Call for Applications: Overall Research Coordinator for ICT in Education Study (Short term Consultancy)

Deadline for submission is Thursday, 24 February 2022, at midnight GMT to the following address: adea-applications@afdb.org. The subject of the e-mail should be “Overall Research Coordinator – ICT in Education Study”.

As the voice of education in Africa and a key network of Education Ministries, the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) plays a significant role in the education space as a convenor, knowledge creator, and forum for policy dialogue. ADEA sees its impact in African countries that are empowered to develop education and training systems that respond to their emergent needs and drive Africa’s sustainable socio-economic transformation. Two strategic pillars underpin the implementation of the ADEA Strategic Plan 2028-2022: the Continental Education Platform and the country-based Advisory and Execution Support Services. Both pillars are aligned to the African Union's Continental Education Strategy for Africa 2016-2025 (CESA 16-25) and the Sustainable Development Goal No. 4 on Education (SDG4).

Under the first pillar, ADEA's Inter-Country Quality Node (ICQN) network enhances collaboration and coordination across stakeholders and national borders through capacity building, peer learning, and the exchange of knowledge and experiences. ADEA also serves as a pan-African knowledge hub for peer-to-peer learning while elevating the voice of Africa on education priorities through organizing or participating in high-level policy dialogue forums at regional, continental, and global levels. The second pillar on Advisory and Execution Support Services provides an opportunity for ADEA to serve the needs of African governments to deliver inclusive, relevant, and equitable quality education by delivering a complete package of services to countries, including the diagnosis of country-level needs, implementation, and monitoring of policies and programs.

Since the emergence of the COVID-19 crisis that has evolved into a pandemic, the quality of education has been heavily affected due to disruptions to learning and reduced length, or possible loss, of the school year in many countries. Following the closures of learning institutions, Education Ministries in African countries put in place National Response Plans that guided the provision of education remotely, until in-person learning gradually returned in most African countries. However, most of these measures were not rapidly put in place and did not experience the same level of resilience as other developed countries. Significant investments are required to address the digital divide of Africa and improve its resilience, maintain quality, and increase learner access to the full spectrum of education in African countries.

ADEA is conducting a study to identify the needs of 30 member countries of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) in sub-Saharan Africa in the use of ICT in education during the crisis and therefore provide IsDB and AfDB with actionable and implementable recommendations for the needed investment in digital infrastructure and curriculum development. The selected countries are Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mauritania, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda.

Covering all levels of education (Early Childhood, Primary, Secondary, TVET, and Tertiary), the project seeks to meet the following objectives:

• Support the design of ICT-enabled education policies and strategies in member countries.
• Harness and support the use of ICT in education levels (with a focus on basic education, TVET, and higher education).
• Highlight the changes in curricula required for the adoption of ICT in basic education, TVET, and higher education levels.
• Enhance regional cooperation in digital education to improve the economic competitiveness of Africa.

ADEA now seeks the services of an Overall Research Coordinator to drive this 6-month project. Reporting to the Executive Secretary at the strategic level and to the Senior Programs Officer at the programmatic level, the Overall Research Coordinator will perform the following tasks, and produce the following deliverables:

Tasks:

1. Provide strategic leadership and coordination to the project.
2. Organize inception and stakeholder consultation meetings at the start of the project.
3. Conduct a literature review and partner mapping.
4. Oversee the establishment of a team comprising regional coordinators and sub-sector resource persons and provide strategic guidance to the team.
5. Coordinate the 5 regional coordinators and 5 sub-sector resource persons in their engagement with the 30 African countries in primary data collection, analysis, and report writing.
6. Review the findings in the country reports and produce a synthesis report.
7. Organize a meeting to validate the country and synthesis reports.
8. Supervise the regional coordinators and resource persons in finalizing the country reports.
9. Draft the synthesis report and submit it to ADEA Secretariat for feedback.
10. Finalize the synthesis report and submit it to ADEA Secretariat.
11. Maintain regular communication with the regional coordinators and the sub-sector resource persons, as well as with the ADEA secretariat.

Deliverables:

1. A review of the Inception Report.
2. Monthly progress reports based on engagement with the 5 regional coordinators and 5 sub-sectors resource persons.
3. Review reports of 30 countries and a draft synthesis report.
4. Validated 30 country reports and a synthesis report.
5. Final 30 country reports and a synthesis report.

• At least a master’s degree in education and ICT, social sciences, or related fields and a minimum of 10 years relevant working experience in leading and managing teams in a diverse cultural environment.
• Solid track record in project management, monitoring, and evaluation, conducting research and studies, developing synthesis reports, and presenting results to a high-level audience.
• Based in Africa, with experience working in African countries with a solid track record of undertaking research work in education and social sciences.
• Prior experience of study/research in ICT in Education would be an added advantage.
• Fluency in either English or French language (written and oral) and a working knowledge of the other language.
• Excellent skills in working with computers and using applications such as MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), email, internet, communication, and social media.
• Ability to thrive under pressure in a fast-paced, deadline-driven, multi-project environment.
• Demonstrated track record of engagement with African governments and diversity of partners in the fields of education and ICT.

Applications (CV and Motivation letter) must be sent to adea-applications@afdb.org no later than 24 February 2022 at midnight GMT. The subject of the e-mail should be “Overall Research Coordinator – ICT in Education Study”.

Due to the high volume of applications, only selected candidates will be contacted through formal correspondence via e-mail. Please do not contact ADEA or staff members to inquire about your application’s status. 

Duty Station: Remote work possible due to COVID-19 restrictions.