Vacancy title:
Consultant

[Type: FULL_TIME, Industry: Nonprofit, and NGO, Category: Admin & Office]

Jobs at:
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO )

Deadline of this Job:
Saturday, July 5 2025

Duty Station:
Uganda

Summary
Date Posted: Wednesday, June 25 2025, Base Salary: Not Disclosed

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JOB DETAILS:

Education system 

Education is the most crucial factor in a child's life, shaping their future without compromising their well-being. Education systems in East Africa vary across countries, though they share common challenges. Kenya is undergoing reforms, replacing the 8-4-4 system with a competency-based curriculum.  Tanzania follows a 7-4-2-3 structure, with students completing 13 years of schooling before taking the Advanced Certificate exam and pursuing college education for 3 to 4 years. Somalia operates under a 6-2-4-4 system, comprising six years of primary school, two years of lower secondary, four years of upper secondary, and four years of higher education. South Sudan’s education system consists of eight years of primary education starting at age six, followed by four years of secondary education and then either post-secondary training or four years of tertiary education. 

Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 for inclusive and equitable quality education is inextricably linked with the health and well-being of learners. Inclusive and transformative education cannot be delivered if students are not safe, well-nourished and healthy, and free from violence and discrimination. While education and health outcomes have been improving steadily across the African continent, many risk factors and determinants affect the health and well-being of children and young people and can influence their ability to fulfill their potential.

Children and adolescents in Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania face challenges on their health and well-being, particularly in HIV prevention, GBV, and reproductive health. In Kenya, adolescents accounted for 41% of new HIV infections in 2022, while 40% experienced GBV, and 15% were pregnant or had children (KDHS 2022). In Somalia, HIV prevalence among adults is 0.3-0.4%, though data for young people remains limited (UNAIDS 2023) while GBV affects up to 70% of women due to conflict (UN 2023). In South Sudan, conflict drives high GBV rates, affecting nearly 60% of women, while 30% of teenage girls are pregnant or mothers (UNMISS 2023). Uganda has a 5.2% HIV prevalence rate among young people with 50% of women experiencing GBV and 24% of teenage girls having begun childbearing (DHS 2022). In Tanzania, 55,000 new HIV infections were recorded in 2023, GBV affects 35% of girls, with 22% of teenage girls pregnant or mothers (DHS 2022). These statistics underscores the urgent need for promotion of health and well-being across these countries. 

Basic education

The governments of the five countries have been supporting enhanced access to basic education. Each country has legislation and policies that seeks to ensure all children, including those with disabilities, have access to free and compulsory primary education 

Access to education

The various Ministries of Education in the countries are dedicated to providing inclusive, high-quality education aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 4. They implement laws and policies to improve access, retention, completion, and ensure a conducive learning environment. Despite strides towards universal education access, regions affected by conflicts and natural disasters experience significant disparities that perpetuate gender inequality and affect the health and well-being of learners. This is aggravated by poor socio-economic indicators including cultural norms that compromise access to education. 

Barriers to learners' health and well-being  

Barriers to health and well-being  are factors that contribute to school exclusion, including push factors like challenges within the school system, such as Gender Inequality,  inadequate teacher training , teaching pedagogies,  lack of inclusive infrastructure among others and pull factors including cultural norms and practices including Female Genital Mutilation(FGM),child marriage, HIV and AIDS, vulnerabilities including disabilities, poverty, long travel distances ,conflict and displacement, climate change among others. 

Conflict and natural disasters are on an upward trend within the Eastern Africa region largely due to intensification of climate change impacts. More frequent and prolonged drought events have decimated livelihoods, fueled conflict over scarce natural resources and increased cattle rustling as impoverished communities raid their neighbors to restock their declining herds. Seasonal migration and displacements in times of drought and floods have become more common with huge negative impacts on education systems. The education system is still recovering from the COVID 19 disaster and its related livelihood losses, school closures and movement restrictions. 

Natural disasters have the tendency to fuel conflict at different levels (region, country, community and household level) and this affects educational institutions, and the well-being of teachers and          learners. The impact of conflict on education is extensive, impacting learners, educators, infrastructure, and communities. Schools in conflict-prone areas are often targeted, leading to facility destruction, displacement of students and teachers, and disruptions in the learning process, resulting in increased poverty and family displacement.

Conflict-induced fear and insecurity contribute to heightened dropout rates, as safety takes precedence over education for families. Moreover, conflicts lead to instances where young children become recruited into militias. These conflicts also fuel school-related gender-based violence, mental health and psychosocial challenges, HIV infections, and substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, female genital mutilation and child marriages among others.

Furthermore, educators face obstacles in delivering quality education due to psychological distress, lack of resources, and displacement. The resulting trauma hinders cognitive development and leaves lasting emotional scars for learners and educators. Moreover, conflict disrupts educational planning and policies, exacerbating existing inequalities and impeding sustainable socio-economic development.

UNESCO and GCN focus on Education for Health and Well-being 

UNESCO envisions a world where all learners thrive. The goal of UNESCO’s global strategy is to contribute to improved health and education outcomes for all learners through support to national education sectors and other key stakeholders to adopt a comprehensive approach to school health and well-being. The goal seeks to achieve three strategic outcomes, namely:

• All learners are supported by resilient school health systems that promote learners’ physical and mental health and well-being.
• All learners are empowered by good quality, gender transformative education for health that includes HIV, life skills, family relationships among others. 
• All learners benefit from safe, inclusive learning environments free from all forms of violence, bullying, stigma and discrimination.

