UNICEF Pacific Consultancy: Sharing stories and lessons learnt from storybook development and implementation in early learning, 35 days (Remote – Home Based)

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, Education.

The Pacific Regional Education Framework (PacREF) is a regional policy document led by Pacific countries themselves, through a regional architecture including 15 Pacific Island countries and territories. With one PacREF outcome being “our youngest learners (pre-schoolers) are prepared to engage in formal schooling”, PacREF presents opportunities for Pacific countries to work toward expanding access to and participation in quality ECE. Pacific countries, under PacREF, have been leading development and implementation of storybooks for children of preschool and early primaryage, with close attention to gender and disability inclusion. The storybooks which complement the curricula in Pacific countries, aim at strengthening foundational learning which refer to literacy, numeracy, and transferable skills, that are the building blocks for a life of learning.

In addition to use of storybooks in ECE and early primary classrooms, Pacific countries plan to expand the use of these storybooks in home environments through parenting programmes, so that parents can use these books to strengthen childrens’ learning as they transition to primary level.

In alignment with 2023 Conference of Pacific Education Ministers (CPEM) recommendations, where Ministers agreed that indigenous knowledge, culture, and languages should be integral to curriculum development, teacher training programs, and delivery in national education systems, the storybooks have been developed through Pacific methodologies and exchange of ideas and are embedded in Pacific contexts, reflecting Pacific values, cultures, traditional knowledge, and skills. Thus the storybooks also contribute to strengthening Pacific identities, cultures and traditions, including traditional knowledge and languages among young children, particularly in the face of globalization and climate change which are key factors influencing younger generation.

As two (out of five) of the implementing agencies for PacREF, both UNICEF and Institute of Education (IOE) have been supporting Pacific countries in development and rolling out of storybooks. Countries and other partners have supported storybook development, procurement, printing, dissemination and implementation through various approaches and with varied experiences.

Facilitating knowledge creation and sharing, through Pasifika-led mechanisms and ways of doing aligned with PacREF’s region-unifying direction, the WanSolwara collaboration, is key to Pacific countries benefitting from the work on storybooks, particularly those who are working on storybooks and have plans in place to expand the work The Pacific Eary Childhood Education Taskforce (PRECET), comprising of Government representatives from 15 Pacific countries, has been recently established to ensure that ECE specialists from across the region play a guiding role in Pacific ECE developments including facilitating sharing of knowledge, lessons learned and experiences. The PacREF implementation rolling plan has the following regional activity which allows for sharing, reviewing and cross country learning from the lived experiences of development and roll out of storybooks in classroom, which will benefit countries as they prepare for scaling up storybook development and use in ECE, early primary and parenting programmes: Regional review on sustainable and scalable solutions for development and use of storybooks in parenting and early learning programmes (PacREF QR 3.1.4).

How can you make a difference? 

The purpose of this multi-country consultancy is to analyze how specific countries in the Pacific Region write, produce and use developmentally and culturally appropriate children’s books in ECE and early primary, supplementary materials and media to provide support to emergent and early literacy and provide recommendations for sustainable implementation at scale. The consultancy will also engage with Pacific regional institutions working/contributing towards storybooks, to develop a compelling narrative on evolution, strengths, challenges of existing regional mechanisms (for example Waka Moana Learning Hub, etc.) and recommendations for providing coordinated support to national education systems as countries further scale up storybooks related programmes.

The consultancy will review the development and use of storybooks in ECE, early primary and parenting programmes across a select number of Pacific countries, identifying common trends, unique differences, good or innovative practices, challenges, opportunities and key recommendations across content and approaches to use, including :

• Methodological approaches to the development of books, including levelling to curriculum/expected learning outcomes.
• How storybooks have captured and communicated cultural knowledge, core character values and way of life in Pacific.
• Ensuring attention to equity in the context and content of books (e.g. gender, disability, broader inclusion, etc.)
• Supporting teacher guidance and professional development, around using storybooks in classroom and for supporting parents to use storybooks at home.
• Innovative and good practices in the use of story books including case studies.
• Systematic approach to using the books within a classroom and how this is implemented and monitored.
• Any school-home connections based around the use of the storybooks and how these were supported.
• Usage of storybooks in parenting programmes,

The consultant is expected to work in a consultative and participatory manner, ensuring ownership and relevance of the final outputs, and contributing toward the development of a sustainable plan for their effective implementation thereafter.

