CONSULTANT TO CONDUCT CONSULTANCY TO ENHANCE CURRICULUM AND LEARNING BENCHMARKS NON-FORMAL EMERGENCY EDUCATION IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF SOMALIA Consultancy

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is a global humanitarian organization with a mission to work with people in poverty and distress to create just and positive changes. ADRA Somalia belongs to the worldwide network, comprised of more than 130 supporting and implementing country offices. ADRA Somalia is seeking to recruit a consultant to conduct consultancy to enhance curriculum and learning benchmarks for non-formal emergency education in the Federal Republic of Somalia.

1. Background
2. Specific Objectives:

In the Federal Republic of Somalia[1] where educational access is severely limited and vulnerable children face immense challenges; urgent action is needed to provide crisis-affected children with essential emergency education support. The Somalia Teaching and Learning Working Group (TLWG) is a key initiative of the Somalia Education Cluster, established to improve the quality and coherence of non-formal emergency education provision and equip vulnerable children[2] with essential skills within a limited timeframe. The Teaching and Learning Working Group, co-led by ADRA and ECHO, with support from global partners such as the Teachers in Crisis Contexts (TiCC) Working Group, the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) Accelerated Education Working Group (AEWG), and the Global Education Cluster (GEC), aims to address critical gaps in the non-formal emergency education sector by identifying curriculum benchmarks. developing a teacher competency framework and corresponding training modules and assessing learning to facilitate improved learning outcomes.

This consultancy will focus on reviewing the existing Accelerated Basic Education (ABE) curriculum and supplementary resources used by Education Cluster partners and developing sequenced micro-learning benchmarks for essential skills acquisition. This work will also involve generating recommendations for enhancing the curriculum to specifically meet the needs of the most vulnerable children in non-formal emergency education settings. Furthermore, the consultancy will ensure alignment of these learning benchmarks with the ongoing development of a teacher competency framework and the development of learning assessments. This work will draw upon a comprehensive survey conducted by ADRA to assess education demands, surveying children, parents, teachers, community leaders, and employers to ensure that the curriculum review and learning benchmarks are informed by the needs and priorities of the community.

The consultant will deliver the following tasks with an explicit focus on inclusivity, addressing the specific needs of vulnerable children, including girls, children with disabilities, displaced children, pastoralist children, and marginalized children.

• Develop an Inception Report: Prepare a detailed workplan, outlining the methodology, stakeholder engagement strategy throughout the consultancy, and sign-off processes. Ministry of Education, Culture, and Higher Education (MoECHE) endorsement should be sought at each relevant stage, and all deliverables require confirmation from ADRA, ECHO, and the Education Cluster Coordinator.
• Review Existing Curriculum and Resources: Conduct a thorough analysis of the content, pedagogy, and sequencing of the existing Accelerated Basic Education (ABE) curriculum and supplementary resources utilized by Education Cluster partners in non-formal emergency education programs. This includes identifying gaps, strengths, and weaknesses in resources to facilitate the acquisition of essential skills (foundational literacy and numeracy, crucial social-emotional learning (SEL) skills, and other transferable life skills) within Somalia’s average two-year schooling period, preparing children for diverse educational pathways or life situations. The review will integrate findings from the ADRA education demands survey and will be documented in a comprehensive report.
• Engage Stakeholders: Gather initial input and perspectives for the development of learning benchmarks through consultations with relevant stakeholders (MoECHE, Education Cluster partners, Education Donor Group members, teachers, community representatives, and ADRA education demands survey participants), which will include focus group discussions and key informant interviews.
• Develop Sequenced Micro-Learning Benchmarks: Create specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) micro-learning benchmarks for 6, 12, 18, and 24-month intervals to track children’s progress in foundational literacy and numeracy, SEL, and life skills. This process will involve ongoing consultation with relevant stakeholders to ensure the benchmarks are contextually appropriate and meet the needs of learners and educators. These benchmarks will be aligned with the ABE curriculum, national competency outcomes, and the Global Proficiency Framework, ensuring relevance for various educational pathways or life situations. This will be presented as a distinct deliverable.
• Provide Recommendations for Curriculum Enhancement: Formulate practical and contextually relevant recommendations for supplemental resources to better support children’s learning and the acquisition of essential skills in non-formal emergency education. These recommendations will consider the needs of diverse learners and the findings of the ADRA education demands survey, aligning with Education in Emergencies (EiE) best practices and Somalia’s national priorities. This will be presented as a specific deliverable.
• Ensure Alignment with Teacher Competency Framework and Learning Assessment Processes: Collaborate directly with the experts responsible for the development of the teacher competency framework and the development of learning assessments to ensure that the developed learning benchmarks are teachable within the evolving teacher competency framework and are effectively measurable through the planned learning assessment processes. This involves considering how teacher skills will need to align with the benchmarks and how the assessment tools can reliably measure progress against them. The outcomes of this alignment process, including documented interactions and agreements with the respective experts, will be a specific deliverable.
• Facilitate Validation: Conduct further consultations with relevant stakeholders, including the MoECHE, Education Cluster partners, teachers, community representatives, participants in the ADRA education demands survey, and external experts, to gather specific input and feedback on the learning benchmarks and recommendations for resources. Facilitate workshops to validate the learning benchmarks and recommendations for resources. The findings and recommendations from these validation activities will be reflected in the final report.
• Prepare a Final Consultancy Report: Document the entire consultancy process, including key findings, all deliverables produced, and comprehensive recommendations for future action.

