Middle-level Consultant on Education

JOB DETAILS

Type of contract : Consultant Contract

Level :  Level 2 - Middle

Hiring Unit : Education Sector (ED)

Duty Station : Paris

Work location : Remote

Duration of contract : 3 months

Hiring open to : External candidates

Application deadline (Midnight UTC+1 Time) : 17/11/2026

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

OVERVIEW

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

Exclusion across education trajectories

Despite major expansion of education worldwide, an estimated 273 million children and youth of primary and secondary school age remain out of school, and many more enrolled learners are at risk of leaving before completion. Educational exclusion is not a single event: learners may never enter education, enter late, disengage progressively, leave before completion, be excluded at critical transition points, or be unable to find an appropriate pathway back. The challenge starts early and does not stop at secondary school. While higher education enrolment has grown rapidly to 269 million students with a gross enrolment ratio of 44% in 2024, yet the global gross graduation ratio for bachelor's and master's programmes was 27%, and available evidence points to significant attrition in many systems. Systematic and internationally comparable data on higher education dropout remain limited. Understanding exclusion therefore requires following learner trajectories, from early learning to tertiary education, rather than treating being "out of school" as a single status.

Profiles, barriers and the architecture of systems
Exclusion results from the interaction between learner profiles that face disproportionate risks and the barriers that prevent learners from entering, remaining in, progressing through or completing education. Risks are unevenly distributed across children affected by poverty, disability, gender inequality, displacement, ethnicity or language, rural isolation, and conflict or climate vulnerability, and they compound through intersectionality. The barriers can be read as push factors (poor quality or relevance of learning, unsafe or discriminatory school environments, inaccessible schools, weak support for learners at risk), pull factors (poverty and education-related costs, child labour and care responsibilities, social norms, migration, displacement, conflict- or climate-related disruption) and systemic factors (underinvestment, regional and socioeconomic inequalities, legal and administrative restrictions, weak governance and planning, exclusionary rules on admission, progression or recognition of learning). These are points of intervention, not exclusive causes: a learner may face poverty, meet an inaccessible school, and live in a system too weak to respond. The architecture of education systems matters in itself. High-stakes examinations, early tracking, restrictive admission rules, limited articulation between academic and vocational routes, and the absence of viable routes for re-entry can all amplify exclusion at critical transition points.

ASSIGNMENTS

Under the overall authority of the Director of the Division for Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems (ED/PLS), and the direct supervision of a senior programme officer within the Section of Education Policy (ED/PLS/EDP-K12), the consultant will carry out the following tasks:
1.    Literature review on data systems for OOSCY, dropout and learner pathways
o    Review existing approaches and tools, drawing heavily on the OOSCI documents (framework, 2023 Operational Manual, country reports, synthesis reports and evaluations) and on work by UIS, UNICEF, UNESCO and others on administrative data, household surveys, learner identifiers, tracking across institutions, early warning, and the distinction between dropout and transfer.
o    Examine how these approaches work, and could work, beyond basic and secondary education: early childhood care and education (ECCE), TVET and higher education (including the EMIS-HEMIS interface), and at transitions between levels and routes back into education.
o    Identify the capacities and enabling conditions of systems able to detect and respond (learner-level longitudinal data, disaggregation, interoperability, governance and data protection, use of information for action) and document evidence gaps.

2.    Country case studies
o    Prepare 6 case studies on the capacity of national data systems to track out-of-school children, dropout and learner pathways, using a common template, mainly through desk review and remote interviews with ministry staff and partners.
o    Work with the countries identified by UNESCO in coordination with the other ED/PLS teams on this programme (rights-based approach, learning and engagement, pathways and assessment, TVET, higher education, teachers, lifelong learning), so that each case also serves their thematic work. Selection criteria include existing OOSCI or comparable studies, regional and income diversity, stable and crisis contexts, and varied data-system maturity.
o    Produce a cross-case synthesis of capacities, gaps and lessons.

3.    Development of the EMIS-PATT OOSCY and learning pathways module
o    Map the OOSCI dimensions and the review findings onto the EMIS-PATT structure and agree with the EMIS-PATT team how the module plugs into the wider assessment.
o    Define the capacities assessed: identifying non-enrolment; monitoring attendance and prolonged absence; identifying dropout risk for early action; following learners across institutions, levels and pathways; distinguishing dropout from transfer or migration; identifying populations missed by administrative systems; and supporting outreach, re-entry and follow-up. Cover the enabling conditions, early-warning systems as an institutional question, and all levels from ECCE to higher education.
o    Produce the self-assessment matrix with scoring and maturity logic, a facilitation guide, a template for the improvement roadmap and a short user guide, keeping hooks for screening of learning difficulties and for an EMIS-HEMIS interface.
o    Validate the drafts with the ED/PLS teams.

