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Apply Now: Regional Communications Consultant

 This consultancy falls under the overall authority of the Assistant Director General for Education, guidance from the Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa, and the direct supervision of the Senior Project Officer (HIV and Health Education). The Regional Communication Consultant will be responsible for the effective planning, implementation and monitoring of the HIV and Health Communications portfolio, specifically, the “Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future” (O3) Programme, supported by Sweden among other donors. S/he will be responsible for developing and implementing an advocacy and communications strategy and closely monitoring the impact of communication efforts to enhance the organisation’s credibility and brand.  Read More here.

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Call for Consultancy for Radio/TV Program Coordinator for the Early and Unintended Pregnancy Campaign

UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa seeks the services of a consultant to support an ongoing campaign against early and unintended pregnancy in the East and Southern Africa (ESA) region through coordinating the conceptualization and dissemination of a Regional Radio/TV program that looks to start conversations and dialogue to change norms around Early and Unintended Pregnancy. The campaign to address early and unintended pregnancy (EUP) in Eastern and Southern Africa was commissioned by UNESCO, UNFPA, Save the Children Sweden (SCS) and SAfAIDS. The joint effort was borne out of a recognition that EUP is affecting an increasing number of adolescents throughout the ESA region, and a cohesive plan   is needed to effect change. The following are the main target audiences for the campaign in no particular order. Whether or not an audience is primary, secondary or tertiary target will depend on the messages.

  1. Policy makers
  2. Teachers, educators and school principals
  3. Parents and guardians
  4. Community leaders, religious and traditional leaders
  5. Men and boys; women and girls
  6. Health service providers

Countries in the ESA region will be divided into 2 categories and implementation strategies will differ for focus countries and supporting countries. Focus countries will be targeted with full implementation of the campaign while lighter touch campaigns will run in the supporting countries.

Focus Countries; Botswana, DRC, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Supporting countries; Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles.

Radio/TV Program key objectives

  • Bring attention to the alarming rates of EUP in the region
  • Spark conversation on issues of EUP among targeted listener groups
  • Create awareness and bring attention to the need for scaling up comprehensive sexuality education and youth-friendly SRHR services for adolescents and young people.
  • Using Edu-tainment as an efficient tool to engage young people on issues of EUP
  • Create opportunities to secure more partnerships for the campaign and for further addressing the issue

One of the key goals for the EUP program is to be inclusive and bring together different audiences for conversations. While the primary beneficiaries are adolescent girls and young women, the drama should equally speak to and engage men and boys as agents of change. The program will create dialogue and opportunities to engage audiences on the issues of EUP through a medium that not just educates but entertains. The program will look to start conversations in order to create a dialogue about the core issues and facilitate knowledge, attitude and behaviour change across groups.

There are three main areas of focus which frame the “Let’s Talk!” campaign, which will be tackled in the radio drama and are intended to distinguish the core social and structural barriers that keep adolescents from effectively preventing early and unintended pregnancy. These are Health, Education and Rights. The program will address issues related to EUP such as: reproductive health, SRHR, contraceptive use; family planning; early onset of sexual activity; violence against women; and improvement of women’s reproductive health.

Scope of the Radio/TV Program

The characters in the radio/TV program will be under the conflicting influences of positive and extremely negative narratives of EUP. These positive and negative characters are not only positive and negative role models for the audience, but they also help to define the extremes of thought and behaviour on issue of EUP for the audience. The characters in the drama will be those that people can identify with which will therefore be more effective at bringing about behaviour change. The radio drama program will be disseminated in the following countries:

Botswana, DRC, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles.

