International Senior Research Consultant, Education and Peacebuilding

Background:

UNICEF’s Evaluation Office in New York is seeking an International Senior Research Consultant, to participate in an independent research project on education and peacebuilding in post-conflict contexts. This research project, led by a highly qualified Team Leader will investigate the role of education in contributing to peacebuilding processes in Nepal and Lebanon.

A pilot country case study is being carried out by the Team Leader of the project and a Technical Expert in May 2011 in Sierra Leone. The International Senior Consultant that we seek to recruit will be responsible for one of two case studies (Nepal or Lebanon), and will be assisted by a national consultant in each country. The team leader will provide guidance and quality assurance to the case studies, with the overall project management provided by UNICEF Evaluation Office.

Research project scope and objectives:

The purpose of the UNICEF Education and Peacebuilding project is to investigate the role of education in contributing to peacebuilding processes in post-conflict contexts. Using empirically driven, multi-country case studies, the research will determine the role and potential of education in peacebuilding processes in order to better inform programming and policy. The case studies build on the comprehensive literature review carried out as part of the first phase of this project.

The specific objectives of the case studies are to: • Locate peace-building initiatives supported through education programming being undertaken in the case study countries. This should include interrogation of alignment of these initiatives with conflict analysis and country specific strategic and programmatic frameworks, including UN frameworks; • Document country-specific education interventions where education has played an important role in contributing to peace or where it has missed the opportunity to do so, and identify theories of change/programme theory (explicit or implicit) and their relationship to peacebuilding; • Provide recommendations and guidance on education interventions contributing to peacebuilding based on models and approaches used by UNICEF and its partners to initiate, promote and implement education initiatives in support of peacebuilding; • Identify strengths, weaknesses and recommendations for UNICEF supported education programming as it relates to peacebuilding.

Deriving from those broad objectives, the guiding research questions for this phase of the research project are: 1. What are the strengths, weaknesses and gaps of the education system’s contribution to peacebuilding in a given country within a changing and volatile political context? 2. How does the post-conflict political environment within a country affect the ‘success’ or ‘failure’ of education programmes for peacebuilding? 3. What is the practical and pragmatic recommendation for UNICEF’s niche (within both the UN and broader context) in education programming that contributes to peacebuilding?

The methodology for the proposed case study and data collection instruments have been fully developed by the Team Leader and Technical Expert, and will be piloted in the first country case study. The tools will be revisited and refined in a workshop following the initial fieldwork in Sierra Leone. It is expected that the selected international senior consultants will participate in the workshop.

Country team structure:

A team of two researchers - the Senior International Research Consultant, and a national level researcher/consultant - will carry out the data collection, analysis and writing up in each country case study. The international researcher will be experienced in the field of education and conflict/peacebuilding and will be required to lead the case study and will be responsible for all case study outputs. The national consultant will be a national of the case study country, with experience of social science research, and good knowledge of education and peacebuilding in the country. The national researcher will work alongside the international senior researcher, acting as co-researcher, but also as a cultural guide, providing local knowledge and historical context as well as facilitating contact with key informants. The fieldwork period for each country study will be approximately four weeks. UNICEF is responsible for recruiting the national consultant, and depending on timing of the recruitment exercise, the international consultant may be involved in the process of reviewing candidates.

During the course of the research, the research team will have significant interaction with selected national officials, UN agencies, international and national NGOs and other partners. The overall management responsibility for the research project will rest with UNICEF’s Evaluation Office in New York.

Qualifications and Competences:

• PhD or advanced university degree in education, social sciences, international development, or related field; • At least 15 years of progressive experience at national and international levels in conducting research, including research and evaluations design, implementation management; • Expertise in Education in emergencies and conflict-affected contexts; • Significant knowledge of peacebuilding theory and knowledge of different peace processes; sound knowledge of peacebuilding through development strategies; • Professional or academic experience in Nepal or Lebanon; • Expertise in conflict analysis and assessment, in particular research on peacebuilding and development programmes, including state of the art and the skills required for performing conflict analysis; • Understanding of humanitarian action, coordination, and early recovery, in particular education and cross-sectoral coordination within UN Inter-agency coordination mechanisms and commitments, e.g., education cluster, early recovery cluster, etc; • Good knowledge of gender issues in education in emergencies and post-crisis transition. • Expertise in conducting large or multi-country/donor evaluations/research under difficult circumstances, including familiarity with OECD/DAC guidance on evaluating conflict prevention and peacebuilding activities, and other internationally agreed guidance and standards for peacebuilding and conflict prevention activities; • Expertise in multi-method research approach, including survey designs, observational methods data analysis as well as interviews and focus groups and desk review; • Understanding of human-rights based approach to education programming;
• Knowledge of education programming in emergencies, early recovery and post-conflict transition; • Proven leadership skills and strong commitment to teamwork/experience working within diverse teams; • Ability to operate within a wide range of socio-cultural contexts; • An appropriate and conflict-sensitive style of working (being comfortable working in dangerous situations, having interpersonal approaches that are transparent, being gender- and culturally sensitive, and possessing skills for managing conflict and tension); • Familiarity with UN/UNICEF programmes and related research and evaluation experience would be an asset; • Facilitation skills; and • Excellent knowledge of English (oral and writing) and knowledge of Arabic for applicants applying for Lebanon would be an asset.

Timeline:

Mid-June: Methodology workshop with full international research team to prepare researchers on methodological approach, data analysis techniques, ensuring consistency in data collection and analysis. End of June – End of July: Field work in case study county; will include interviews, focus groups, participatory workshop at the capital level, and one week of site visit at the field level (identification of site to be determined with country office) 12 August: first draft of country case study 5 September: second draft of country case study Early September: Synthesis Workshop with international research team (TBD) 23 September: Final draft of country case study

Specific tasks/deliverables:

Participation in Methodology Workshop (3 days) Desk review (5 days) In-country Data Collection (20 days) Data Analysis and Report Drafting (12 days) Incorporation of comments and report revision (7 days) Participation in Synthesis Workshop (3 days)

Duration of involvement for each consultant: 10 June 2011 until 30 September 2011 Expected commitment/level of effort: 50 days for senior international consultant

The final report should be a stand-alone publishable document.

Submission requests:

We invite international experts to express their interest for the positions sought through this call. The letters of interest, accompanied by P11 (CV) and a writing sample, should include the following information (please limit to one page max per section):

a. Highest Academic Degree, Year of Graduation, Name of Institution

b. Major Research/Evaluation experiences

c. Proven academic record/publications

d. Most recent employment experience

e. Relevant geographic focus from previous work

f. Brief paragraph expressing particular interest and strength in taking the position and summary of directly relevant experience (2 pages max)

Interested candidates are requested to send the above-listed information with CVs to evalrecruit@unicef.org by May 13, 2011. Under subject line, please mention Education and Peacebuilding and the position you are applying for. We appreciate your interest.