UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND has floated a tender for Consultancy - Support to the Programme in Education and Institutional Strengthening. The project location is Oman and the tender is closing on 31 Jul 2018. The tender notice number is , while the TOT Ref Number is 25003669. Bidders can have further information about the Tender and can request the complete Tender document by Registering on the site.

Expired Tender

Procurement Summary

Country : Oman

Summary : Consultancy - Support to the Programme in Education and Institutional Strengthening

Deadline : 31 Jul 2018

Other Information

Notice Type : Tender

TOT Ref.No.: 25003669

Document Ref. No. :

Competition : ICB

Financier : United Nations Secretariat

Purchaser Ownership : -

Tender Value : Refer Document

Purchaser's Detail

Purchaser : UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND
Villa No. 999 Way No. 3709 South Bousher Muscat Tel: +968-24507451 / 24507452 / 24507453 Fax: +968-24507456
Oman
Email :muscat@unicef.org
URL :http://www.unicef.org/

Tender Details

Tenders are invited for Consultancy - Support to the programme in education and institutional strengthening- Muscat, Oman.

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

And we never give up.

For every child, Hope

Background and Justification

The Sultanate of Oman is a high-income country of 4.2 million people that has earned recognition for its rapid human development over the past 40 years. Oman-s Human Development Index (HDI) ranked Oman at 52 amongst 188 countries in 2015, placing the Sultanate amongst the high human development countries. Since 1990, the country has achieved one of the world-s fastest rates of reduction in under-five mortality rate. The United Nations 2016 estimates for the infant mortality rate and under-five mortality rate for Oman are respectively 9 and 11 per 1, 000 live births[1], a fraction of the MENA regional averages (36 and 28 per 1, 000 live births respectively, 2011), and of the same order as estimates for the United States and some other OECD countries. Oman has also made remarkable progress in adult literacy, from 33 percent in 1970 to 87 percent in 2011 (MOE, 2006 data), ten percentage points higher than the regional average for the MENA region. Oman offers a unique policy model in the MENA region. The country has taken bold measures that promote greater openness and dialogue, a pro-employment policy, greater access to land ownership, affordable consumer goods, and universal health and education services, all of which make for good living conditions (CMI, World Bank, EIB and ISESCO, 2013). Oman-s development over the past four decades has been striking. Together with consistent economic growth, Oman has seen consumption inequality fall from 2006 to 2011, a remarkable achievement in the region.

However, despite Oman-s high-income status and high human development status, the challenges for Omani children are those more commonly found in poorer countries. Three areas illustrate the contrasts defining Oman-s uniqueness:

- Oman has seen steady economic growth over four decades. However, its human resource base has been unable to keep up with the rapid modernization and growth due to skill shortages. Expatriates, therefore, make up around half the country-s labour force.

- Oman has universal coverage by health and primary education services, with high secondary education enrolment. Nonetheless, Oman-s health, nutrition and education outcomes lag behind those of some poorer countries.

- Oman-s government is socially progressive and committed to promoting the rights of children and women, as witnessed in their laws and legislative frameworks. Outside polls place Oman-s women among the most empowered in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Yet the country still faces challenges in protecting the rights of children and women, most commonly attributed to acceptable traditional practices towards them.

In response to this country context, the Government of Oman - UNICEF Joint Country Programme 2017-2020 has three programme priorities:

· Integrated early childhood development (IECD): Expand the coverage and quality of public IECD services, with a focus on reaching vulnerable groups of children and under-served areas.

· Protecting children from violence: Institutional strengthening for better response to child protection cases, and change the generally accepting attitude toward the use of violence, both physical and emotional, in schools and homes.

· Inclusion of children with disabilities: Generate and use data and evidence about the situation of children with disabilities to promote their inclusion in mainstream services and deliver timely, high quality early support interventions, with a focus on under-served areas.