The assignment/ Activities

The consultant will provide support to build ongoing momentum by supporting the conceptualization, production and dissemination of the EUP campaign radio/tv program. Specifically, the consultants will be tasked to;

  • Organize and facilitate 2 Advisory Committee meetings
  • Co-ordinate the conceptualization of a EUP regional tv drama series/ web series
  • Produce a Concept Note and agenda for the EUP Advisory Committee meeting and mobilize Journalists to participate.
  • Co-ordinate the production of a guideline document that will be utilized by production firm as a guide on content and format for radio/tv program
  • Produce reports on the Advisory committee meetings 
  • Liaise with selected production company on selection of script writers and development of script writing workshop  
  • Co-ordinate with production company and organize the pretesting of the pilot episode during the second advisory committee meeting
  • Draft dissemination plan for countries, with guidelines on how to adapt and produce radio drama at national level

Timeline and duration of consultancy

The consultancy will run from 6 March 2020 – 30 September 2020

Expected Deliverables

Deliverable Deadline
Produce Brief proposal to conduct the assignment 6 March 2020
Production of Concept note and Agenda for the EUP Advisory Committee meeting and Consolidated participation list 10 March 2020
Create report on the 1st advisory Committee meeting 25 March 2020
Create Regional TV/ Radio/ Web series dissemination plan 30 March 2020
Draft guideline document that will be utilized by production firm as a guide on content and format for radio/tv program and Report on the first advisory committee meeting 10 April 2020
Create project roadmap post script -writers workshop 24 April 2020
Draft report on the 2nd Advisory committee meeting 18 May 2020
Draft Dissemination plan for countries with guidelines on how to adapt and produce radio/tv program at national level 8 June 2020
Hold consultation calls with NPO’s from focus countries where the script will be adapted to discuss progress of production 1 July 2020
Report on rolling out of the radio/tv program at regional and national level 15 September 2020
  1.  Consultant selection

The consultant will be selected following a competitive bidding process. Interested consultants should provide a short proposal, either individually or in a team, indicating the approach, daily rates, number of days and timelines.

  1. Copyright, Patents and Other Proprietary Rights

All rights, including but not limited to title, to property, copyright, trademark and patent; in any work produced by the consultant by virtue of his/her contract, shall be vested in UNESCO which alone shall hold all rights of use.

  1. Qualifications
  2. High-level skills in multimedia campaign development.
  3. Track record in developing Radio drama programs
  4. Track-record in developing policy advocacy tools such as policy briefs, factsheets, guidelines, etc.
  5. Advanced academic degree in an appropriate field (preferably education, communication for development, public health education).
  6. Extensive professional knowledge and at least 10 years of experience in the field of health promotion, education, marketing and advertising. Familiarity with the UN system an asset.
  7. Demonstrated experience in strategy and policy analysis and design.
  8. Excellent writing and communication skills.
  9. Demonstrated ability as a trainer, particularly developing training material and plans of action on relevant topics.

Interested Consultants who meet the set criteria based on the Terms of Reference can submit their application and brief proposal to; vacancies.harare@unesco.org copying Ruvarashe Matambo r.matambo@unesco.org by Friday 6 March 2020

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Apply Now: DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDANCE FOR LOCAL HOSTING OF THE CSE ONLINE COURSE FOR TEACHERS

UNESCO : Terms of Reference

INTRODUCTION

As part of the ESA Ministerial Commitment for scaling up Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in

the region, UNESCO, UNFPA, Johns Hopkins University/HC3 and the Foundation for Professional Development have collaborated to design an in-service teacher training course. Ministries of education from across 21 ESA countries and the SADC and EAC Secretariats are key partners in the course. The online course is currently hosted and implemented by the Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) and Medical Practice Consulting (MPC) under the leadership of FPD.

This online training course on sexuality education was designed for teachers in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region who have the responsibility for teaching Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) to learners. Specifically, the online course was created to contribute to the following regional outcomes:

  • Increased number of teachers in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region who are qualified to teach sexuality education;
  • Strengthened capacity of ministries of education to provide education and training for teachers to teach sexuality and HIV education lessons in the classrooms;
  • Improved quality of school-based sexuality and HIV education programs – evidence informed and effective to reduce risky behaviours amongst school-going youth; and
  • Improved learner knowledge and health-seeking behaviours for sexual and reproductive health and rights achievement and related life skills.

