DirecciónUNICEF Moldova is contracting the services of an Individual Consultant, to support MER and INEL in establishing a national network of mentors by building a capacity of mentor-trainers as change agents in education that will support learning and help teachers and school leaders develop their potential.
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.
Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.
And we never give up.
For every child, education
UNICEF Moldova, with the financial support of the European Union, supports the Ministry of Education and Research (MER) in implementing a comprehensive set of activities aimed at overcoming some of these challenges and achieve the goals of the DS. These activities are part of the Programme Advancing Quality Education and Lifelong Learning Opportunities for All and will contribute to human capital development in the Republic of Moldova, improving quality and relevance of education and lifelong learning opportunities, for better matching the labour market demands.
Among other objectives, the programme will focus on strengthening institutions and systems for teacher and school leaders' professional development. It will also aim to provide support for the effective implementation of education policies focused on the improvement of the overall quality of teaching and learning.
How can you make a difference?
1. Purpose of the assignment
The consultant will support MER and INEL in establishing a national network of mentors by building a capacity of mentor-trainers as change agents in education that will support learning and help teachers and school leaders develop their potential.
2. Objectives of the consultancy
The consultants are expected to train 80 mentor-trainers (40 national mentor-trainers and 40 regional mentor-trainers) that will act as mento-trainers and provide support for personal and professional development.
3. Details of how the work should be delivered
To enhance the quality of education by implementing and institutionalising practice mentoring, induction mentoring and workplace professional development mentoring, MER will conduct the selection of the first 80 mentors to be trained as mentor-trainers, based on the approved criteria of selection.
The preliminary selection criteria of mentor-trainers developed and applied by MER are:
a) minimum 5 years of teaching experience
b) the candidate is recognized as a professional within the community of teachers
c) the candidate has attained at least teaching grade II
d) the candidate has at least two years of experience as a trainer in local, district or national training activities and has contributed to the training and development of the teaching staff within his/her educational institution.
These mentees will further fulfil the role of mentor-trainers for 920 teaching staff from over 300 general educational institutions. The training programme for 80 mentor-trainers will include 75 hours of direct contact training and 225 hours of independent work, including the mentoring internship. The training programme will be based on two modules:
1. Praxeology of adult education (80 mentor-trainers trained)
2. Mentoring internship (institutional mentoring practice as a mentor-trainer for at least a month), followed a follow-up session.
The training will be organised within a period of two weeks for each group of mentees, followed by an internship in educational institutions. During the internship, regular mentoring and guidance activities will be provided to all 80 mentors via online tools based on previously agreed mechanisms and timetable.
The consultants will ensure that the training programmes adhere to a curriculum developed and implemented by the consultants within different training programmes for mentors and mentor-trainers. The curricula methodology and structure will require a formal endorsement by MER and INEL management.
The preliminary criteria for curriculum and implemented training programme relevance include:
- Number of trained mentor-trainers
- Degree of satisfaction of the trained mentor-trainers
- Degree of satisfaction with the provided handouts
- Participants degree of involvement in the training programme
- Relevance of mentoring tools to be used by mentor-trainers in practice within their institutions
The evaluation of mentor-trainers after the completion of the training programme will be carried out during a one-day follow-up face to face session. The subsequent task involves the mentor-trainers engaging in self-assessment, evaluation, and certification activities. The evaluation methodology will be part of the mentoring programme package that will be endorsed by MER and INEL management.
4. Deliverables and timelines
| Task
| Deliverable
| Expected timeline |
1. | Develop an inception report on the methodologies of training the mentor-trainers, including the tools for identifying the training needs (short description) and the methodology of post-internship evaluation |
Inception Report containing the methodology and tools | 4 days |
2. | Conducting induction sessions and dialogues involving MER, INEL, and UNICEF to approve the curricula and methodology |
MER endorsement of the Curriculum for the Training Programmes and materials |
1 day |
3. | Training of trainers in mentoring | Training delivered to 80 mentor-trainers on training of mentors | up to 40 days |
4. | Develop the report on the results of the training programme | Report developed and submitted to MER and UNICEF | 2 days |
5. | Consulting and mentoring on-line sessions for the mentees during the mentoring internship
| 1.Online sessions conducted
2. Report on the mentoring internship | 5 days (0,5 - hour x 80 mentors) 2 days |
6. | Conduct follow-up activities (self-evaluation, evaluation, and certification) | 1. Follow-up activities conducted 2. Report containing the main findings and recommendations | up to 5 days
2 days |
7. | Develop the Final Report | 1. Final report presented to MER and UNICEF 2. Summary report (up to 6 pages) in English 3. Summary of results in PPT in English | 2 days |
| Total |
| 63 days |
5. Definition of supervisory arrangements
The consultants will work under the oversight of the Education Officer of UNICEF Moldova, in close coordination with the Education Specialist. Payments will be rendered upon successful completion of each task, as per the schedule outlined above.
6. Work location and official travel involved
The work will require 1 mission of up to 40 days to Chisinau to meet with the national stakeholders and 1 mission of up to 5 days for local travels in order to conduct in-person visits and interviews with the different local government authorities, as per their availability. The UNICEF office will facilitate introductions to key informants.
The consultants are expected to cover costs, arrange, and schedule such visits, including transportation. The UNICEF office will facilitate introductions to key informants. Consultants will make and pay for own international travel arrangements for arriving in Moldova including visa costs, insurance, any taxes etc.
The travel shall be based on economy class travel, regardless of the length of travel, subject to exceptional approval of business class travel by the Head of Office, for example for medical reasons when certified by UN Medical Services in New York.
The daily subsistence allowance (DSA) should not exceed fees as promulgated by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) for Moldova Country Office.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have
- University degree in educational sciences
- Minimum 5 years of working experience in the relevant field
- Proven experience in developing training programmes for adults
- Proven experience in providing training programmes for mentors
- Experience of work with Governmental institutions, preferably in education is an asset
- Familiarity with international, EU and European Commission policies and benchmarks in education and best European practices in the field of education
- Previous work with UNICEF, other UN agencies, or the WB is an asset
- Fluency in Romanian and working knowledge of English is required.
For every Child, you demonstrate
UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).
To view our competency framework, please visit here.
For more details on the consultancy assignment and requirements, please refer to attached Terms of reference (ToR)
2024_ToR_Indiv Consultancy_INEL_Mentor Trainers_VA.docx
HOW TO APPLY: Your online application should contain the Technical Offer and Financial Offer (templates below). Please secure the Financial Proposal *.pdf document with a password on document view; the password will be requested only from technically qualified candidates.
Technical Offer_INEL_Mentor Trainers.docx
Financial Offer_INEL_Mentor Trainers.xlsx
UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.
UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.
UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.
Remarks:
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.
The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.