SCOPE OF WORK

Under the overall supervision of the Deputy Representative, the consultant will support the planning, management, coordination, implementation and monitoring of UNICEF activities in the areas of education and institutional strengthening. In particular, the consultant will oversee daily management of a partnership programme with the universities and projects with MOE. Given the scope and number of partners involved in the implementation of the programme, the consultant will pay special attention to timely and efficient coordination and information exchange / sharing between UNICEF and all stakeholders.

Objectives

The main objectives of this consultancy are:

· Oversee and manage the implementation of specific interventions assigned to the consultant, namely in the education sector and with institutes of higher education.

· Provide support to the UNICEF Oman Programme team to ensure maximum implementation of RWP activities within the set timeframe.

Key tasks:

· Support planning, managing, coordinating and monitoring the implementation of specific education projects and institutional strengthening initiatives.

· Ensure timely and quality implementation of activities in line with the office workplan, in compliance with UNICEF rules and regulations and donor requirements;

· Develop ToRs for technical consultancy contracts, as necessary;

· Liaise with partners and UNICEF colleagues in the preparation of key meetings;

· Liaise with UNICEF communication staff to ensure branding and visibility and organize meetings or events as per programme plans;

· Organize and attend meetings, workshops and other events, and ensure follow up discussions, negotiations, and action with partners;

· Facilitate communication among all stakeholders involved;

· Support the management of specific foreseen consultancies and partnerships;

· Provide information and briefing on project activities and status;

· Prepare updates on progress, briefing notes;

· Undertake other relevant tasks as required.

Expected Outputs

· · · Regular programme updates and follow up to facilitate timely implementation.

· Activity or thematic reports produced as needed.

· Consultative meetings and missions arranged as per requirements.

· Organise, facilitate and support workshops and meetings, as necessary.

· Timely provision of background documentation, and meeting minutes as well as follow up on action points.

· Meeting minutes and other documents produced shared with all staff and saved in common shared drive.

· Any other tasks assigned are completed in a timely manner.

Duration of the assignment

3 months (October - December)

Administrative requirements

Expected places of travel, insurance, per diem, payments and responsibilities between UNICEF and the consultant team:

· · · Consultants will make their own travel arrangements based on an agreed travel schedule. UNICEF will cover airfare of the consultant team to Oman in Economy class via the most direct and economical route.

· When in-country, the consultants/institutional team will be required to report on a daily basis to the UNICEF Supervisor.

· For long stays in-country, the team will be entitled to the same weekends and UN holiday schedule as UNICEF staff.

· Transportation upon arrival and departure is to be arranged by the travellers, terminal expense will be provided by UNICEF.

· For in-country stays, UNICEF will provide a DSA not exceeding the UN DSA rate.

· Any in-country travel related to the consultant team-s assignment will be arranged for and covered by UNICEF.

· Consultants need to arrange their own insurance (life, health and other forms of insurance) covering the term of the contract while in Oman, and need to provide proof of such insurance prior to travel.

· Consultants will make their own arrangements for booking accommodation, and UNICEF will support them to obtain UNICEF corporate rates. Settlement of any accommodation will be made directly by the consultants with the hotel.

· UNICEF will not provide the consultants with any equipment, unless it is requested by the consultants and approved by Operation Unit with appropriately completed form.

Qualification & Specialized Knowledge

· · · Advanced university degree in Social Science, or another relevant field;

· Minimum 8 years of professional experience in programme management in development, preferably in middle income/ high income country contexts;

· Good knowledge of the country set up;

· Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and sensitivity to different cultural context and situations;

· Advanced skills in planning, decision-making, critical thinking, facilitation and coordination;

· Ability to work independently as well as to welcome guidance;

· Familiarity with the UNICEF mandate and prior experience with UNICEF is an asset;

· Fluency in English and Arabic is required.

Submission of proposal

Interested candidates should include in their proposals the following:

The Offer should be in two parts: Part A - Technical; Part B - Financial

Part A: Technical

· Consultant-s updated curriculum vitae

· Updated P-11 form

Part B: Financial

· Monthly fees, not including DSA and travel expenses which are set by UNICEF regulations.

[1] UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA Population Division).

HOW TO APPLY:

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Documents

 Tender Notice