Education Sector Coordination International Consultant – Education Sector Thematic Working Group, ACO, 6 months

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Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

To provide coordination and secretarial support to the Education Sector Technical Working Group (Ed-STWG) in Afghanistan, ensuring the effective functioning of the platform for coordination and strategic reporting, leading consensus-building efforts, and facilitating the coordination of education sector interventions and grants. The consultant will support the strategic alignment of donor efforts, the regular tracking of sector activities including Education-sector grants, in particular those from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) through the UNESCO-led Local Education Group, which is part of Ed STWG.

This consultancy will strengthen partnerships, enhance the role of UNICEF as co-lead of the Ed-STWG, and support capacity-building for national and sub-national education sector coordination. The role of the consultant will therefore ensure that over a period of 6 months, the Education STWG transitions into a more nimble, efficient and unique platform for coordination and strategic engagement for the sector, bringing together coordination and reporting of the sector’s work within the basic human needs space and humanitarian work.

The consultancy will be home-based (with two missions: one to Kabul, Afghanistan, and one to Istanbul[1] or elsewhere for Ed STWG meeting)

 

Scope of Work:

Under the supervision of the UNICEF Education Manager, the consultant will be responsible for supporting the reform and coordination of the Ed-STWG and related tasks in alignment with UNICEF’s mandate in Afghanistan. The key responsibilities will include the following:

1. Ed-STWG Coordination, revised Membership & Governance

• Coordinate Ed-STWG membership processes, ensuring inclusive and balanced representation across stakeholders.
• Facilitate, convene, and build consensus among sector partners and de facto authorities as agreed upon by the Ed-STWG.
• Ensure coordinated involvement of all members, fostering dialogue and information exchange.
• Organize and lead online and in-person Ed-STWG meetings; ensure follow-up on all action points.
• Chair and coordinate agenda-setting for all Ed-STWG meetings, in consultation with the co-leads and relevant stakeholders. There is at least one meeting per month.
• Draft meeting agendas, seek consensus, and finalize with co-leads and members, playing the role of the groups’ secretariate.
• Organize donor-only meetings and provide technical support to the Ed-STWG.
• Draft meeting minutes, readouts, and action trackers and circulate them to members or sub-groups.
• Represent Ed-STWG in external meetings, ensuring alignment with sector goals and agreed mandates.
• Coordinate the proposal development for the Ed-STWG structure review and facilitate the integration of a bilateral partner (such as EU or FCDO) as a co-chair to strengthen co-leadership.

2. Strengthening UNICEF’s Role as Co-Lead & Enhancing Coordination Capacity

• Support UNICEF’s leadership role in co-leading the Ed-STWG and coordinating GPE and other education-related resources.
• Lead agenda development, meeting organization, minute drafting, and follow-up actions for all Ed-STWG meetings on behalf of UNICEF.
• Manage communication and information exchanges between co-leads, Ed-STWG members, ACG, and other education coordination bodies.
• Provide support and guidance to the Ed-STWG Technical Working Groups (TWGs), ensuring visibility of their work to all members.
• Facilitate capacity-building initiatives for education partners and TWGs.
• Mentor and support national and regional coordinators on partner coordination, in line with the sub-national coordination nexus approach.

3. GPE-Related Coordination

• Liaison with UNESCO as Chair for the GPE Local Education Group (LEG), and coordinating agency for the GPE Systems Capacity Grant (SCG): Ensure all GPE-related decisions and interactions are communicated and aligned with the Ed STWG, ensuring smooth communication between grant agents (UNICEF, Save the Children and AKF), coordinating agencies, Ed-STWG members, donors, and the GPE Secretariat.
• Facilitate the submission of GPE grants for UNICEF and ensure alignment with the Afghanistan Education Sector Strategic Plan (AESSP).
• Manage periodic reporting from Grant Agents (monthly, quarterly, and annual) to the Ed STWG and coordinate grant reviews and endorsement processes within the Ed-STWG.
• Convene periodic meetings with Grant Agents and coordinate GPE-related ad-hoc tasks as needed with relevant Ed STWG members.
• Ensure Ed-STWG reporting obligations to the Afghanistan Coordination Group (ACG) are met.

4. Communication, Reporting & External Engagement

• Maintain effective communication with all Ed-STWG members, donors, education authorities, and UN partners: this includes important reporting duties to ACG, UNCT, HCT and sometimes other UN agencies leading humanitarian work, such as OCHA.
• Ensure the dissemination of key coordination documents (e.g., agendas, minutes, reports, GPE updates).
• Represent Ed-STWG in external coordination forums, ensuring the platform’s interests are accurately represented.

