National only - Edtech State Consultant, Education, India, Education, 16 months (Remote with trip)

Contract Duration: 16 months

Working arrangement: Remote with trip

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

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TERMS OF REFERENCE

Maharashtra, as one of India's largest and most diverse states, presents both significant opportunities and persistent challenges in this regard. Despite considerable investments in school infrastructure and digital initiatives, the integration of EdTech within government secondary and higher secondary school systems remains uneven. Significant gaps persist in access to curriculum-aligned digital resources, pedagogical application of technology by teachers, and the institutional capacity required to sustain and scale digital interventions. At the same time, growing challenges such as high dropout rates, learning gaps at the lower secondary level, and disruptions to learning continuity including those driven by climate-related events make the case for evidence-based, equity-centred digital solutions more urgent.

Aligned with the Next-Gen Learning programme (2024–2026) and its overarching outcome of retaining more adolescents in lower secondary and supporting their transition to secondary school with improved foundational skills, this Technical Assistance (TA) will support the Department of Education, Government of Maharashtra in building a climate-resilient, coherent, scalable, and equity-focused EdTech ecosystem. This will require close collaboration with the State Education Department, MSCERT, academic institutions, and civil society organizations to ensure that technology serves pedagogical goals, reaches the most marginalized learners, and is grounded in robust evidence.

A key role of the technical assistance will be to provide technical support to the education department to enhance state capacity to leverage technology to improve retention and learning outcomes at the lower secondary and secondary levels. If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here: ToR X TMC0004612.pdf

Minimum requirements:

Education: A Master’s degree in Education, Social Sciences related fields.

Work Experience:

• A Minimum of 5-6 years of work experience in the field of Education and Edtech
• Experience of engaging effectively with state government, non-profit organizations, Edtech organizations, universities, professional associations, and other key stakeholders.
• Proven experience in capacity building and training of teachers, school leaders, or district-level education functionaries on technology-enabled learning.
• High level of writing, editing, analysis, and reporting skills, with the ability to produce high-quality documents
• Fluency and command over spoken and written English are mandatory. The ability to speak Marathi would be a preferable qualification for this assignment.

Language Requirements: English and Marathi

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills:

• High level of writing, editing, analysis, and reporting skills, with the ability to produce high-quality documents
• Large-scale program implementation

Desirables:

• The ability to speak Marathi would be a preferable qualification for this assignment.

Technical proposal requirement:

• Proposed approach/methodology to deliver the assignment including risk factors and mitigation strategies
• Documentation sample/writing sample

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

• An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
• Cover letter
• A separate financial proposal (only acceptable in the format of the linked template) Financial proposal TMC0004612.xlsx
• A detailed technical proposal
• Documentation sample/writing sample

Remarks:

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

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