The UNICEF Programme of Cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) is designed to address and mitigate the threat of poverty the country’s children face, while responding to the needs with interventions addressing the multiple causative factors.

In response to the combination these threats involve the Programme supports national efforts to improve service delivery in the key areas of: child health and nutrition and HIV and AIDS, quality basic education, water, sanitation and hygiene education, child protection and social policy, advocacy and communication.

To find out more about UNICEF’s work in Zambia, please visit https://www.unicef.org/zambia/.

How can you make a difference :

Purpose of the Consultancy :The purpose of the consultancy is to work closely with the Ministry of General Education (MoGE), Cooperating Partners (CPs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to review the Education Sector Dialogue mechanisms, identify gaps that exist and suggest recommendations for strengthening dialogue structures.

Background :

In the framework of the Joint Assistance Strategy of Zambia (JASZ), the Ministry of General Education (MoGE) and Cooperating Partners (CPs) committed themselves to improving aid effectiveness.  CPs agreed to align to country systems and harmonise external funding to Zambia.  The harmonisation process resulted in a Division of Labor (DoL) amongst CPs across sectors and within the sectors. The DoL within the sector related mainly to the positioning of CPs along the lead-active-background continuum.  In the education sector the harmonization process, started in 2006 resulted in a co-lead agency arrangement (Irish Aid and Netherlands Embassy -EKN), 6 active CPs (ILO, UNICEF, JICA, USAID, Denmark, and AfDB), and 5 background CPs (WB, DFID, Norway, European Commission, KfW -German Development Bank). Finland and Canada exited the sector. The Ministry of General Education interviewed all CP’s in the process of deciding who would take the role as lead CP.  Beginning January 1, 2015, the education cooperating partners in supporting the Ministry of General Education decided to move to a troika management which comprised DFID, Ireland and UNICEF. The Troika was created to enhance efficiency and manage the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) grant which was being managed by DFID. The Troika further allowed space for the leads to focus on their bilateral programmes while sharing responsibility of leading the sector.  Over the past few years there has been a shift in donor support to the sector and in 2016 both DFID and Irish Aid discontinued their sector budget support programmes. Although the last JASZ was signed in 2010 and it is unclear if this document will be revised even in its absence the education CPs and MoGE find it necessary to maintain a joint dialogue mechanism for efficiency given the magnitude of the sector. At present there are number of CPs in the Education sector some which are active while others play a background role.

In addition to the CPs, there are International and National NGOs and local Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) that support MoGE through projects/ and or provision of technical assistance.  These include but are not limited to Camfed, ChildFund, FAWEZA, Plan International, World Vision, Save the Children, VVOB, J-PAL and ZANEC.  Further, the Private sector also contributes to the development of education.

The need for an effective and relevant sector dialogue mechanism both at the macro-level as well as at sector level is an important aspect in establishing a shared vision and guiding principles for CPs, INGOs and CSO support to the education sector.  Effective and relevant sector dialogue contributes to deeper results focused assistance programmes while at the same time reducing transaction cost for GRZ.  It also helps foster mutual trust and accountability and improves MoGE ownership and management of programmes.  At present, there are various structures in place for coordination, consultation and dialogue.

The Cooperating Partners and other stakeholders are concerned with the collapse of the sector dialogue with the Ministry of General Education.  The situation has weakened in the last three years and attempts by the CPs and the Ministry have not yielded much success.  The CPs are of the view that the issues could be more systemic than operational, therefore any solution should involve Cabinet, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of National Planning and the Cooperating Partners Group (CPG). MoGE as well as CPs also share the view that some of the sector dialogue requirements may no longer reflect on the current education sector settings.  Some mechanisms for dialogue are not meeting their intended purpose and this has resulted in many inefficiencies seen in the sector.

Below are more specific challenges with the current structure of the sector dialogue mechanisms:

• Meetings not being held as scheduled ;
• Meetings being called for at short notice and supporting documentation not circulated in time leading to inadequate preparation by both CPs, CSOs and MoE ;
• Irregular participation of relevant MoGE staff and delegated staff often not having sufficient mandate to make decisions ;
• A focus more on process than on forward-looking strategic issues that relate to development outcomes.
• Reactive dialogue rather than a systematic follow up of agreed issues ;
• Frequency of some meetings is too demanding for both CPs, MoGE, NGOs and usually the same people are required to participate in most of them. In addition, some of the committees have adhoc or standing sub-committees which also meet on a regular basis, sometimes monthly, adding to the burden of additional meetings ;
• Some sector committees/sub-committees meet quite inconsistently and infrequently. As many of these were formed in a different sector context, their purposes/objectives are no longer clear ;
• A weakness in the JASZ Management Guidelines as there is no provision to link the various working groups.  Although the committees operate independently, their work is part of a common agenda ;
• The absence of an accountability framework in the dialogue architecture is a limitation to effective dialogue. There are no clearly defined expectations/or performance benchmarks agreed by MoGE/CPs ;
• There is need to ensure that there is a link between the sector dialogue structures and the Seventh National Development Plan

Given the above challenges, the CP group proposed a comprehensive review of the current sector dialogue mechanisms with a view to ensure relevance, efficiency and effectiveness in sector dialogue.  The Ministry also found this proposal highly relevant for the current sector situation.

