National Consultant - Software Developer for Education Research Database Platform

JOB DETAILS

Parent Sector: Education Unit, UNESCO Phnom Penh Office

Type of contract : Non-staff

Level : Level 2 - Middle

Duty Station : Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Duration of contract : 9 months, tentatively August 2026 to April 2027

Hiring open to : External candidates

Application deadline (Cambodia Time): 27 July 2026

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

I. Background
Building on the success of the implementation of the Strengthening Teacher Education Programmes in Cambodia (STEPCam), UNESCO and the MoEYS are implementing the second phase of STEPCam (STEPCam Phase II), supported by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). The second phase of the programme maintains a strong focus on improving the quality of education in Cambodia, with the ultimate objective of enhancing student learning outcomes. STEPCam Phase II is structured around four interrelated components:
• Component 1: Teacher Education – strengthening pre-service teacher education to cultivate teaching excellence;
• Component 2: Teacher Professional Development – reinforcing continuous professional development (CPD) systems;
• Component 3: Classroom Learning – building capacity for effective early grade teaching and learning; and
• Component 4: Digital Transformation in Education – strengthening institutional readiness for the effective use of digital strategies in education delivery

Under Component 4 of STEPCam Phase II, the programme directly supports the establishment of an Educational Technology (EdTech) Innovation Hub at a teacher education institution in Cambodia. The EdTech Hub is envisaged as a national innovation hub with a clear mandate for fostering applied research, innovation, piloting, and thought leadership in digital education strategies, tools, and solutions relevant to the Cambodian context. It is expected to play a catalytic role in generating, curating, and disseminating evidence on the effective use of information and communication technology (ICT) and artificial intelligence (AI) in teaching, learning, teacher education, and education system management.

As part of this mandate, the establishment of the EdTech Hub has highlighted the critical need for a centralized and accessible digital repository for research and knowledge publications that can systematically consolidate and manage national education research outputs related to ICT, AI, EdTech, and digital transformation in education. The repository will serve as a foundational infrastructure for the EdTech Hub, enabling it to function not only as an innovation and training space, but also as a national reference point for research evidence, lessons learned, and good practices. Integrating new research and knowledge repository features within an existing MoEYS platform will directly support the EdTech Hub’s

Long Description

research, knowledge management, and policy advisory functions while ensuring alignment with national digital education priorities.

SALA Digital (sala.moeys.gov.kh) is MoEYS’ flagship digital knowledge platform, serving as the primary national repository for official textbooks, teaching and learning resources, and multimedia content aligned with the national curriculum. Given its role within the Ministry as a central knowledge platform in disseminating educational resources, there is scope to leverage its existing reach as a single central platform for making accessible research outputs that relate to ICT, AI, and digital transformation in education.

This assignment therefore aims to enhance the existing SALA Digital platform by introducing a dedicated ICT/AI Education Research Module that systematically aggregates, curates, and showcases education research related to ICT, AI, EdTech, and digital transformation. The enhanced platform will strengthen linkages between research, policy formulation, teacher education, and classroom practice by making relevant ICT/AI research easily discoverable and usable by key stakeholders. It will further introduce advanced search functionality and an Open API or caching system to enable structured interoperability between SALA Digital and major national research journals and repositories.

II. Scope of the Assignment
The scope of this assignment is to design, develop, and deploy new system features, functionalities, and user interfaces within the existing SALA Digital platform, with a specific focus on establishing an ICT- and AI-related education research repository database. The assignment aims to strengthen SALA Digital as a national research discovery and knowledge access platform, serving as a centralized repository that aggregates, indexes and enhances the visibility, accessibility and policy relevance of national ICT and AI education research.

Key areas of work under this assignment include, but are not limited to:
• Conceptualization, design, and development of a dedicated ICT/AI Education Research Repository within SALA Digital, including clear definition of scope, content categories, metadata standards, and governance arrangements (See the detail system specification in the annex);
• Design and implementation of standardized research metadata schemas, taxonomies, and tagging systems aligned with international good practices and national education and digital transformation priorities;
• Development of advanced research search, filtering, and browsing functionalities enabling cross-source discovery by topic, keyword, author, institution, journal, publication year, research type, education level, and language;
• Technical integration of SALA Digital with selected national education research journals through Open APIs and/or secure metadata harvesting and caching mechanisms, allowing SALA Digital to index research records while directing users to original publishing platforms for full-text access;
• Strengthening institutional capacity within MoEYS and the EdTech Hub to manage, maintain, govern, and sustainably operate the enhanced SALA Digital research repository.