On the other hand, GCN's Strategic Objectives are well aligned with UNESCO's Global strategy, and they include;

• Promoting improved access to inclusive and quality education for the most hard-to-reach children from marginalized areas
• Promoting health-seeking behavior among communities and school-age going girls and boys
• Promoting improved gender and governance for the empowerment of girls and women
• Promoting improved policy and legislation for improved access to justice

UNESCO and GCN have previously partnered to implement 2 projects in Kenya that are aligned to their strategic objectives on health and well-being. These projects include; Advocacy Campaign for Girls' Education and Empowerment and Education for Health and Well-being – Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future in selected counties. Owing to the success of the two projects and building on the comparative expertise of each, the two agencies seek to further support education for the most marginalized children through the implementation of projects that address conflict, health, and well-being-related barriers to education across five countries (Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania)

Consultancy objectives

Overall purpose of the consultancy

The overall aim of the consultancy is to undertake a a desk-based situational Analysis desk review on the impact of  conflict and natural disasters to the health and well-being of learners at the basic level  of education in Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania. 

Additionally, the consultancy will analyze the organizational strengths of UNESCO and GCN in implementing a joint programme on Education Health and Wellbeing(EHW) from national, regional and school levels. The findings will inform the development of a concept note for joint resource mobilization toward a regional programme in the specified countries 

Specific objectives 

The consultancy has four specific objectives:

1. Conduct a comprehensive desk-based situational analysis of the barriers to health and well-being for learners in basic education in Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania. 
2. Assess the institutional strengths and complementarities of UNESCO and GCN through their current programmes, to identify opportunities for joint interventions that promote the health and well-being of learners across the five countries
3. Identify and outline evidence-informed, practical strategies and interventions to mitigate the impact of conflict and natural disasters on learner health, well-being, and educational outcomes. These should include policy advocacy and sustainability issues across four levels: national and county/district, community, school level, and learners
4. Translate the findings of the situational and institutional analysis into a topline concept note to guide the development of a comprehensive proposal on EHW, and joint resource mobilization efforts by UNESCO and GCN.

Resource mobilization consideration

The analysis will focus on the broad impacts of conflicts and natural disasters on health and well-being of learners and education in the target countries, the consultant will make deliberate efforts to further profile impacts that are in line with Mastercard Foundation, Dubai Cares and Education Above All priority areas, . This should align with EHW and sustainability, emphasizing policy advocacy across four levels: National and County levels, Community level, Learner/Individual level, and School Level. 

Methodology

Approach to be employed in the assessment

The main assessment approach is qualitative analysis based on comprehensive desk review. This approach aims to describe and interpret how conflict and natural disasters impact the health and well-being of learners in the target countries. The descriptive findings will then be analyzed to identify patterns and draw broader insights that can inform programming actions. The main assessment approach is qualitative analysis based on comprehensive desk review.

Research sites

The desk-based situational assessment will target the following countries: Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania.

Data collection methods

The primary method will be a desk-based review of secondary data sources. This will be complemented by the collection of primary data through consultations with key personnel from UNESCO and GCN.

Consultancy deliverables 

The constancy assignment is expected to generate the following outputs:

Deliverables, Related output, Expected date of delivery

Inception Report

Inception report outlining work plan, methodology and format for report and concept note- 25^th July 

Finalized inception report based on the feedback received from UNESCO and GCN- 3^rd August 

Draft report 

Interim report with preliminary findings- 25^th August 

Final report 

Final report with detailed analysis, recommendations, and an executive summary- 12^th September 

Draft concept 

Submit a draft concept note- 19^th September 

Final concept note 

Finalized Inception Report based on the feedback received from UNESCO and GCN- 25^th September 

PowerPoint 

Develop a PowerPoint summarizing the concept note- 28^th September 

Debriefing/presentation 

De-briefing/Presentation to UNESCO and GCN- 30^th September

The Inception report outlining work plan, methodology and format for report and concept note should be submitted to UNESCO within 14 working days from the time of awarding the contract.

Supervision 

The consultant will be supervised by a joint committee consisting of representatives from GCN and UNESCO Organization. The committee will provide guidance, feedback, and oversight throughout the duration of the consultancy.

Qualifications

Interested consultant should have;

1. A Masters degree(PhD will be an added advantage) in education or other social sciences or any other related field which includes a significant element of public health content from a reputable institution of higher learning 
2. Strong understanding of health and well-being for children, adolescents and young people.
3. Strong understanding of the socio-cultural context and dynamics in the region, with at least 5 years experience working in a similar context preferred. 
4. Demonstratable expertise in proposal development, particularly in the field of education, and/or human rights.
5. Demonstratable expertise in proposal development, particularly in the field of education, and/or human rights, supported by at least 3 examples.
6. Proven track record of successful project design, implementation, and monitoring in collaboration with diverse stakeholders.
7. Excellent analytical, writing, and communication skills, with the ability to synthesize complex information into clear and compelling narratives. 
8. Familiarity with donor requirements and grant application processes, particularly with regard to funding for development projects in the region.

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 60

Level of Education: postgraduate degree

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