Background and Purpose
Context: In consequence of several years of conflict the newly established Republic of South Sudan faces a complex range of challenges, of which the enormous illiteracy rate of 85% is a crosscutting issue. Among this huge quantity of people in need of reading, writing, numeracy and basic life skills, youth constitute a major target group, as schools were destroyed throughout the country. Only few of the two-thirds of the South-Sudanese population under the age of 25 received formal education or vocational training. The Alternative Education Programme of the Ministry of General Education and Instruction (MoGEI) offers for those that are still within the range of school age a four-year non-formal learning opportunity, but it shows limitations with regard to the skills development and livelihood opportunities for youth older than 20.
In South Sudan, there are three broad employment and livelihood sectors, which are the urban markets, the rural markets and the agro-pastoralist livelihoods. Based on the fact that half of the people in the country live beneath the poverty line , there is an urgent need for creating opportunities that enable secure and sustainable livelihoods.
The UN Joint Programme on Creating Opportunities for Youth Employment aims to provide opportunities for skills development and employment for youth aged between 15 and 30 years. In contribution to the achievement of the MDGs, the project seeks to demonstrate in eight localities youth employment approaches in the three common labour markets/ livelihoods of South Sudan. The programme supports an integrated approach of livelihood skills trainings, which links adult literacy and numeracy to the development of basic life skills and livelihood opportunities, as currently there is no clear link between these areas of learning.
Key deliverables
Within UNESCO’s Contribution to the UN Joint Programme on Creating Opportunities for Youth Employment, on the basis of a) the assessed needs and the prior knowledge of youth within two of the main labour market contexts of urban and rural South and b) the review of existing adult literacy, numeracy and English language curricula, learning materials and training methodologies that are used throughout South Sudan; and in coordination with the Alternative Education System (AES) of the Ministry of General Education and Instruction (MoGEI) and partner UN agencies, the Consultant shall undertake the following tasks:
- Review of materials currently available, both within South Sudan and internationally, related to best practices in functional literacy, followed by development of proposed content outline for each component of the learning modules.
- Work with the relevant department at the Ministry of General Education and Instruction to Develop integrated youth literacy and basic skills learning modules using a modular and phased learning approach. The foundational module should introduce reading and writing, and basic life skills, followed by specific modules on technical and work-related skills. These modules shall be differentiated for the urban market context, such as small business development, and for the rural market context, such as growing, storing and selling agricultural goods or as will be determined by the stakeholders.
- Develop a facilitator’s handbook, to be used for peer-to-peer learning in adult literacy, numeracy and English language and including training methodologies;
- Pilot test the modules with a selected group of youth and incorporate the feedback.
- Work with the MOGEI and assist to facilitate a workshop to present the developed modules to all stakeholders so as to obtain validation prior to roll out in South Sudan.
Qualifications and experience
- An advanced university degree in a relevant field;
- A minimum of five years of relevant professional experience;
- Demonstrated expertise in the design and development of literacy learning materials and training modules, and particularly related in specific areas.
- Demonstrated expertise in the design and implementation of training for different target audiences, and particularly related to emergency education;
- Demonstrated ability to work with diverse groups of stakeholders and to develop consensus and partnerships;
- Flexibility and adaptability to adjust to contextual challenges and needs accordingly;
- Excellent oral and written communication skills, an analytical approach and ability to clearly articulate key ideas in simple and accessible language;
- Fluency in English (verbal and writing);
- Familiarity with the context of South Sudan an added advantage
Complete applications, including CV and brief cover letter, should be emailed to s.kahando@unesco.org and h.snowden@unesco.org by 20th April 2012.
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