Two Senior individual consultants for providing consultancy services for school assessment and quality assurance and certification of school accessibility infrastructural modifications on a retainer contract. Kigali-Rwanda, 6 Months at United Nations Children’s Fund: (Deadline 19 August 2024)

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Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

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To learn more about UNICEF career and the work in Rwanda, please visit the country website https://unicef.sharepoint.com/sites/RWA/ or watch this video about UNICEF work in Rwanda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7B91m5Yzoc and UNICEF Careers | UNICEF Careers.

How can you make a difference?

1. Background:

UNICEF is supporting the Government of Rwanda through implementation of the Girls in Rwanda Learn (GIRL) programme funded by FCDO. The GIRL program is committed to ensuring that every child, regardless of their physical abilities, has access to quality education in an inclusive environment. To uphold this commitment, it is essential to conduct a comprehensive physical accessibility assessment of the programme schools starting with 130 primary schools in cohort 1 across five districts (Ngororero, Rusizi, Gisagara, Gakenke, Karongi). This assessment will identify barriers to accessing school/learning environment and provide actionable recommendations to enhance accessibility, ensuring all students can participate fully in their educational experience.

In this context, UNICEF plans to engage two individual consultants to provide expert services on need basis for assessment/quality assurance and certification of the school accessibility infrastructural works being supported by UNICEF under the GIRL programme

2. Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

The main objective of the consultancy is to ensure improved access to schools and learning for children with disabilities in UNICEF supported schools and ensure that necessary infrastructural accessibility modifications are implemented according to the national school accessibility standards and relevant best practices. There are two elements to the consultancy to allow that objective to be achieved:

1. To assess the current state of physical infrastructure in all 130 primary schools in five districts to determine compliance with national school construction and accessibility standards and develop a set of actionable recommendations to improve physical accessibility across all schools and preparation modification maps/sketches and accompanying BoQ for each school; and

2. To ensure that the UNICEF-supported school accessibility related interventions are implemented in line with the national school construction and accessibility standards, designs, BoQs and specifications (as applicable) through regular supervision of the work and reporting back to UNICEF on progress and challenges.

3. Key Tasks:

Depending upon the needs/demand, the following specific tasks will be undertaken by the consultants:

1. Preparation of a detailed work plan for the assessment

1. • The consultants will develop a detailed assessment plan outlining specific criteria and standards for assessment. Reference will be made to the existing national school construction standards.
   • Coordinate with MINEDUC, school administrators and local education authorities to schedule visits and draw out a schedule for district visits to the selected schools.

2. On-Site Assessments

2. • Conduct on-site visits to each of the 130 schools, systematically evaluating key areas:
     • Entrances and Exits: Assess ramps, doorways, and thresholds for wheelchair accessibility.
     • Restrooms: Evaluate the availability and condition of accessible toilets.
     • Carry out measurements, observations and record required adjustments for accessibility for the preparation of BOQs for each school.

3. Detailed Accessibility Reports: Reporting and Recommendations

3. • Compile /sketch maps of all the modifications to be made for each of the 130 schools (where applicable).
   • Provide detailed recommendations for each school, prioritizing critical issues relating to accessibility
   • Provide detailed BOQs/cost estimates for each schools suggesting the technical options with most affordable materials to be used for the construction. Also provide technical assistance for review of the available designs/BoQs;

 4. Provide quality assurance/supervision of the infrastructural accessibility modifications for all the schools in collaboration with district school construction engineers where available.

4. • To perform the above tasks, the consultants will have to undertake field visits to the GIRL programme target schools across the districts.  The services of the consultants will be on retainership basis and availed only when needed, for the initial assessment of schools the consultants will be required to work for 5 days a week to cover the 130 schools in approximately 2 months, and thereafter as per the workplan (man/day basis) to be agreed prior to the commencement of the construction activities at school level under this consultancy.  The assignment is expected to be completed within six months.

D. Deliverables:

• Develop a detailed assessment master plan outlining specific criteria and standards for assessment referencing the existing national school construction standards.
• Coordinate and draw out a schedule for district visits to the selected schools.
• Develop and writeup reports for individual school consisting of detailed Sketch maps and recommendations of all the modifications for accessibility to be made for each of the 130 schools (where applicable) with accompanying detailed individualized design, BOQs/cost estimates suggesting the technical options with most affordable materials to be used for the construction.
• Supervision reports for field visits undertaken to supervise the progress/quality of the works, and technical reports are prepared as per agreed timeline.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• Education:
  • A master’s degree in civil engineering, environmental engineering, or a related field, or alternatively, a bachelor’s degree with ten years of relevant experience, is required.

  Work Experience:

  • The candidate must possess a minimum of eight years of relevant experience, which includes overseeing school construction interventions, particularly those related to infrastructure, and demonstrating a thorough comprehension of national school construction and accessibility standards.
  • Strong communication skills in English and Kinyarwanda (spoken and written).
  • Proven ability to work effectively in cross-cultural and multi-cultural settings and teams.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit  here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

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. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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.

Remarks: 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.