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Contract Duration: 12 Months

Working arrangement: Home Based

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UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to Education.

How can you make a difference?

Under the supervision of the Education Specialist, the consultant will provide overall programme management, coordination, and technical support for UNICEF's EdTech initiative aimed at improving foundational learning outcomes.

The consultant will support the planning, implementation, monitoring, and scale-up of technology-enabled learning interventions, ensuring alignment with national education priorities and evidence-based approaches to foundational literacy and numeracy.

The consultant will serve as the primary focal point for coordinating stakeholders, managing implementation timelines, ensuring quality delivery, supporting partners, monitoring programme performance, and identifying opportunities to strengthen the use of technology to improve teaching, learning, assessment, and teacher professional development.

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Scope of Work:

Nepal has made significant commitments to improving foundational learning outcomes as reflected in the School Education Sector Plan (SESP) and ongoing efforts to strengthen learning recovery, early grade literacy and numeracy, and equitable access to quality education.

Recognizing the potential of educational technology (EdTech) to expand access to quality learning opportunities, support teachers, and improve learning outcomes, UNICEF is supporting the Government of Nepal scale technology-enabled solutions that strengthen foundational literacy and numeracy. These efforts aim to support teachers and learners through the use of high-quality digital learning resources, innovative delivery approaches, technology-enabled teacher professional development, and data-driven decision-making.

By leveraging EdTech as an enabler of quality teaching and learning, the initiative seeks to accelerate progress towards improved foundational learning outcomes, particularly for the most vulnerable and underserved children.

Within this context, UNICEF seeks a consultant to provide overall programme management, coordination, monitoring, and implementation support to ensure the effective delivery, quality assurance, and sustainability of the EdTech for Foundational Learning initiative.

The consultant will be responsible for the following:

1. Programme Management and Coordination

• Lead the management and coordination of the EdTech and foundational learning initiative.

• Develop and maintain implementation plans, timelines, risk registers, and tracking systems.

• Coordinate with government counterparts, implementing partners, schools, development partners, and technical experts.

• Ensure timely delivery of project activities and achievement of agreed milestones.

• Facilitate regular planning, review, and coordination meetings.

• Identify implementation bottlenecks and propose corrective actions.

• Support procurement, contracting, and deployment processes related to digital learning solutions where required.

2. Technical Leadership for EdTech and Foundational Learning

• Provide technical guidance on the use of EdTech to improve foundational literacy and numeracy outcomes.

• Ensure that digital learning solutions are pedagogically sound and aligned with curriculum and foundational learning objectives.

• Review and advise on digital content, learning platforms, assessment tools, and teacher support resources.

• Support integration of child-centred, inclusive, and multilingual approaches within digital learning solutions.

• Identify and promote innovative and evidence-based EdTech practices suitable for the Nepal context.

• Ensure technology interventions support improved teaching and learning rather than focusing solely on technology deployment.

3. Partnership and Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as liaison between UNICEF, government stakeholders, implementing partners, and schools.

• Support engagement with federal, provincial, and local governments.

• Facilitate collaboration among technical partners involved in content development, teacher support, platform management, and monitoring.

• Support advocacy and communication efforts related to technology-enabled learning initiatives.

4. Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

• Develop and implement monitoring frameworks and performance indicators.

• Track progress against workplans, targets, budgets, and results frameworks.

• Establish systems to monitor programme reach, usage, quality, and learning outcomes.

• Analyze programme data and generate actionable recommendations.

• Support baseline studies, assessments, evaluations, and learning reviews.

5. EdTech Implementation and Quality Assurance

• Oversee implementation of digital learning solutions and ensure adherence to quality standards.

• Coordinate testing, piloting, and scale-up activities.

• Monitor user engagement and utilization of EdTech platforms and resources.

• Ensure accessibility, inclusion, and equity considerations are integrated into programme implementation.

• Support troubleshooting and resolution of implementation challenges.

• Document lessons learned and emerging good practices.

6. Teacher Professional Development and Capacity Strengthening

• Support development of strategies for teacher professional development using technology-enabled approaches.

• Guide implementation of virtual Communities of Practice and digital teacher support mechanisms.

• Oversee development and dissemination of training materials and digital resources.

• Support strengthening of capacities of government counterparts and implementing partners in EdTech programme management.

7. Knowledge Management and Documentation

• Document programme achievements, case studies, innovations, lessons learned, and challenges.

• Develop technical briefs, presentations, reports, and knowledge products.

• Support dissemination of evidence and learning generated through programme implementation with frequent travel to program areas.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here: Terms of Reference TMC0008185.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

Education:

Advanced university degree (master’s degree or higher) in Education, Curriculum Studies, Teacher Education, Educational Leadership, Educational Technology, or teaching qualifications like CELTA.

Work Experience:

Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible experience in education programmes, teacher professional development, or school improvement initiatives.

Proven experience managing large-scale education or EdTech programmes.

Demonstrated project management experience including planning, budgeting, implementation tracking, and stakeholder coordination.

Demonstrated experience in classroom observation, instructional coaching, mentoring, and teacher support.

Experience supporting implementation of integrated curricula and competency-based teaching approaches.

Strong experience in multilingual education and inclusive pedagogical approaches.

Proven experience in foundational literacy and numeracy programmes.

Experience designing and facilitating teacher training and professional development initiatives.

Experience facilitating Communities of Practice and virtual learning networks.

Experience supporting the integration of EdTech and digital learning solutions to improve teaching and learning outcomes.

Experience working with government education systems, schools, and development partners in Nepal.

Language Requirements:

Excellent spoken and written skills in both Nepali and English

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills:

Strong knowledge and understanding of:

Project and programme management.

Results-based management and monitoring.

Data analysis and performance management.

Stakeholder engagement and partnership management.

Foundational learning and early grade education.

Integrated curriculum implementation.

Multilingual and mother-tongue-based pedagogies.

Child-friendly, inclusive, and learner-centered teaching approaches.

Classroom observation, instructional coaching, and mentoring.

Teacher professional development and Communities of Practice.

Educational technology and digital learning solutions.

Desirables:

Prior work experience with UNICEF or other UN organizations is an asset.

Experience developing digital learning resources or supporting technology-enabled learning programmes.

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.

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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 TMC0008185.docx
A detailed technical proposal: Details on the approach used, timelines and expected objectives should be clearly mentioned.

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.

Program Coordinating Consultant, Kathmandu, Nepal, Remotely, 12 Months (Open only for Nationals of Nepal) Req#596773