1. Expected Deliverables
2. Required Qualifications and Experience

The consultant will deliver the following:

Deliverable

Description

Timeline

Inception Report

Workplan, methodology, and stakeholder engagement strategy.

Week 1

Learning Materials Review Report

A comprehensive report analyzing the existing ABE curriculum and supplementary resources used by Education Cluster partners in non-formal emergency education programs.

Week 4

Sequenced Micro-Learning Benchmarks

A set of sequenced micro-learning benchmarks for 6, 12, 18, and 24-month intervals, outlining expected learning outcomes for essential skills (literacy, numeracy, SEL, and life skills) in non-formal emergency education, designed to support children’s success in various educational pathways or life transitions.

Week 7

Practical Recommendations for Enhancing Learning Materials

A document providing practical and contextually relevant recommendations for supplementing resources to better support children’s learning and the acquisition of essential skills in non-formal emergency education.

Week 9

Alignment with Teacher Competency Framework and Learning Assessment Processes

Ensuring teachability, alignment with teacher skills, and assessability of learning benchmarks through expert collaboration. This deliverable focuses on the coherent integration of curriculum, teacher competency frameworks, and learning assessment processes.

Week 10

Validation Workshop

This workshop for key stakeholders will feature an opening overview, potentially led by the AEWG, focusing on transition pathways, non-formal education frameworks, and quality learning benchmarks. Subsequently, participants will engage with the draft learning benchmarks and recommendations for curriculum resource enhancement, providing feedback to ensure their relevance, feasibility, and alignment with Somalia’s non-formal emergency education context.

Week 11

Final Consultancy Report

A comprehensive report documenting the consultancy process, key findings, deliverables, and recommendations.

Week 12

The consultant should meet the following criteria:

Educational Qualifications:

• Master’s degree or higher in Education, Curriculum Development, Teacher Training, or a related field.

Technical Expertise:

• Minimum 7 years of experience in curriculum development and review, particularly in emergency or crisis contexts.
  • Experience with INEE Minimum Standards
  • Strong understanding of education in emergencies (EiE) and accelerated education.
  • Experience in reviewing and adapting curriculum resources for diverse learning needs and contexts.
  • Experience in developing learning benchmarks or learning standards.
  • Strong knowledge of foundational literacy and numeracy, social-emotional learning (SEL), and life skills.
  • Experience in developing teacher professional development strategies that align with curriculum reforms.
  • Familiarity with the Global Proficiency Framework.
  • Knowledge or experience using competency-based education models.
  • Experience in conducting or utilizing education demands assessments or similar research is preferred.
  • Knowledge of Somali education policies and frameworks is preferred.

Training and Facilitation Skills:

• Experience in facilitating workshops and consultations with diverse stakeholders.
  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills.

Research and Analytical Skills:

• Excellent analytical and report-writing skills.
  • Ability to synthesize complex information and present it in a clear and concise manner.

Language and Communication:

• Fluency in English, with proficiency in Somali preferred. The consultant is responsible for securing their own translation services, should they be necessary.

Contextual Knowledge:

• Experience working in the Somali context or similar crisis-affected settings is highly desirable.

1. Duration and Location
2. Application Process

The consultancy will be for 12 weeks (3 months).

The consultancy can be conducted remotely.

Interested applicants must submit:

• Cover Letter (max 3 pages) outlining relevant experience and specific expertise related to this consultancy, including experience with education demands assessments.
• Curriculum Vitae (CV) demonstrating expertise in curriculum review, learning benchmark development, and education in emergencies.
• Technical Proposal (max 7 pages) outlining methodology and work plan, including a detailed approach to the curriculum review, the development of learning benchmarks, and how the ADRA education demands survey will be utilized.
• Financial Proposal detailing consultancy fees and other costs

[1] hereinafter referred to as Somalia

[2] Including displaced children, children with disabilities, children from minority communities, and pastoralist children

Tagged as: Adventist Development and Relief Agency International, Somalia