Contract Duration – 4 months

Working arrangement: Home Based with travel

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TERMS OF REFERENCE

The Pakistan Institute of Education (PIE), established under the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (MoFEPT), houses the National Assessment Wing (NAW), which is mandated to design and implement assessments that measure student learning outcomes at national scale, including the National Achievement Test (NAT) and the Foundational Learning Study (FLS).

With technical support from the American Institutes for Research (AIR) delivered principally through Dr. Abdullah Ferdous, Principal Researcher/Psychometrician and funding channelled through the World Bank's Data & Research in Education (DARE) technical assistance programme, NAW/PIE has successfully developed, piloted and administered NAT-2026 and FLS-2026. FLS-2026 is Pakistan's first nationally representative assessment of Grade 3 literacy and numeracy, anchored in the Federal Foundational Learning Policy 2024 and designed for alignment with the Global Proficiency Framework (GPF) and Minimum Proficiency Levels (MPLs) so that Pakistan can report against SDG indicator 4.1.1.

Large-scale field administration of FLS-2026 has now been completed across public and private school networks, and the dataset is ready for psychometric analysis, scaling and national reporting. However, AIR's formally funded technical support concluded at the close of field administration, and the World Bank/DARE-funded scope does not extend to a number of technically critical, time-sensitive activities needed to convert the collected data into credible, internationally comparable national evidence, including extending large-scale administration to English-medium schools, completing psychometric analysis and benchmarking across all three languages of instruction (English, Urdu, Sindhi), and preparing the SDG 4.1.1 reporting documentation. NAW/PIE has formally requested continued technical support to close this gap.

The objective of this assignment is for UNICEF Pakistan to provide targeted technical assistance to NAW/PIE for the specific set of NAT- and FLS-related activities that fall outside the current World Bank/DARE scope, so that Pakistan's first national foundational learning evidence base is completed, benchmarked, and reported to international standards without loss of methodological continuity or delay.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here: TOR x TMC0007033.pdf

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have...

Minimum requirements:

Education: An advanced PhD university degree in psychometrics, educational measurement, statistics or a related field.
Work Experience: At least 10 years in large-scale learning assessment, including item response theory (IRT), item calibration, equating and scaling.
Skills (optional):
Benchmarking: Proven experience setting foundational learning benchmarks aligned with the GPF/MPL framework.
SDG reporting: Working knowledge of UIS/GAML technical criteria and SDG 4.1.1 reporting requirements.
Multilingual assessment: Experience designing and analysing assessments across several languages of instruction.
Regional experience: Experience in South Asia, and in working with national assessment bodies and ministries, is desirable.
Capacity building: A track record of building the capacity of government assessment teams.
Language Requirements: Excellent written and spoken English
Desirables:
Direct experience of the FLS-2026 instrument design, pilot analysis or large-scale administration is a strong asset.
Technical requirements:

Applicants should submit a technical proposal of no more than five pages. It should include:

Understanding of the assignment: A brief summary showing understanding of the FLS-2026 context, the assessment design and SDG 4.1.1 reporting requirements.
Methodology: The proposed approach to:
psychometric analysis, calibration, scaling and pilot-to-scale equating in English, Urdu and Sindhi
benchmark setting aligned with GPF/MPLs.
Work plan: A timeline matching the deliverables and deadlines in the ToR, including the two planned trips to Islamabad.
Capacity building: How knowledge transfer to NAW/PIE staff will be delivered.
Relevant experience: Two or three examples of similar assignments, with links to or samples of technical reports or SDG 4.1.1 documentation (where available).
Applicants should also attach a CV and a separate financial proposal showing:
the all-inclusive daily fee for the 100 input days
a lump-sum cost for each of the two trips

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
Cover letter
A separate financial proposal (only acceptable in the format of the linked template) Financial proposal for National candidate TMC0007033.docx, Financial proposal for International candidate TMC0007033.docx
A detailed technical proposal (Add if applicable)

Remarks: If the TOR or financial proposal documents are not downloadable on certain recruitment platforms, please visit our official page Vacancies | UNICEF Careers.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

Consultant -Senior Psychometrician for the Foundational Learning Study, Education section, Islamabad, Pakistan, 4 months (Remote with trip)