultations on the draft comprehensive national teacher policy
• Participate and support UNESCO, MoE and technical committee in conducting at least 2 provincial consultations on the draft comprehensive national teacher policy for Zambia
• Develop, submit and present the report of the provincial consultations on the draft comprehensive national teacher policy to technical and steering committee members and other stakeholders
• Revise/consolidate the complete draft of the comprehensive national teacher policy based on the feedback from the provincial consultations
• Final national validation workshop: Support the facilitation of the national workshop to validate the comprehensive teacher policy with the involvement of key stakeholders involved
• Finalise the comprehensive national teacher policy based on the feedback provided during the national validation workshop. This workshop will then be followed by the approval process of the policy by Government through the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education

5.0 Qualifications, work experience and desired skills

Minimum of master’s degree in education with bias on education policy formulation and teacher education or related field.
Demonstrate adequate technical capacity to complete the assignment on time as will be prescribed in the contract.
Specifically, the individual national consultant is expected to be a dynamic education expert and able to meet the following aspects of the selection criteria:
i. At least 10 years of work experiences in executing educational research, development of education sector policies and frameworks and policies, conceptualizing, designing, or managing projects in education, particularly in teacher education.
ii. Good understanding of the education issues in the Zambia sector landscape specifically on teacher education, curriculum development and teaching pedagogies.
iii. Demonstrate working knowledge of laws and practices relevant to teacher policies, even if limited to one area.
iv. Demonstrate sound understanding and application of policy concepts, methodologies and tools the teacher policy dimensions namely: teacher recruitment and retention, teacher education (initial and continuing), deployment, career structures/paths, teacher employment and working conditions, teach reward and remuneration, teacher standards, teacher accountability, school governance and ICT for teachers
v. Good analytical and report writing skills.
vi. Proven experience and ability to communicate, negotiate and work closely with the government counterparts and education partners.
vii. Proof of experience in collecting data in schools and a good knowledge of the associated practical and ethical considerations.
viii. Experience with using electronic data collection tools and strong experience in data analysis using statistical techniques, formulas, and calculations to help draw inferences and conclusions.
ix. Strong statistical skills including knowledge of applications such as EPI Info, CS Pro, STATA 11 and or SPSS.
x. Strong oral and written communication skills in English within and similar work experience in African regions would be considered a plus.
xi. Previous consultancy work experience with UNESCO or another UN institution, or any other international agencies would be an asset.

6.0 Timeline and expected deliverables:
In line with the purpose and above specifics tasks, the national consultant and international consultant will be expected to jointly submit the following deliverables. The contract will be valid
Submission of the (inception report) first technical workshop report of the reviewed and identified/prioritized teacher policy dimensions and evidence-based policy options and potential implications. This report should be based on national and international experience, evidence and potential results of the comprehensive teacher policy for Zambia with the involvement of MoE and members of the national technical committee members by 15 November 2024
Submission of the final report of the second technical workshop with a detailed outline for the Comprehensive national teacher policy covering the agreed teacher policy dimensions by end of February 2025
Submission of the first draft comprehensive national teacher policy covering all aspects of the agreed teacher policy dimensions. Relevant tools, materials and presentations for the provincial consultations will be submitted together with this draft policy by end of June 2025
Submission of the validated and final comprehensive national teacher policy with incorporated feedback from the provincial consultations and national validation workshop. Final policy will be submitted together with a short process report and Power Point presentation of the key aspects of the comprehensive national teacher policy by 30th August 2025 with effect from 15th September 2024.

7.0 Contract Management
The individual consultant’s final accountability will be with UNESCO. Under the direct supervision of the CapED National Coordinator based in Lusaka, Zambia and the overall supervision of UNESCO ROSA, the individual consultant will work in close collaboration with the global coordination team of the CapED Programme, including the Section for Teacher Development (TED) and UNESCO’s International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA). The individual consultant will also be supported by the international consultant throughout the period of this assignment. The consultancy will be for 30 working days and validate from 15th September 2024 to 30th August 2025.
The consultant will work closely with MoE particularly, Directorate of Teacher Education and Specialized Services, Directorate of Finance, Directorate of Human Resources, Teaching Council of Zambia, Teaching Service Commission and Teacher unions. Additionally, the national consultant will engage and collaborate with members of the national steering technical committee for the comprehensive national teacher policy development process including Cooperating partners and Civil Society Organizations as need arise.

8.0 Deadline for submission of application:
Interested persons/consultants (Zambians) may submit their application letter with updated CV to UNESCO using the following email addresses to b.samu@unesco.org and keep in copy (cc) k.mwila@unesco.org by 15th August 2024.