Background

The United Nations (UN) Secretary General has called on world leaders to convene for a Transforming Education Summit (TES) on 19th September 2022, as a key milestone in the advancement of Our Common Agenda. The Summit is being convened in response to a global crisis in education – one of equity and inclusion, quality and relevance. The crisis is having a devastating impact on the futures of children and youth worldwide with progress towards the education-related Sustainable Development Goals off track. If unaddressed, its negative impacts on our collective pursuit of peace, justice, human rights and sustainable development will be felt for decades to come.

Building on the seminal report from the UNESCO International Commission on the Futures of Education, and the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, a focused, intensive, and inclusive preparatory process leading to the summit has been undertaken in 2022:

• National consultations in over 100 countries to develop a shared vision, commitment and alignment of action across constituencies to transform education.
• Thematic Action Tracks have been convened at the global level to place a spotlight on the areas that require greater attention and action: (1) Inclusive, equitable, safe and healthy schools; (2) Teachers, teaching and the teaching profession; (3) Learning and skills for life, work and sustainable development; (4) Digital learning and transformation; and (5) Financing of education.
• Public engagement and mobilization efforts have sought to democratize dialogue around education and to grow a global movement for education transformation.

The Kingdom of Bahrain has organized national consultations on 23 June 2022 during which areas of commitment to transform education were identified. During the pre-summit the Kingdom has also reaffirmed its strong commitment to advancing the education agenda nationally, regionally and globally. Specifically, the national consultations made 21 recommendations across the three areas, including:

1. Ensuring full recovery from COVID-19 educational disruption;
2. Identifying the main strategic transformations and levers for reimagining education for the 21st century, accelerating progress towards shared education goals and raising the ambition of national education targets and benchmarks;
3. Ensuring strengthened and more sustainable public financing of education

The TES recommendations were approved by the Prime Minister at the Cabinet meeting on 22 August 2022 and would be presented by the Minister of Education at the Leaders Day convened by the UN Secretary General on 19 September.

Duties and Responsibilities

 Purpose of Assignment
Building on the momentum of the Transforming Education Summit, its preparatory process and the country's strong engagement, this assignment is to support the Ministry of Education and the UN Country Team in formulating follow-up actions for implementation of the TES recommendations which would support the advancement of the education agenda in the Kingdom of Bahrain through improving strategies and policies to deliver on the SDG4 targets and thematic areas.

Scope of Work and Deliverables
The consultant will be expected to fulfil the below tasks and deliverables:
Tasks:

1.    Review the national policy documents, including education strategies, the TES national consultations report and other analytical documents related to transforming education in Bahrain
2.    Guided by the national priorities as identified above, as well as the Secretary-General's Vision Statement for Transforming Education, the Summit Youth Declaration, the Member States commitments and call to action1, and other outcome documents of the global summit, facilitate a discussion between the Ministry of Education, the UN Country Team, and other stakeholders on follow up actions to support implementation of the TES recommendations
3.    Based on the consultations with relevant stakeholders, prepare a draft action plan for implementation of the TES recommendations by identifying specific areas for the UN support and estimating indicative costs related to its implementation
4.    Collect and integrate comments from the Ministry of Education, the UN Country Team, and other stakeholders, and finalize a draft action plan

The deliverables will be produced according to the below timeline:

 Time line
The contract duration includes 20 working days, of which 5 working days during the period of 7-14 October to implement Tasks 1 and 2, 10 working days during the period of 16-31 October for Task 3 and 5 working days in the period of 1-10 November to fulfil Task 4.

 Management Arrangements
The consultant will deliver the above deliverables outlined in the section of Scope of Work and Deliverables. The consultant will report to the RCO Economist, and the deliverables and feedback required will be provided in line with the milestones noted above.

Resources Provided by UN
Full access to resource documents and data will be provided to the consultant.

Competencies

•    Writing and analytical skills
•    Communication, coordination, and outreach
•    Values of integrity, ethics and cultural sensitivity

Required Skills and Experience

Education, Experience, Skills

Education - Advanced degree (Masters Degree or equivalent) in Education and Public Policy (or a related field)
Experience

•    At least ten (ten) years' experience in education sector
•    Extensive experience in providing strategic advice and the development of public policies
•    Ability to engage with a cross-section of stakeholders in the public sectors.
•    Experience working internationally including with the UN organizations.
•    Proven ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.

Language and other skills:

•    Outstanding communication skills, with excellent command of spoken and written English (Arabic would be advantageous)
•    Strong written and verbal communication skills are required.
•    Computer skills, internet communication and command of MS Office are required.