Individual international consultancy to support the process of enhancement of school-based disaster risk reduction (DRR) monitoring capacity of the ministry of public education (MOPE)

United Nations Core Values: Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity

The Ministry of Emergency Situations (MOES) and the MOPE have been working together to improve the school-based DRR in Uzbekistan, and one of the key achievements is the guidelines for development of emergency preparedness (EP) plans at school level, drafted by the experts of MOES and MOPE. As these guidelines describe, school EP plan should consist of three parts that include (a) general information about school and hazards that exist around school, (b) Standard operating procedures for different emergency situations, and (c) an annual calendar of DRR events. These guidelines aim to transform schools into safe places, enhance the knowledge of children and teachers on right actions in case of emergencies, and develop proactive attitude to emergencies through operationalization of school EP plan. Hence, ensuring the development and implementation of EP plans in all schools of Uzbekistan is one of the priority programmes for both MOES and MOPE. Taking into account this priority of Government, the Country Programme Action Plan 2016-2020 between the Government of Uzbekistan and UNICEF has a programme component on improving emergency planning and response in schools.

With introduction of school-based DRR guidelines by MOES and MOPE, it is expected that the knowledge gap on development of school EP plans among school management would be partially addressed. However, in order to ensure the quality, annual revision, and timely implementation of school EP plans, there is a need to establish a monitoring system that would help to identify the gaps in those plans that require to be addressed through appropriate actions.

The proposed school-based DRR monitoring system is expected to serve for encouragement of school management to develop school EP plans, identify gaps in this plan through self-assessment, develop improvement action plan in accordance with findings of self-assessment, implement the action plan, and measure the improvement. At the same time, the school-based DRR monitoring system would also equip regional education departments with information on implementation of school-based DRR guidelines at school level, and help them to supervise the implementation of improvement plans, provide support to schools with low/no capacity on school-based DRR, and take actions on gaps that requires decision making at higher level. Moreover, this monitoring system aims to encourage higher level education stakeholders to provide technical support with elements of 'supportive supervision', along with administrative support to lower levels. Moreover, this system will focus on monitoring of performance towards set goals by schools, using the findings of assessment for decision making at each level, and will help to make school EP plan work, rather than checking to see what is wrong. It is expected that the system will result in empowerment of school management to be proactive in school emergency preparedness. In the long run, it is expected that the established school-based DRR monitoring system after the successful testing will be transformed into electronic platform, and will become part of existing MOPE's school monitoring system.

The successful fulfilment of this assignment requires specialized expertise in establishment of monitoring and evaluation systems, along with school-based emergency preparedness. As fulfillment of this assignment requires allocation of additional resources (i.e. human and financial), neither the technical staff of MOPE nor UNICEF staff are able to perform the tasks specified in this TOR. Therefore, there is a need for external expert who can deliver quality product in a timely manner.

Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to fill the gap in school monitoring system of MOPE, through introduction of school-based DRR monitoring mechanism and tools. The development of this monitoring system aims to contribute to operationalization of the school-based DRR guidelines, and measurement of the progress of its implementation at school level. Successful finalization of this assignment will also contribute to enhancement of overall emergency preparedness of education system and children in Uzbekistan, as it is articulated in UNICEF Country Programme Outcome 2.

Assignment Tasks

The followings are the objectives of this assignment:

• Ensure that existing school-based DRR guidelines are in line with the disaster management pillar of Comprehensive School Safety Framework;
• Develop school-based DRR monitoring mechanisms, tools and guidelines for different levels (school, district, region, national) based on existing school-based DRR guidelines for enhancing the support system for implementation of school-based EP plans;
• Develop capacity of relevant staff of education system on school-based DRR monitoring system;

Expected Deliverables

It is expected that the consultant will deliver following outputs by 31 December 2016:

• Revised school-based DRR guidelines, which is in line with the disaster management pillar of Comprehensive School Safety Framework;
• School-based DRR monitoring mechanisms and tools, including self-assessment questionnaires, indicators and criteria for assessment, and guidelines on using these tool for each level (school, district, region, national);
• Trained district education department personnel on provision of supportive supervision on development/implementation/revision of school EP plan;
• Guidelines and tools for school management on development of improvement action plan for school EP plan;
• Tested school-based monitoring system at three selected regions (tentatively Kashkadarya, Samarkand, and Tashkent) at different levels, including revised school EP plans, and development of improvement action plan;
• Final version of monitoring system, which incorporate identified findings, collected feedbacks and comments during the testing phase;
• Final consultancy report reflecting the tasks accomplished, documenting the challenges, lessons learnt, and action plan for MOPE for further operationalization of school-based DRR monitoring system.

In order to be able to deliver above outputs, the consultant is expected to perform following tasks:

• Review of existing school-based DRR guidelines in line with Comprehensive School Safety Framework;
• Elaborate and present the mechanisms of school-based DRR monitoring system to MOPE and UNICEF;
• Develop self-assessment questionnaires for schools that would help to evaluate the school EP plan, and identify existing gaps;
• Develop criteria for assessment of quality of school EP plan, indicators and methodology for measuring the school preparedness;
• Develop guidelines on using the monitoring tools for school/district/region/national levels;
• Develop training package for education authorities on provision of supportive supervision to lower levels;
• Train district education department personnel from selected regions on provision of support to schools on development/assessment/improvement/implementation of school EP plans;
• Develop guidelines on development of improvement plans for school EP plan;
• Test the tools and guidelines in selected regions' schools to refine the tools;
• Finalize the school based DRR monitoring mechanism and tools in accordance with findings from the field and present to MOPE;

Management

The consultant will report and work under direct supervision of UNICEF Chief of Education. Moreover, the consultant will collaborate with two main departments of MOPE, which are responsible for organization of the work of educational establishments, and development of education process. All outputs of this TOR are subject for review of above MOPE departments and UNICEF DRR Officer.

Resource requirements

According to UNICEF policy, the final daily fee will be set up based on the "best value for money" principle.

47 working days are allocated for accomplishment of all tasks and deliverables within the period of September-December 2016. The consultancy fee will be paid upon successful completion of each deliverable and certification by supervisor.

Qualifications of Successful Candidate

Education

• Advanced university degree in social sciences or other related fields (would be verified through review of CVs and P11 forms);

Years of relevant experience

• At least 5 years of professional and relevant experience on M&E systems and/or school-based DRR within past 10 years (would be verified through review of CVs and P11 forms);
• Proven previous experience on accomplishment of similar tasks (should be clearly stated in Cover Letter);
• Fluency in English is required and knowledge of Russian would be an asset (to be assessed during interview);

Competencies of Successful Candidate

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Please indicate your ability, availability and daily/monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above (including travel and daily subsistence allowance, if applicable). Applications submitted without a daily/monthly rate will not be considered.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.

Procedures and Working Conditions

The consultancy will be home-based with two instances of international travel to Uzbekistan and four instances of local travels to regions for testing of developed materials. All travel(s) to will be arranged in accordance with UNICEF Travel Rules and Regulations.

The consultant will be responsible for any taxes that might arise because of this assignment and remuneration received by UNICEF, and UNICEF undertakes no liability for taxes, duty or other contribution payable by the consultant on payments made under this contract.

Reservations

UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if deliverable(s) incomplete, not finalized or for failure to meet deadlines. UNICEF and MOPE will reserve copy right of all developed materials and own primary data collected during this assignment. The materials cannot be published or disseminated without prior written permission of UNICEF. UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future. The contractor must respect the confidentiality of the information handled during the assignment. Documents and information provided must be used only for the tasks related to these terms of reference.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.