Individual Consultant - Education Data and Knowledge

OVERVIEW

Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)

Duty Station: Yangon

Job Family: Education

Type of contract : Non Staff

Duration of contract : From 7 to 11 months

Recruitment open to : External candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Duty Station Time) : 30-SEP-2025

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

1. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

UNESCO Antenna Office in Yangon (hereafter UNESCO Office) plays a key role in supporting Myanmar’s education sector through technical assistance, policy advocacy, and coordination among development partners. UNESCO facilitates sector-wide dialogue and collaboration, contributing to strategic planning and capacity development at both national and subnational levels. The office provides leadership in education sector coordination, including its role in co-chairing the sectoral coordination groups and supports initiatives aimed at ensuring inclusive, equitable, and quality education.

2. PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The consultant should be a Myanmar national, possessing a comprehensive understanding of Myanmar's educational history, coupled with significant academic and professional experience engaging with a wide range of stakeholders within the country.

Additionally, the consultant must demonstrate expertise in result-based management, utilizing relevant methodologies and educational indicators to monitor, evaluate, and ensure the effective implementation of education programs.

3. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the overall authority of the Regional Director of the UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok, the direct supervision of Head of UNESCO Antenna Office in Yangon, in close collaboration with the education teams, the consultant is sought to support for overarching sectoral coordination and providing technical support to development and implementation of M&E framework. 

M&E framework implementation

The consultant will support the roll-out and implementation of the Joint Response Framework (JRF) for Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation across educational projects in Myanmar. This includes facilitating the alignment of individual M&E frameworks from a range of stakeholders, including as UN agencies, INGOs, NGOs, and Myanmar’s Education Cluster with the JRF, ensuring consistency in methodologies, performance indicators, and data collection approaches. The consultant will work to ensure that these aligned frameworks contribute to a cohesive, country-wide monitoring system that effectively tracks educational investment performance and outcome progress. 
Additionally, the consultant will play a key role in monitoring and assessing educational progress by regularly tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and project milestones. This includes overseeing the collection and analysis of data, identifying gaps, challenges, and areas for improvement, and ensuring interventions are on track to meet their desired outcomes. The consultant will prepare and present regular M&E reports, summarizing findings, identifying success stories, and providing recommendations for course corrections. This may include facilitating workshops, sharing best practices, and ensuring that the partners’ efforts are integrated into the broader education system for sustained impact.

Educational Research

The consultant will support educational research activities, primarily focusing on preliminary literature reviews and desk research. This involves conducting an initial review of existing literature and documentation relevant to Myanmar's education system, identifying key themes, trends, challenges, and opportunities that should inform future research and program design.
Additionally, the consultant will assist the research team in data collection by helping with the data-gathering process. This could include identifying and liaising with relevant stakeholders to organize interviews or surveys and ensuring that the data collected is accurate and reliable. The consultant will also review analyzing research findings and integrating them into the broader M&E system to guide evidence-based decisions for future educational programming and interventions.

Sector Coordination and Knowledge Management

The consultant will be responsible for facilitating coordination across thematic platforms within the education sector, with a particular focus on strengthening systems that promote improved alignment, collaboration, and knowledge sharing among national stakeholders.
The consultant will support ongoing dialogue among key education actors to help identify gaps, challenges, and opportunities for enhanced coordination and collective sector-wide impact. This includes facilitating the work of thematic groups in addressing issues such as policy alignment, resource allocation, and program integration.
In addition to supporting coordination mechanisms, the consultant will play a lead role in integrating knowledge management into sector coordination. This will involve establishing and maintaining an online knowledge management system—such as a SharePoint-based portal—to serve as a centralized hub for storing and disseminating key sector resources, reports, and tools. The consultant will also be responsible for organizing and curating knowledge products to ensure that relevant information is accessible, up to date, and user-friendly. Managing user access and permissions to the platform will be essential to promoting inclusive and secure information sharing among education stakeholders. The consultant will also be expected to encourage the regular use and updating of the portal to strengthen institutional memory and facilitate continuous learning across the sector.
Furthermore, the consultant will contribute to capacity building among national organizations by offering technical support on effective coordination and knowledge management practices. This may include facilitating joint planning sessions, supporting the integration of partner efforts into national monitoring and evaluation frameworks, and promoting the exchange of lessons learned and good practices across stakeholders. Through these efforts, the consultant will help ensure that sector coordination processes are evidence-informed, inclusive, and aligned with national education goals.

It is important to note that additional tasks and responsibilities may be assigned as necessary, beyond those explicitly outlined above, to support the evolving needs and priorities of the organization. 

