Myanmar: International Consultant – ICT and Continuing Professional Development in Teacher Education

INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANT – ICT and Continuing Professional Development in Teacher Education
(Position located in Yangon, Myanmar)
Terms of Reference
Date Issued: 27 May 2019
Functional Title: International Consultant – ICT and Continuing Professional Development in Teacher Education
Organizational unit: UNESCO Myanmar Project Office
Duty Station: Yangon, Myanmar
Duration of the contract: 11 Months
Application deadline: 17:00 (Yangon time) on 9 June 2019
Start Date: 1 July 2019
Background:
UNESCO, in partnership with the Ministry of Education (MoE), is working to strengthen pre-service teacher education in Myanmar through reform measures outlined in the National Education Strategic Plan (NESP) 2016-21. A project named “Strengthening pre-service Teacher Education in Myanmar (STEM)” addresses four fundamentally important aspects of pre-service teacher education. These include:
 formulating a policy framework of pre-service teacher education and identifying standards for quality assurance,
 improving a system of pre-service teacher training institutions - Education Colleges (ECs) by designing the new four-year degree programme of pre-service teacher education and creating good networks to accumulate and share knowledge and experiences of all ECs,
 developing institutional/management and human resource capacities of ECs, and
 mainstreaming inclusion and equity issues in teacher education.
The project is improving teacher education in the area of governance, policy development around teacher education, review of learning resources and development of curriculum, and building capacity of staff in management and teaching.
The project also supports MoE to improve the ICT infrastructure at ECs and to strengthen the capacity of teacher educators to use ICT as a tool for teaching, learning and management. All ECs are equipped with fiber Internet access and provided with some ICT equipment such as laptops and tablets. Annual ICT training was provided to ICT teacher educators in the past years to strengthen their skills in teaching ICT to student teachers and to enhance their appropriate and effective use of ICT in ECs. Basic ICT literacy and technical maintenance training manuals were developed and shared with teacher educators for self-study. An e-library is being developed for sharing of materials relating to the new pre-service teacher education curriculum. At the policy level, the project supports the process of formulating minimum requirements and indicators into the draft national teacher competency standards framework, which is being validated through a nationwide exercise.
Other than ICT in teacher education, the project supports MoE to design and deliver professional development course modules to teacher educators to prepare them for the effective delivery of the new Year 1 pre-service teacher education programme to be rolled out in December 2019. As a longer-term support, the project also assists MoE in developing an overall framework for teacher educators’ continuing professional development as a mechanism to coordinate professional development learning opportunities, to enable teacher educators to meet the learning objectives set out in their capacity development plans and to support career pathways for teacher educators. This framework will comprise options for models of delivery and guidelines for development of continuing professional development course modules. Topics of the course modules will be identified in consultation with MoE and course modules will be developed to prepare teacher educators for the pre-service teacher education reform in a longer term.
An international consultant is sought to provide coordination, technical assistance and management support for the implementation of the STEM project focusing on ICT and continuing professional development in teacher education.
Work Assignment:
Under the overall authority of the Director of UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, the direct supervision of the Head of UNESCO Myanmar Project Office, the day-to-day guidance of the Senior Education Project Officer and working in collaboration with the STEM project team, the consultant will provide coordination, technical assistance and management support for the implementation of the ICT and continuing professional development in teacher education components of the "Strengthening pre-service Teacher Education in Myanmar" (STEM) project, including the following tasks:
 lead the planning, technical assistance and management of the development of an online learning portal for pre-service teacher education in Myanmar, together with software companies. This includes finalization of the development of the draft e-library component and initiation of the development of the draft e-learning component following UNESCO’s procurement procedures;
 provide technical input on the development of the new EC Year 2 curriculum, including syllabi, student teacher textbooks and teacher educator guides, on ICT subject and ICT across subjects;
 provide technical input on the design of training and support the delivery of training with teacher educators in ECs with focus on ICT in teacher education in preparation for the roll-out of the new Year 1 EC curriculum;

 lead the coordination with and provide technical support to MoE on the development of a framework on continuing professional development for EC teacher educators and management staff;
 coordinate and advise technically on the development of continuing professional development modules on ICT for EC teacher educators and management staff;
 develop, plan and deliver annual ICT training to EC ICT teacher educators particularly and provide necessary follow-up support to them;
 work closely with EC ICT teacher educators and management staff to establish a mechanism to monitor the use of ICT in ECs and develop strategies for MoE’s consideration regarding the improvement on the appropriate and effective use of ICT in teacher education;
 in collaboration with other UNESCO ICT experts, coordinate and facilitate the formulation of ICT minimum requirements and indicators into the draft national teacher competency standards framework and provide technical input on assessment, recognition and accreditation mechanism based on the minimum requirements and indicators developed;
 in collaboration with the STEM project team, assist in the planning and facilitation of STEM project workshops and meetings on topics such as pre-service teacher education curriculum development relating to ICT, continuing professional development on ICT and more broadly innovation in teacher education; and
 conduct research to keep abreast of the development of ICT in teacher education, compile information about related projects in other UNESCO offices and recommend how collaboration can strengthen UNESCO's work in ICT in teacher education in Myanmar.
Deliverables and timeline:

1. Monthly progress reports on the achievements and challenges encountered in delivering the outputs related to the work assignment by the end of each month between July 2019 and April 2020; and
2. A final report summarizing the activities carried out, achievements, challenges and lessons learnt over the contract period to be completed by the end of May 2020.
   Location and travel:
   The consultant will be based in UNESCO Myanmar Project Office in Yangon, with travel to field sites as required.
   Fees:
    Middle level to senior level depending on qualifications.
    Travel costs for missions undertaken within the context of the assignment will be reimbursed as per UNESCO rules and regulations.

Qualifications:
Education:
 At least Master’s degree with specialization in education, social sciences, information technology or a related field;
Work experience:
 At least five years of experience in the field of education at national and international levels, especially in the context of a developing country;
 Demonstrated experience in working with Government officials; and
 Good knowledge of the Myanmar country context or context similar to Myanmar as an asset.
Skills and competencies:
 Strong knowledge and technical skills in ICT in education and preferably teacher education;
 Strong project management skills;
 Strong research and analytical skills;
 Excellent written and oral communication skills in English;
 Proficiency in using common office ICT productivity tools;
 Ability to work in a multicultural environment; and
 Ability to work independently on delegated tasks.

How to apply:
Interested applicants are invited to submit in writing to UNESCO Myanmar Project Office:

1. A cover letter in English clearly referencing “International Consultant – ICT and Continuing Professional Development in Teacher Education”, indicating how your qualifications and experience make you suitable for the assignment, and the methodology and approaches to be adopted to carry out the assignment and expected fee;
2. An up-to-date CV, with contact details including telephone numbers and email address;
3. Contact details including telephone numbers and email addresses of three referees; and
4. A writing sample in English.
   Your application should reach yangon@unesco.org no later than 17:00 (Yangon time) on 9 June 2019.
   Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
   In line with UNESCO’s overall gender mainstreaming strategy, the consultant is expected to integrate a gender perspective in all activities and apply gender analysis and mainstreaming concepts whenever feasible.