The initial phase of integration will prioritize the following national education research journals:
• Cambodia Journal of Basic and Applied Research (CJBAR);
• Cambodia Education Review (DoPo);
• Cambodian Journal of Educational Research (CJER); and
• Cambodian Journal of Education and STEM (CJES).

IV. Specific Tasks
Under the overall authority of the UNESCO Representative and supervision of the Chief of Education Unit, the Individual Consultant will work under the direct supervision of the STEPCam Programme Manager and in close collaboration with the National Project Officer to provide technical support to develop SALA Digital into a fully functional national ICT/AI education research discovery platform. The Individual Consultant is expected to work in close collaboration with the Department of Digital Transformation (DDT) and the Directoral General of Teacher Education and Development at the MoEYS, the National EdTech Hub at PTEC, as well as other education stakeholders. Strong and direct engagement of other national stakeholders is foreseen for successful achievement of the expected outcomes.

Specific tasks include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. System Assessment and Inception
a. Conduct a comprehensive functional, technical, and content assessment of the existing SALA Digital platform;
b. Identify gaps, risks, and opportunities related to architecture, performance, security, and governance;
c. Prepare an inception report detailing system assessment findings, the proposed approach for system enhancement, workplan, timeline, and coordination mechanisms.
2. Requirements Definition and System Design
a. Facilitate structured consultations with MoEYS, UNESCO, the EdTech Hub, relevant education institutions, and selected journal/other stakeholders;
b. Define and document detailed functional and technical requirements for the ICT/AI Education Research Repository;
c. Design the system architecture, information architecture, metadata schema, taxonomies, and tagging frameworks aligned with international good practices and national priorities.
3. Development of ICT/AI Education Research Repository
a. Design and develop the ICT/AI Education Research Repository module within SALA Digital;
b. Configure structured metadata fields and research content categories;
c. Ensure bilingual (Khmer–English) metadata presentation where feasible;
d. Integrate the repository seamlessly with existing SALA Digital user management and content systems.
e. Develop a feature where researchers can submit their research papers for review before publication on the SALA digital platform. The designated review committee will receive the papers for review and approval.
f. Optimise the software development to ensure high speed and performance also in anticipation of an increased number of users.

4. Advanced Search, Open API or Caching System, and Journal Integration
a. Develop advanced search, filtering, and browsing functionalities for cross-journal discovery;
b. Design and implement Open APIs and/or secure metadata harvesting mechanisms;
c. Pilot and validate integration with priority national journals, ensuring accurate indexing and attribution.
5. User Engagement Analytics and Dashboard
a. Design and implement an administrative analytics dashboard;
b. Configure analytics to track usage, engagement, research access, and search trends;
c. Develop visual reports to support decision-making and platform improvement.

Long Description

6. Quality Assurance, Security, and Compliance
a. Ensure compliance with MoEYS standards on cybersecurity, data protection, copyright, and ethical use of research content;
b. Implement role-based access control, audit logs, and data security safeguards;
c. Conduct testing and troubleshooting to ensure system performance, reliability, and usability.
7. Capacity Building, Knowledge Transfer, and Sustainability
a. Develop technical documentation, administrator manuals, and user guidelines;
b. Deliver hands-on training and mentoring to MoEYS and EdTech Hub technical teams; liase regularly with STEPCam, MoEYS and EdTech Hub teams and ensure transfer of knowledge.
c. Support the development of governance, sustainability, and scaling strategies for long-term operation.
d. Support the preparation of presentations, inputs for meetings, donor reports, among others where updates on system development and functionality are required.

For the full System Specifications, please refer to Annex I.

V. Deliverables
Deliverables will be submitted according to the following indicative schedule:
1. Deliverable #1: Inception and System Assessment (31 August 2026)
a. Inception report including assessment findings, stakeholder consultations, workplan, timeline, and risk mitigation measures.
2. Deliverable #2: Functional and Technical Design (30 September 2026)
a. Functional and technical requirements specification;
b. System architecture and metadata design documentation;
c. UI/UX wireframes and design mock-ups.
3. Deliverable #3: Repository and Search Development (30 November 2026)
a. Operational ICT/AI Education Research Repository embedded within SALA Digital;
b. Advanced search and filtering functionalities implemented and tested.