BACKGROUND

Over the last decade, countries in the East and Southern African (ESA) region have taken major strides

towards the development and incorporation of life skills education (LSE) and comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in their school curricula. These strides have been made to counter the threat of HIV and other STIs, and to help protect girls against early and unintended pregnancy, provide the necessary skills to develop effective decision making and communication skills, explore values and attitudes and be made aware of risk reduction skills.

Evidence shows that effective comprehensive sexuality education programmes consistently increase student knowledge about HIV and other health issues, delay age of sexual debut, and increase use of contraception including condoms by young people. Effective HIV and sexuality education requires the capacity and guidance of highly skilled and motivated educators. The International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education (UNESCO, 2018) argues, for example, that these teachers need appropriate training, skills in the use of participatory methods and ongoing support. The UNFPA Operational Guidance  for Comprehensive  Sexuality Education: A Focus on Human Rights and Gender (2014) articulates that effective CSE calls for an explicit mainstreaming of gender throughout all aspects of CSE and a focus on sexual and reproductive rights as components of human rights. This means that young

people have a right to scientifically accurate information, bodily integrity and a right to access sexual and reproductive health services.

School settings provide an important opportunity to reach large numbers of young people with sexuality education before they become sexually active, as well as offering an appropriate structure within which to do so systematically over time. Teachers remain central to the process given their critical role in delivering sexuality education and with the right knowledge, skills and comfort levels for effectively delivery of sexuality education helps to ensure that learners receive accurate and age- appropriate information. This information guides the learners through adolescence and enables them to make responsible decisions that impact their current and future sexual and reproductive health and overall well-being.

This online course, therefore, was developed as an accessible resource to support the training of teachers and other educators to deliver school-based sexuality education in East and Southern Africa. For many countries in the ESA region, the capacity and performance of teachers in delivering comprehensive sexuality curricula remains a significant implementation challenge. Sexuality-related topics can be culturally and religiously sensitive. Teachers may live and work in areas that require a great deal of travel and resources in order to obtain professional development and support. If teachers are to empower the young people in their care with the potentially life-saving knowledge, they will need to be competent and comfortable to deliver the information that life skills based comprehensive sexuality education offers. The course was created online to be as accessible to as many educators in the ESA region as possible.

WHY  AN  ONLINE COURSE FOR CSE?

This learning approach:

  • allows flexibility for different learning styles, including the various generational learning styles,
  • is self-directed and empowers learners to take ownership for their learning in the workplace,
  • is more interactive,
  • allows learning to be broken down into nuggets that can be accessed on demand, and
  • streamline the learning process to minimize learners’ out of duty station time.

WHO  IS  THIS COURSE FOR?

This course targets teachers and other educators across Eastern and Southern Africa who need to obtain or update their knowledge and related skills on comprehensive sexuality education, and who are actively involved or intend to be involved in the delivery of sexuality education in the region.

THE  OVERALL COURSE GOAL

The overall course goal is to support effective implementation of life skills based/life orientation curriculum by equipping teachers with knowledge and skills related to the delivery of age appropriate, human rights and gender-based-comprehensive sexuality education in schools through the use of ICTS.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of the online course, the teachers and educators should be able to:

  • Provide accurate information and knowledge on sexuality education, its importance and benefits;
  • Acknowledge how personal values, beliefs, biases can influence the teaching of sexuality education and the importance of not asserting one’s beliefs and biases onto learners;
  • Use the knowledge and skills acquired to deliver an effective life skills-based sexuality education in participatory, culturally sensitive and age-appropriate ways.

COURSE DURATION

The online course can be accomplished in about 40 hours depending on the pace of the participant which is an equivalent of 4 -5 days. Participants are however not allowed to undertake the course for more 3 months from the time they have been enrolled on the course.