The consultancy will cover the following milestones under the guidance and leadership of the PRECET:

Key tasks expected are listed below:

1. Inception Period:

• During the inception period, the consultant should ensure that participating countries voices are clearly captured so that they can be contextualised in the synthesis report.
• Complete a brief desk review of key background documents from a sample of Pacific countries, (existing story books, data, programme documentation, etc.) as well as global/regional guidance (documentation and monitoring tool) on best practices for sustainable and scalable use of storybooks in ECE and early primary programmes. This, along with an outline of approaches to the remaining work, including what and how data will be collected, with indicative timelines, expected outputs and identification of risks with mitigation, will form the Inception report. The purpose of this is to guide the consultancy, rather than to produce a long desk review document. The inception report will be reviewed by PRECET, UNICEF and relevant partners

2.Consultation, Review and Report Drafting

• The consultant will follow the approach as defined in the inception report. The consultant is expected to hold consultations with PRECET at every stage of the consultancy, including to secure guidance on the process, methodology and expected output, as well as to secure inputs from each individual country. The PRECET will guide and facilitate sharing stories, learning and building consensus around development and use of storybooks in Pacific. In addition to PRECET, the consultant is expected to hold in-depth probe (including surveys as relevant) with a few specific countries which have been working on storybooks significantly. The consultant is also expected to virtually connect to teachers, parents groups, NGOs in at least few countries to particularly capture stories and experiences of usage of storybooks in classroom and home environments. The consultant will also engage with regional partners who have engaged in story book development for the ECE age-group and early learning, including, but not limited to, both UNICEF and USP-IoE. The consultant will also engage with the regional repositories such as Waka Moana, to review how storybooks are being disseminated through these platforms, the vision behind building these platforms, strengths and challenges and the way forward. Consultation should be informed by the Pacific Consultation Guidelines (pacific consultation guidelines.pdf)
• The draft report should include a synthesis of the process followed, key findings, highlighting common trends, unique differences, good or innovative practices, challenges, opportunities and key recommendations will be prepared and shared with UNICEF. This should also clearly present all relevant stories, experiences, anecdotes, practices shared by countries in the process. The draft report will be reviewed by PRECET, UNICEF and other relevant experts from the Pacific. The consultant is expected to provide guiding questions which can help countries provide their feedback. Feedback should be incorporated into the report prior to the regional meeting.

3. Virtual regional meeting with PRECET and facilitation

• Development of a concept note and draft agenda for a virtual regional meeting to discuss the findings of the review and identify next steps at regional and national level. The agenda should allow significant time for country-country shared learning including the reviewing of sample resources.
• Co-construct recommendations ensuring Pacific leadership in developing these recommendations. The consultant will play the role of co-facilitator along with UNICEF to support the process.

4.Final report

• The final report along with a PowerPoint should be submitted that includes revisions based on the feedback and further inputs received either through the regional meeting.

Please refer to the ToR ( ToR regional storybook review.pdf) for further information on the deliverables and the timelines. 

GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS:  

Please submit a separate financial offer along with your application. The financial proposal should be a lump sum amount for all the deliverables and should show a break down for the following:

• Monthly / Daily fees– based on the deliverables in the Terms of Reference above.
• Miscellaneous- to cover health insurance (including medical evacuation for international consultants), communications, and other costs.

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

Education:

• An advanced University degree (Masters) in the field of Education is preferred although consideration will be given to other post-graduate level qualifications with a high degree of relevant experience

Experience & Skills:

• Experience working in in Pacific countries will be an asset, including ability to draw on existing networks and/or build relationships effectively remotely with relevant stakeholders as required to engage their voices and participation in this exercise.
• Easily comprehended written style and excellent analytical and synthesis skills
• Ability to share ideas, concepts and experiences and facilitate discussion ensuring engagement and ownership of participants.
• Ability to coordinate multiple complex activities and take a collaborative approach in achieving success; and
• Ability to work effectively with local counterparts in the different countries in the study and education stakeholders, as demonstrated by experience building and maintaining cross-cultural relationships, with a clear understanding of when to lead and when to allow others to lead
• Excellent communication, analytical and report writing skills with a storytelling style in English is required. Knowledge of any other Pacific languages will be an asset.

Language:

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset. 

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 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. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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. Consultants 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.