Objectives / Target :

The overall objective is to review the current Education Sector dialogue mechanisms and propose recommendation for on improving the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of the dialogue mechanisms. Specifically, the consultant will be expected to undertake the following

1. Work with the Ministry of General Education, CPs and Civil Society Organisations to conduct a comprehensive stock taking of the MoGE sector Dialogue Mechanisms namely but not limited to:

• • Joint Annual Review (JAR) ;
  • Policy and Implementation Technical Committee (PITC) ;
  • Monitoring and Evaluation Technical Committee (METC) ;
  • FITC ;
  • Project Coordinating Committee (PCC) ;
  • Cooperating Partners Coordinating Committee (CPCC) .

2. Prepare a document and matrix detailing findings from the stakeholder consultations and review of the dialogue mechanisms ;
3. Based on feedback received from partners, document identify gaps and areas needing strengthening ;
4. Identify opportunities to organize and streamline sector dialogue mechanisms ;
5. Provide a set of recommendations on the proposed sector dialogue modalities including Terms of Reference for each proposed committee ;
6. Undertake a stakeholder meeting to validate the proposed sector dialogue mechanisms and incorporate any additional feedback to the recommendations .

Description of the Assignment (Scope of Work)/ Specific tasks :

The Consultant is expected to review and analyze background/historic documents on the sector dialogue mechanisms as well as other relevant documents related to sector dialogues, coordination and aid effectiveness.

The Consultant will conduct a series of key informant consultations with MOGE structures (including senior Management- PS and Minister), CPs, CSOs, and other relevant sector cooperating partners to understand the status of dialogue mechanisms, identify gaps and areas needing strengthening and submit recommendations on the proposed sector dialogue modalities including Terms of Reference for each proposed committee.

The Consultant will work in close collaboration and in partnership with all stakeholders especially the Directorates of MOGE, CPs and CSOs.

It is imperative that the MoGE along with other key stakeholders, fully acknowledge their ownership of as well as accountability for the Sector dialogue structures and fully endorse the recommendations.

Reporting requirements :

The Consultant will report to the UNICEF Chief of Education and will report-in on a bi-weekly basis to share updates/progress from commencement of the contract to the end. Reports to be submitted are according to the deliverable table provided above. Payments will be done based on clear identification of specific dates invoiced by the consultant and cleared by Chief, Education.

Project management :

The Consultant will be under the overall management of the UNICEF Chief of Education and with close coordination with the Education Officer supporting the sector dialogue mechanisms and will report -in on a weekly basis with progress reports/updates from commencement of the contract to the end.   The UNICEF Chief of Education together with MoGE will inform CPs and other stakeholders on progress of the assignment through the existing structures – CPCC, PITC, METC, FITC and PCC meetings. The consultant is further expected to meet with stakeholders at their offices and conference rooms

The Consultant will be responsible for day-to-day project coordination, particularly working with the MoGE, CPs, CSOs and other partners

Location and duration :

• Work station: Consultant will be expected to work remotely with travel to Zambia (Lusaka) for at least 20 working days.
• Consultant will not be provided with a laptop, office space or office supplies;
• Payment will be as per below schedule.
• The Consultant will work a period of 4 months

Payment Schedule :

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

• An advanced University degree in development, education, social sciences or similar ;
• A minimum of 8 years of professional experience in education sector development, social sector development, aid coordination ;
• Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines ;
• Excellent spoken and written English, of publication standards ;
• Good in facilitation and participatory approaches ;
• Excellent analytical and report writing skills ;
• Demonstrated experience working in the education sector ;
• Familiarity with the Zambian context and education sector required ;
• Demonstrated ability to work with government officials, CPs, and CSOs to gather, collate, analyze information and data;
• Good knowledge of national programming principles and policy, International NGOs and NGO networks, and a strong knowledge of partnership principles in development work ;
• Ability to adhere to ethical guidelines as specified by UNICEF and the Ministries of Education in Zambia.

Administrative issues :

For every Child, you demonstrate :

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

Remarks :

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