5. Internal UNICEF Coordination & Joint Programme Oversight

• Ensure UNICEF’s Education Section remains closely connected to relevant UN coordination mechanisms (Ed-STWG, Education Cluster, ACG, STWGs).
• Oversee the planning, progress tracking, and reporting for UNICEF Education components of UN Joint Programs.

 

Work Assignments Overview	Deliverables/Outputs	Delivery Deadline
1. Ed-STWG Coordination & Membership	Finalize the revised structure of the EdSTWG, as well as the group’s ToRs, governance mechanisms and membership Develop all meeting agendas (both online and face to face), manage invites, note taking and reporting back: manage all secretarial functions for the group Draft meeting minutes, readouts, and action trackers	10 days for the first task, then 5 days each month for 6 months for all secretarial functions related to monthly meetings + ad hoc meetings
2. Organization of a face-to-face Ed STWG meeting in Istanbul or elsewhere (end of March 2026)	Prepare the face-to-face meeting and organize the logistics of the event Support the smooth running of the event itself Write the meeting report to capture proceedings, decisions, and future action points	5 days preparation, 5 days on site work, and 5 days for producing the event’s full report
3. Strengthening UNICEF’s Role as Co-Lead of the group	Lead capacity-building/orientations for relevant stakeholders on the new structure and role of the STWG, in particular the streamlining of humanitarian and basic human needs work under one platform. Finalize ad hoc briefing notes and Powerpoint presentations for various high-level platforms such as ACG, UNCT, HCT, UNAMA to align the structure, roles and responsibilities of the STWG with the reform of the overall International Aid Infrastructure	10 days: estimated need for the first 2 months only, in January and February 2026
4. GPE-Related Coordination	Support GPE-related interactions and reporting for UNICEF, and liaise with UNESCO in their role as Coordinating Agency for the System Capacity Grant  of GPE. Ensure coordination between the Local Education Group (LEG) and the Ed STWG Coordinate GPE grant submissions and reporting cycles for UNICEF	5 days per quarter for 2 quarters (Q1 and Q2)
5. Communication, Reporting & External Engagement	Maintain frequent and regular communication with relevant stakeholders: UN agencies, bilateral donors, IFIs, implementing partners such as INGOs and NNGOs Represent Ed-STWG in relevant forums (frequent ad hoc requests especially within the UN system in country)	3 days per month for 6 months
6. Internal UNICEF Coordination & Joint Programme Oversight	Oversee joint program progress tracking and reporting, on the Afghanistan Education Sector Plan for example, but also for all Technical Working Groups Ensure that all Data Hub information informs the groups decisions and reporting: this involves coordinating with at least two separate streams of data flows: from UNESCO and UNICEF on the monitoring of the sector’s agreed priorities under the Sector Plan, but also data flowing in from the humanitarian activities (Education Cluster, OCHA etc.).	5 days per month for 6 months

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

Applications must include:

• Cover letter.
• Resume.
• Samples of previous work.
• Financial offer in USD. (This should only be the day rate for working days. UNICEF will provide a daily subsistence allowance for calendar days spent in Afghanistan, including weekends, to cover out-of-pocket costs while in-country, including accommodation. Travel, international and local, will be reimbursed.)
• Applications submitted without financial and technical proposals will not be considered.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advanced to the next stage of the selection process.
• Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

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

• Advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in International Development, Education or a related field.
• Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible experience in education coordination, humanitarian response, program management, and reporting in international development contexts.
• Proven experience in coordinating multi-stakeholder platforms and working with government, UN agencies, and donors. *
• Knowledge of the education sector in Afghanistan and experience with sub-national coordination mechanisms. *
• Extensive experience in managing grants, particularly GPE and education sector financing.
• Strong communication and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks and stakeholders.
• Excellent communication, analytical, and coordination skills. Proven ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams.

Expertise, skills:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience with strategic planning and capacity-building initiatives.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to handle multiple priorities under tight deadlines.

How to apply:

• Interested applicants are required to submit a financial proposal with an all-inclusive fee.  Please see the financial proposal template here: Consultancy Financial Offer template.docx
• Applications without a financial proposal will not be considered.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

 To view our competency framework, please visit here. 

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

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. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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. 

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Interested consultants are required to apply online, indicating availability and all-inclusive lump sum fee to undertake the terms of reference.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.