4. Deliverable #4: Open API and Journal Integration (31 December 2026)
a. Open API and metadata integration documentation;
b. Pilot integration completed with priority journals;
c. Integration testing and validation report.
5. Deliverable #5: Analytics Dashboard and Security Implementation (31 January 2026)
a. User engagement and analytics dashboard operational;
b. Security, access control, and compliance features implemented.
6. Deliverable #6: Capacity Building and Documentation (28 February 2026)
a. Administrator manuals, user guides, and technical documentation, including installation manual for technicians and system manual providing instructions to the source code and enabling setup of the software development environment;
b. Full source code for the developed module.
c. Training and capacity building sessions delivered.
7. Deliverable #7: Final Report and Sustainability Plan (30 April 2026)
a. Final technical and narrative report;
b. Sustainability, governance, and scaling recommendations;
c. Final validated system formally handed over to MoEYS.

Long Description

VI. Contract Duration, Location, and Other Conditions
The duration of the contract will be for a period of 9 months, during which the Consultant is expected to work full-time. The Individual Consultant is expected to be based at the MoEYS, with the possibility of working from the UNESCO Phnom Penh Office for coordination with the STEPCam programme team as requested by the STEPCam Programme Manager. The Consultant is expected to participate in technical meetings, validation workshops, or review sessions convened by MoEYS or UNESCO.

The Consultant is expected to undertake missions to provinces outside of Phnom Penh across Cambodia.

The Individual Consultant will be responsible for their necessary tools, equipment (laptop, printer, etc.) and software to complete the assignment. For work sessions at the MoEYS, the MoEYS will provide a working space and access to the internet, printer and LCD projector.

All software source code, system configurations, documentation, training materials, and intellectual property developed under this assignment shall be the exclusive property of UNESCO. Full handover of all deliverables and technical assets shall be completed at the conclusion of the assignment.

VII. Required Qualifications and Experience
Education
• A relevant university degree (Master’s level or higher preferred) in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software Engineering, Educational Technology, Information Management, or a closely related field.
Professional Experience
• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in the design, development, and enhancement of enterprise-level digital platforms, information systems, or knowledge management systems;
• Demonstrated experience in developing and maintaining web-based platforms using modern frameworks and databases;
• At least 3 years of professional experience with Rust programming language, Next.js and/or MongoDB;
• Proven experience in API development, system integration, and interoperability, including secure data exchange and metadata harvesting;
• Demonstrated experience with advanced search, indexing, or discovery systems, such as digital libraries or research repositories;
• Demonstrated experience implementing data security, access control, and privacy safeguards;
• Demonstrated experience working with government counterparts, public institutions, and development partners, preferably in the education sector.
Skills and Competencies
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills;
• Excellent planning, coordination, and monitoring skills;
• Proven ability to develop technical documentation and training materials;
• Strong capacity-building and knowledge-transfer skills;
• Ability to work effectively in multi-stakeholder and multicultural environments.
Language Skills
• Excellent written and verbal English language skills;
• Native proficiency in Khmer language skills (spoken and written).

Long Description

Desirable Qualifications
• Experience with the MoEYS digital platforms, Open Educational Resources, preferably on the Sala Digital platform.
• Experience in educational technology, research information systems, or digital transformation initiatives in the education sector.

VII. How to apply
Interested candidates are kindly requested to click on “Apply Now”, then download and complete the Employment History Form (Word file). At the end of the Word file, the candidate must insert extra pages with the following required information in English:
1. Curriculum Vitae or Resume
2. Technical proposal (3 pages maximum) explaining the methodology for undertaking the assignment
3. Financial proposal, indicating a monthly rate (in US$), to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without a monthly rate will not be considered.
4. The contact details of three referees
If you are unable to attach requirements in the system, please inform us at phnompenh@unesco.org
(Please note UNESCO cannot consider an incomplete proposal that does not include the following information requested.)

VIII. Selection and recruitment process
Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the UNESCO careers website. No modifications can be made to the application submitted.

The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as a competency-based interview.

UNESCO uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates.

Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided.