UNDP Jobs - 34658- Adviser to the Minister of Education

Adviser to the Minister of Education

Location :

Chisinau, MOLDOVA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Feb-2013

Application Deadline :

07-Jan-13 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

8 months with possibility of extension

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The EU High Level Policy Advisory Mission (EUHLPAM) is a project financed by the European Union and implemented by the UNDP. The objective of the project is to support the Government to implement its reform agenda, the Government Activity Programme and the National Development Strategy Moldova 2020, and in particular to assist the Government to develop the capacities required for the preparation, negotiation and implementation of the EU-Moldova Association Agreement, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, and visa liberalization. Specifically, the project aims at strengthening the policy-making, strategic planning and policy management capacities of selected line Ministries and Agencies involved in the negotiation and implementation of the Association Agreement and visa liberalization and at enhancing stakeholders’ knowledge and awareness of EU policies, legislation and regulations in sectors strategic to the conclusion of the Association Agreement including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, and to the implementation of visa liberalization.

The EUHLPAM will achieve these objectives through the continued delivery of an optimal mix of policy, legal and institutional advice ensuring that the Moldovan authorities have direct access to EU best practice and reform experience in order to strengthen policy design and implementation.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Adviser will provide strategic advice to the Minister of Education on policy making and strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of Education in the promotion of education reforms committed to in the Government Activity Programme.Besides day to day advice and on the job coaching, he/she will develop analytical products in the form of advisory notes, reviews, assessments leading to policy papers, as well as provide direct ad-hoc strategic advice as required by the target beneficiaries.

The advice provided to the Government will be closely linked to the activities and strategic objectives of the EU High Level Policy Advice Mission to Moldova and will complement the work of the team. As such, the Advisor will be working closely and coordinate activities with the other members of the team of EUHLPAM Advisors, UNDP, and the EU Delegation to Moldova.

The Adviser will report primarily to the Minister of Education, with a secondary reporting line to the EU Delegation and UNDP. Together with other EUHLPAM advisors, s/he will represent the EUHLPAM in meetings with key officials, partner organisations and other institutions involved into implementation of the Project.

Key Responsibilities:

Strengthening the capacities of the ministry in policy development, strategy planning and policy implementation;
Provide information and advice on European policies, EU integration, with a focus on the education sector;
Provide advice on best practices and experiences in the implementation of EU education reforms;
Provide strategic advice and guidance to the Minister of Education in designing and implementing the education strategies and plans to communicate the implementation of the Government Program and EU integration and accession agenda;
Provide strategic advice to the Ministry of Education on the processes for education reform and EU integration through the implementation of the Association Agreement, implementation of Bologna process, Lisbon Convention, consolidated education strategy for 2011-2015, implementation of the structural reform and plan of action in basic education, ECD, residential reform of child care, development and implementation of the national frame of qualifications, reform of secondary vocational education and secondary specialised education, implementation of university autonomy, modernisation of the higher education quality assurance system;
Provide guidance for the development of policy briefs for the reformation and development of the education system in the context of the Government Activity Programme and EU agenda, and in the elaboration of the sector development strategy Education 2020.

The above responsibilities will be carried out through the elaboration of strategic policy papers, advisory notes and other relevant documentation as well as technical on-the-job advice to the Governmental institutions responsible for the education policy.
UNDP shall ensure that the Adviser works according to a prioritised work plan to be established in close consultation with the beneficiary, and agreed upon by the European Union, the Beneficiary and the UNDP. The work plan will contain specific objectives, a detailed description of the activities, expected outputs and results, supported by objectively verifiable indicators of achievement.

Competencies

Knowledge of the education sector peculiarities, national and European development framework and required norms and documents;
Experience in providing consultation and advice to EU/EC, UN Agencies or other international development partners such as WB, DFID, SIDA etc;
Experience in national negotiations on EU integration will be an asset;
Previous work experience in Moldova will be an advantage;
Excellent analytical skills, skills of synthesizing information and in results based management;
Substantive overall understanding of development trends and ability to present related issues clearly both to a general and a specialist audience;
Outstanding drafting and communication skills;
Familiarity with relevant IT software tools.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

Master’s Degree in Public Policy, Public Administration, Education, Management, or other relevant areas. A PhD Degree will be a distinct advantage.

Years of experience:

Minimum 15 years of relevant professional experience;
Minimum 10 years of experience in providing strategic advice and elaboration of public development policies, including education policies;

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

Proposal explaining why they are the most suitable for the work;
Financial proposal;
Personal CV including past experience in similar projects, the duly filled Personal History Form (P11) and at least 3 references.

FINANCIAL PROPOSAL

The Financial Proposal shall specify a daily lump-sum fee and travel expenses quoted in separate line items. Payments are made monthly to the Individual Consultant based on the submission and approval of the time sheets (monthly) and activity reports (quarterly). The Advisor is required to be present in Moldova at least 60% of the time.

Travel

One time travel to join duty station/repatriation travel must be included in the financial proposal. In general, UNDP does not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses will be agreed upon, between UNDP and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

------------------------------------------------------

For complete information about this vacancy, including detailed tasks and responsibilities, full and detailed description of the evaluation procedure which will be applied, as well as the UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract, please refer to the Terms of Reference and the Individual Consultant Procurement Notice published at the UNDP Moldova website, Jobs Section: http://www.undp.md/jobs/jobdetails/245. Please follow the application instructions described therein.