National Consultant - Competency-Based Education and 21st Century Skills

OVERVIEW

Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)

Duty Station: New Delhi

Job Family: Education

Education

Type of contract : Non Staff

Duration of contract : From 7 to 11 months

Recruitment open to : External candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 16 June 2025

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE

In today’s rapidly changing educational landscape and as traditional, didactic approaches have become inadequate in helping students prepare for the future, countries are encouraged to adopt an educational approach that supports learners to practically apply their knowledge and skills, and adapt to complex real-life and professional challenges. 21st century skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and digital literacy, are essential in equipping learners to navigate an increasingly complex and technology-driven world, distinguish facts from misinformation, and collaborate to identify solutions to global challenges. Recognizing the need for transformation, India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF) 2023 aim to integrate Competency-Based Education (CBE) and 21st century skills throughout the education system.

The State of Himachal Pradesh in India has initiated reforms aligned with these national policies, but challenges remain in translating these policies into classroom practices. Gaps in teacher capacity, lack of clarity around 21st century competencies, and limited coherence between curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment continue to hinder implementation of the reform measures.

UNESCO, in collaboration with the Government of Himachal Pradesh, is launching the HP FUTURES project to strengthen the integration of CBE for 21st century skills, particularly critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and digital literacy. A whole-school approach that aligns policy, pedagogy, training, assessment, and school environments is central to this transformation. The project also emphasizes foundational values such as inclusion, equity, and respect.

To support this process, UNESCO seeks an experienced national consultant to provide support in strategic and technical guidance to the HP FUTURES project on competency-based education.

OBJECTIVES

The consultant will support UNESCO and the Government of the State of Himachal Pradesh to:

• Assist the International Consultant and UNESCO team to conduct a comprehensive assessment and review of existing education policies, training programs, and curricular materials related to CBE for 21st century skills across multiple levels.
• Support in conducting field-level reviews, stakeholder consultations, and data collection;

• Provide contextual insights on policy and practices related to CBE and 21st-century skills in Himachal Pradesh;
• Support the preparation of technical documents, reports, and training materials.

SCOPE OF WORK

• The contract duration is expected to be from 1 July 2025 to 1 February 2026.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under the authority of the Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for South Asia in New Delhi, the direct supervision of the Programme Specialist and Chief of Education, and in close collaboration with the UNESCO International Consultant, and the Himachal Pradesh education authorities, the National Consultant will:

A. Technical and Policy Support

1. Assist in the desk review of state-level policies, curricula, teacher training programs (including TVET), and assessments relevant to CBE and 21st century skills;
2. Provide summaries and analysis of documents in Hindi or English to support the assessment process;
3. Contribute to the mapping of 21st century competencies across curriculum, pedagogy, and assessments.

B. Stakeholder Engagement and Field Facilitation

1. Liaise with project coordinator, State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), District Institutes of Educational Training (DIETs), school leaders, teacher educators, and vocational institutions to organize interviews, meetings, and consultations;
2. Coordinate logistics and scheduling for the international consultant’s field visits and scoping missions;
3. Document proceedings, stakeholder inputs, and key observations during field visits.

Long Description

C. Support to Reporting and Knowledge Products

1. Provide inputs and feedback to the drafting of reports, training modules, and recommendations;

1. Draft technical notes, consultation summaries, and briefing documents as needed;
2. Assist in the development of a roadmap for teacher capacity-building and system-wide implementation of CBE.

The consultant will be responsible for arranging their own logistics: office space, administrative and secretarial support, team members, telecommunications, travel arrangement, printing of documentation, etc. The costs of these logistics, including all research-related travel costs, will be included in the lump sum proposal.

The consultant must ensure that sources are properly cited by using the Harvard referencing style, following international academic standards and making sure that no copyrights are violated. Please refer to the UNESCO Style Manual for citation style, terminology and spelling, abbreviations, references, etc.

UNESCO will provide feedback throughout the process, in particular there will be feedback and revisions that are expected to be incorporated for all deliverables. The contractor and UNESCO will hold regular meetings to discuss progress and next steps. 

In line with UNESCO’s overall gender mainstreaming strategy, the contractor is expected to integrate a gender perspective in all activities and apply gender analysis and mainstreaming concepts whenever feasible. 

The technical assets produced will be the property of UNESCO. 

Long Description

DELIVERABLES:

• Report on the desk review of state-level policies, curricula, teacher training programs (including on technical and vocational education and training), and assessments relevant to CBE and 21st century skills.
• Summary briefs of relevant national and state documents and stakeholder consultations.
• Detailed notes and support documentation from field visits and stakeholder meetings.
• Inputs to the comprehensive assessment report and roadmap for teacher training.
• Final technical note summarizing key contributions, feedback and recommendations.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Only Indian nationals can apply.

Education

• Advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in Education, Public Policy, Social Sciences, or related fields.

Experience

• At least 5 years of relevant experience in education systems, teacher training or education policy in India;
• Experience working with government education departments and institutions such as SCERTs, DIETs, and teacher education bodies;
• Familiarity with CBE, 21st-century skills, and the NEP 2020 framework is essential.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

• Familiarity with the educational context and system of Himachal Pradesh
• Proven experience collaborating with international non-profit organizations and specialists, preferably on education development initiatives.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Hindi (oral and written) is required.

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

• Strong coordination and facilitation skills;
• Excellent analytical and communication skills (written and verbal);
• Proficiency in both English and Hindi;
• Ability to work collaboratively with international and national teams;
• Familiarity with UNESCO or other UN agencies is an asset.

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the UNESCO careers website. No modifications can be made to the application submitted.

Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Qualified candidates are requested to attach the below documents under the 'Employment History' attachment section:

• A cover letter indicating how your qualifications and experience make you suitable for the assignment (maximum one page).
• An up-to-date curriculum vitae stating details of educational qualifications and working experience, telephone number, email address and two (2) references.
• A technical proposal, indicating an approach/methodology to carry out the assignment, including any inputs that may be required from UNESCO (maximum three pages).
• A financial proposal indicating (i) travel costs in INR (ii) the overall cost in INR of the assignment, expressed as an overall lump sum, assuming that the contract duration is 7 months, and (iii) costs/month in INR.
• Two (2) examples of previous, relevant work related to the deliverables.

Long Description

Proposals will be determined based on the best value for money approach. The weighted model takes account of two components, the individual consultant’s qualifications and the cost, by allocating a weight of 70% to the qualifications of the candidate, and 30% to the cost of the proposal.  An assessment exercise may be used in the evaluation of candidates.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

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