Consultant

UNESCO

The Kiribati ICT Transformation of

Education

• Systems (KITES) Project, a USD 2.5 million programme funded through the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) System Transformation Grant (STG), aims to improve equitable access to quality education and strengthen teaching and learning through strategic investments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The project responds to key challenges facing the education sector, including geographic isolation, infrastructure limitations, disparities in access across remote and outer islands, the limited availability of quality learning resources, and high dropout rates, particularly among boys, as identified in the Kiribati Partnership Compact. Aligned with the Kiribati

Education

• Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP 2024–2027) and the ICT in

Education

• Master Plan, KITES is led by the Ministry of Education, with the UNESCO Regional Office for the Pacific States serving as the Grant Agent and providing technical oversight, coordination, and implementation support throughout the project. The programme follows a phased approach, initially focusing on the establishment of model schools as testing grounds for ICT infrastructure and teaching innovations, to generate evidence for systematic scale-up.

• Long Description

PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The consultant will provide technical assistance to UNESCO and the Ministry of Education (MoE) for the implementation of KITES across all three components: Access, Teaching Quality, and Systems Reform. This includes technical inputs to the activities and products of each component; technical analysis and presentations to inform decisions by UNESCO and the MoE; and technical support to programme governance meetings and to information sharing between MoE divisions, consultants and partners. The consultant will work under the overall authority of the Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for the Pacific States and the direct supervision of the UNESCO Education Programme Specialist, in close collaboration with the designated MoE focal point and the MoE focal points for each programme component.

OBJECTIVE

The consultant will support UNESCO and the Ministry of Education to:

• Provide technical assistance and inputs to the implementation of all three components (Access, Teaching Quality, and Systems Reform), working with the responsible MoE divisions, KTC, and specialised consultants, to support timely implementation in line with the approved workplan.

• Provide technical analysis and presentations to inform programme decisions by UNESCO and the MoE, including at meetings of the Technical Committees and the Project Steering Committee.

• Provide technical inputs to the monitoring and evaluation framework for all three components and prepare analysis of risks and bottlenecks with recommendations.

SCOPE OF WORK

1. Technical assistance to programme implementation

• Provide technical inputs to terms of reference, workplans, and technical products under each component, for review and decision by UNESCO and the MoE.

• Support regular progress check-ins with MoE component focal points and monthly programme reviews convened by the MoE and UNESCO, by preparing implementation status summaries and technical analysis of issues for discussion.

• Support the MoE in planning school-level activities, including model school visits and outer island travel.

2. Technical support to programme governance and stakeholder engagement

• Participate in meetings of the Technical Committees and the Project Steering Committee in a technical support capacity, and support meeting preparation, documentation and follow-up, including technical presentations and analysis on implementation progress, technical issues and risks across the three components. The MoE and UNESCO remain responsible for convening, managing and overseeing these bodies; the consultant has nodecision-making role.

• Support UNESCO and the MoE in their engagement with the Local

Education

• Group (LEG) by preparing technical presentations and briefs. This support is provided to UNESCO and the MoE and does not imply any representational role.

3. Technical analysis, monitoring and reporting

• Review implementation against the programme workplan on a monthly basis and advise UNESCO and the MoE on delays, bottlenecks and risks, with recommendations.

• Compile and analyse indicator data provided by the responsible MoE units, KTC, and model schools against the programme monitoring and evaluation framework.

• Prepare the monthly implementation review reports and final report, drawing on inputs from MoE component focal points.

4. Communications and knowledge management

• Support the documentation of programme results and stories of change, in consultation with the MoE and UNESCO.

• Support the dissemination of programme products to schools, MoE divisions, and stakeholders.

• Document lessons learned and feedback from model schools to inform standards development and the scale-up of programme interventions.

DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINE

Deliverable

Description

• Timeline

• Payment

• Monthly Implementation Review Reports

• Monthly implementation review covering the technical assistance and inputs provided under each of the three components; progress against the workplan and results framework; technical analysis of issues, delays and bottlenecks, and risk analysis; and recommendations on issues requiring decision by the MoE and UNESCO. Technical presentations, analysis and meeting minutes prepared during the month are annexed as supporting evidence.

• End of Months 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

• Instalments 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

• Final Report and Handover Note

• End-of-contract implementation review summarizing the technical assistance provided under each component, progress, results, lessons learned, outstanding issues and risks, with recommendations for the next phase of implementation, together with a handover of all technical products and records prepared under the assignment to the MoE and UNESCO.

• End of Month 6

• Instalment 6

• The contract fee will be paid in six (6) equal instalments, each released upon UNESCO’s acceptance of the corresponding deliverable.

• All deliverables must be supported by documented evidence demonstrating that the work has been undertaken, that outputs are complete, and that they meet the required quality standards.

• Where requested by UNESCO, the consultant shall submit a daily timesheet with each monthly implementation review report, recording the days worked and the tasks undertaken, including the technical assistance provided under each component, to support verification of the report and payment.

DURATION

• The assignment will be undertaken over six (6) months from the date of contract commencement.
• The contract may be extended subject to programme needs and satisfactory delivery of outputs.
• Travel to outer islands and model schools may be required, subject to programme needs and prior UNESCO approval. Where travel is required, related travel costs will be covered separately from the contract fee, in accordance with the applicable rates.

ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS

The consultant;

• will be based at the Ministry of Education in South Tarawa, within the UNESCO Project Office and is expected to use their own laptop and mobile phone for the assignment.
• will maintain regular communication with UNESCO and the MoE focal point, providing updates on progress, risks, challenges, and emerging issues.
• will work closely with the MoE divisions responsible for programme implementation.
• will have no managerial, supervisory, representational, procurement, approval or financial authority on behalf of UNESCO, the MoE or the programme.
• not supervise or direct MoE staff, consultants or suppliers; represent or speak on behalf of UNESCO or the MoE; take part in procurement decisions; approve activities, deliverables, payments or expenditure; or commit funds.
• maintain the confidentiality of programme information and declare any actual or potential conflict of interest.

Long Description

Neither the consultant nor any entity with which the consultant is affiliated shall participate as a bidder or supplier in, or receive financial benefit from, procurement processes under the KITES programme.

Programme management, implementation and decision-making remain the responsibility of the MoE and UNESCO.

All deliverables produced under the consultancy will be subject to review and acceptance by UNESCO, in consultation with the Ministry of Education. All programme records and documents produc