4. TIMELINE AND DELIVERABLES

5. Location and Travel

The consultant may be required to travel on missions directly related to projects and implementation during the assignment. The consultant should travel economy class and receive DSA at the standard rate (and which should be reduced, as necessary, when the number of days of DSA exceeds the limits stipulated in the table of rates published by ICSC). DSA is only payable to individuals carrying out assignments away from their usual place of residence or work. The consultant is expected to make her/his own travel arrangements and should be provided with a lump sum to cover travel-related expenses in accordance with UNESCO rules and regulations. Travel-related expenses (e.g. the cost of tickets, terminal fares and DSA) must be fixed and agreed between the parties.

6. COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)

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7. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS 

Education

Advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Education, Social Sciences, Development Studies, or a related field.
Work Experience
• At least 8 years of professional experience in the Myanmar’s education sector, with at least 5 years of experience focused specifically on M&E, sector coordination, or research.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in managing or supporting M&E systems for educational projects, including data analysis, report preparation, and using M&E tools.
• Experience of at least 2 years working with sectoral coordination and facilitating dialogue among stakeholders such as government agencies, international development partners, preferably UN agencies.
• At least 1-2 years of hands-on experience in educational research, especially in desk reviews, literature reviews, or data collection support (surveys, interviews, focus groups).

Skills/Competencies

• Proficient in using M&E tools and data analysis software to track and assess educational outcomes.
• Demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to engage stakeholders at multiple levels and write clear, concise reports.
• Ability to work independently, prioritize tasks, and meet deadlines, while also contributing effectively as part of a team.

Languages

Excellent knowledge of English or Burmese (written and spoken). 

8. DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Education

PhD in Education, Social Sciences, Development Studies, or a related field.

Work Experience

• Minimum 10 years of professional experience in the education sector, particularly in roles related to Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E), sector coordination, and research.
• At least 8 years of experience in leading implementation of M&E frameworks for educational projects, including both quantitative and qualitative data collection, analysis, and reporting.
• Experience in educational research with a focus on literature reviews, desk reviews, and data collection—at least 5 years of hands-on experience in conducting research for policy or program development.
• Strong background in system strengthening within education sectors, with experience in working on national educational policy frameworks or development strategies.

Skills/Competencies

• Demonstrated leadership and coordination skills with experience managing relationships across diverse sectors and organizations, ensuring effective collaboration on educational programs.
• Proven ability to provide technical assistance and capacity building in the areas of M&E systems, data collection, and performance monitoring.

Languages

Excellent knowledge of English or Burmese (written and spoken). 

9. Application Process

Interested candidates should click on “Apply Now” and upload the following documents as a single PDF document in place of the Employment History Form.

1) An updated Curriculum Vitae (CV) and a cover letter indicating how your qualifications and experience make you suitable for the assignment.   
2) Written technical and financial proposals (in English):• Approach and methodology for carrying out the assignment (maximum X, A4 pages), a detailed workplan showing a timeline for completion of activities, the assignment’s important activities/deliverables and milestones/deadlines and comments on the Terms of Reference, in brief, if any, and 
• The proposed monthly rates or the amount/budget to be charged for the assignment, which should be quoted in USD covering the total duration of 5 months.
3) Contact details of three (3) referees, including names, telephone numbers, and email addresses of individuals familiar with your professional work.  

UNESCO places great emphasis on ensuring that the objectives of the work assignment, as described in the Terms of Reference, are met. Accordingly, in evaluating the proposals for the assignment, attention will focus first and foremost on the technical elements. From those proposals deemed suitable in terms of the criteria in the Terms of Reference, UNESCO shall select the proposal that offers the Organization the best value for money.  
Please note that only pre-selected candidates will be contacted.

Additional Information 

• This contract is for a period of 5 months estimating start date is 01 December 2025.

Assessment

• Only applications providing the information requested in the application procedure will be considered.
• Evaluation of qualified applicants may include an assessment exercise and a competency-based interview.

Note: 

• Due to the large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidate(s) about the outcome or status of the selection process.

10. 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.
The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as an interview. 
UNESCO uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates.
Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided.

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UNESCO recalls that paramount consideration in the appointment of staff members shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, technical competence and integrity. UNESCO applies a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of harassment. UNESCO is committed to achieving and sustaining equitable and diverse geographical distribution, as well as gender parity among its staff members in all categories and at all grades. Furthermore, UNESCO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Candidates from non- and under-represented Member States (last update here) are particularly welcome and strongly encouraged to apply. Individuals from minority groups and indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the highest level of confidentiality. Worldwide mobility is required for staff members appointed to international posts.

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