CURRENT COURSE MODALITIES

Initially, the course was administered mainly through distance learning, where teachers could take in in the comfort of their environment. But as the course was rolled out, it became clear that completion rates were significantly low, and teachers faced challenges such as lack of access to computers and internet. The modality was then tweaked, and teachers would be asked to convene in person at one place, go through some value clarification, be provided with computers and internet, be assisted with registering for the course, and also be given an opportunity for teach-backs. Currently, the course consists of three main learning components, namely the face to face component, the distance learning, and the mentorship and support supervision component.

  1. The face to face component: this component is undertaken at the start of the course and towards the end of the course for one day.
    1. At the start of the course face to face sessions focus on introducing the course and providing all information related to the course, the course delivery methodology and rationale for undertaking the course. This session is expected to boost the participants’ confidence towards undertaking and also ensure that participants have logged in to the course. The first to face sessions also focus on norms clarification to help participants identify and challenge their own biases and stereotypes
    2. At the end of the course, another face to face session is held to focus on the review of participants’ progress, provide participants an opportunity to process the content acquired and well provide participants an opportunity to apply effective teaching methods for CSE through ‘teach backs’.
  1. The online learning component: This is large component of the programme and then the assessment component that examines the knowledge and personal experiences acquired by the learners. The online education component can be completed 100%. It gives teachers an opportunity to study at their pace (but within the stipulated time-frame). Expert resource is available in the premises for support, and FPD assigns remotely who assists with troubleshooting any ICT related challenges. The online component is accompanied by a printed version of the content which also includes samples of the scripted lesson plans.
  1. Mentorship and support supervision: the component of support supervision remains a critical and integral part of the online course towards supporting teachers in utilizing effectively the knowledge and skills acquired. It is therefore recommended that each teacher that has completed the online

course becomes part of the Regional Learning Platform, where they can access and share

information and lessons with others. The platform also offers an opportunity for teachers and CSE experts to share lessons from different countries. It is functionally a community of practice on CSE.

ABOUT THIS ASSSIGNMENT

Since the beginning, the course has been hosted and administered centrally (at regional level) by FPD, with support from UNESCO and UNFPA. It however has become clear that hosting the course centrally is not sustainable and not easily implementable at the country level. UNESCO and UNFPA have received interest from countries, for them to independently host and administer the course from their respective countries. This means that a country would identify an institution with the capacity and IT infrastructure to host the online course and be able to deliver it to teachers.

In this vein, UNESCO is seeking the services of an Information Technology (IT) or online learning Specialist to study the architecture of the current course hosted by FPD, and make recommendations for the decentralized hosting of the course to countries.

OBJECTIVES OF  THE CONSULTANCY

  • Study the current CSE Online Course being hosted by FPD
  • Provide requirements for hosting the course by any institution, highlighting the required IT infrastructure and necessary support. The infrastructure must include a functionality where data for enrollment and completion is centralized to ensure real-time reporting of numbers
  • Explore requirements to make the online course an accredited examinable course within the host institution’s structure

DELIVERABLES

  • A report indicating the minimum requirements necessary for hosting the course at an institution. The report should include but not be limited to details about the IT infrastructure, internet requirements (bandwidth, speed), server requirements, website standards, real-time data tracking functionality and human resource expertise
  • A cost estimation for hosting the course, bearing in mind that the course content is already available.
  • The analysis should be balanced between east and southern Africa, that is, include countries from both regions.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE  AND QUALIFICATION

  • Consultant must have an advanced degree in computer science, information technology or other related field
  • Must have experience working on an online course of a similar nature
  • If the consultant is an institution, the lead consultant must possess the above

Interested consultants should send a cover letter, CV, proof of previous work, and a costed work plan

for this assignment to d.cheta@unesco.org no later than 2 March 2020.

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Apply Now : Consultant(s) for Training of In-Service Teachers on CSE

UNESCO seeks the services of consultant(s) to develop and implement a standardized training on comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) for in-service teachers. The consultant will support the UNESCO regional team to develop and implement a standardised in-service training program that will be drawn from existing CSE training programmes developed by UNESCO, UNFPA and UNICEF as well as other organizations working in implementing CSE in the Sub Saharan Africa region. Read more here.

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