CONTRACT DURATION

The consultancy is expected to last about 3 months (approximately 60 working days) from November 2026 to end of January 2027. The work is home-based. The specified dates for the deliverables indicated below are subject to adjustment based on content of the consultant offer.
The contractor should ensure that all visibility materials are produced in line with UNESCO's branding guidelines. Please refer to the UNESCO Style Manual for citation style, terminology and spelling, abbreviations, references, etc.
In line with UNESCO's overall gender mainstreaming strategy, the contractor is expected to integrate a gender perspective in all activities and apply gender analysis and mainstreaming concepts whenever feasible.

DELIVERABLES

1    Inception report    Work plan, review framework and search strategy, case study template, annotated outline of the module    By week 1
2    Case study countries    Selection criteria and list of countries validated with UNESCO and the other ED/PLS teams    By week 2
3    Draft literature review    Review covering ECCE, basic and secondary education, TVET and higher education    By week 6
4    Country case studies    6 case studies based on the common template    By week 9
5    Final literature review    Revised review with cross-case synthesis of capacities, gaps and lessons    By week 10
6    Draft EMIS-PATT OOSCY and learning pathways module    Draft self-assessment matrix, with scoring and maturity logic    By week 10
7    Final EMIS-PATT OOSCY and learning pathways module    Final self-assessment matrix, facilitation guide and roadmap template, with a proposal for piloting in two countries as a follow-up    By week 12
8    Note on inputs to the OOSC toolkit    Short note on toolkit components, and briefing to the ED/PLS teams    By week 12

All documents produced in the context of the consultancy will be the property of UNESCO.

COMPETENCIES - Core (C) & Managerial (M)

• Communication (C)
• Accountability (C)
• Innovation (C)
• Knowlegde sharing and continuous improvement (C)
• Planning and organizing (C)
• Results focus (C)
• Teamwork (C)

For detailed information, please consult the UNESCO Competency Framework.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

•    Advanced university degree in education planning, information systems, statistics, public policy or a related field.

WORK EXPERIENCE

•    At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in EMIS development or education data systems, including learner-level data, attendance and dropout monitoring.

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

•    In-depth knowledge of the UNICEF and UNESCO OOSCI framework (seven dimensions, country reports and syntheses, 2023 Operational Manual).
•    Proven expertise in quantitative and qualitative research, including structured literature reviews and comparative country case studies.
•    Proven expertise in developing analytical tools, frameworks and guidelines for national education systems.
•    Familiarity with data systems for ECCE, TVET or higher education, and with early-warning systems for dropout.
•    Experience with international organizations, preferably in multilateral settings and in crisis-affected or displacement contexts.

LANGUAGES

• Excellent drafting and communication skills in English; knowledge of French or Spanish would be an asset.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Procedure

Interested candidates will need to submit one consolidated PDF document in the place of the Employment History Form which includes the following information:

• A short proposal (5 pages maximum), explaining the approach proposed for the literature review, the case studies and the development of the module.
• A financial proposal, one page only, for delivering the activities described in the call. The proposal shall detail the number of working day for each envisioned consultancy activity as well as daily rate.
• A short CV, focusing on previous relevant working experience, consultancy assignments and deliverables, and relevant expertise to the scope of work.

The full proposal should not exceed 8 pages. Proposals missing any of the above will not be considered.

The complete application shall be submitted before 23:59 CET, 17/11/2026. Please note that only pre-selected candidates will be contacted.

Selection process

A shortlist of the three most suitable applicants will be drawn up, and the selected candidates will be contacted by the UNESCO Section for Education Policy (ED/PLS/EDP-K12) team. The successful candidate will be selected and offered a contract based on the application review.

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information, by the above deadline.

To apply, please visit the UNESCO Careers website. No modifications can be made to the application once submitted. 

The process may include pre-recorded video interviews and/or written assessments, interviews with a Panel, as well as reference checks. In addition, candidates may be requested to provide additional information which may be pertinent to the position’s qualifications.  

Please note that all candidates, whether selected or not, will be informed of the outcome of their application in due course. 

Short-listed candidates may also be added to Talent Pools; subject to their consent (i.e. Data Privacy Statement).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• UNESCO recalls that paramount consideration in the appointment of personnel shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, technical competence and integrity.
• UNESCO applies a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of harassment.
• lndividuals from minority groups and indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply.
• All applications will be treated with the highest level of confidentiality.
• UNESCO does not charge a fee at any stage of the hiring process.