Local Consultant/ Education Expert
Alert
Vacancy
Background
Kosovo’s legal framework on education largely incorporates international standards. The Constitution and the relevant laws recognize Albanian and Serbian as the official languages in Kosovo, and guarantee and regulate the right to receive public education in one of the official languages of choice at all levels. Furthermore, persons belonging to non-majority communities are entitled to receive preschool, primary and secondary public education in their own language. In cases when education in the chosen official or community language is not available, alternatives have to be provided, such as subsidized transport to an area where such schooling is offered. Finally, Kosovo Education Strategic Plan (KESP) 2017–2021 is the main policy document that includes government’s obligations for the provision of quality education for communities. The first strategic objective of KESP “Participation and Inclusion” envisages a number of measures targeting different areas of communities’ education such as increasing the enrolment rates of vulnerable communities, teacher training on inclusive education, promotion of diversity and interaction among communities, and language learning. The remaining six objectives are further inclusive of communities. Within KESP focus areas, various actions are foreseen to achieve increased involvement of communities in education management, expand opportunities for professional development and address communities’ specific needs in line with the relevant legislation. This includes development of specific mechanisms in different areas, monitoring of different aspects of work of educational institutions, awareness raising and other activities.
Non-majority education is a priority area for the OSCE Mission in Kosovo. In 2020, the OSCE and the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) agreed to a three-year work plan, which outlines a set of programmatic interventions in the field of communities’ education to be implemented jointly by MES and the OSCE. The establishment of a broad Working Group is a first step to ensure that issues related to the education of non-majority communities are discussed with and addressed by the engaged stakeholders in a coordinated and collaborative manner. These issues include but are not limited to: a) Unavailability of textbooks in Bosnian and Turkish languages for the pre-university education and insufficient number of textbook copies for pupils and students. b) Unavailability of textbooks for learning Albanian language for pupils and students whose first language is not Albanian. c) Sustainability of pre-university education in non-Albanian languages, particularly training programmes for teachers in Bosnian and Turkish languages.
Thus, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo seeks to hire a Local Consultant/ Pre-University Education Expert to support the Mission in addressing the challenges of the non-majority education in Kosovo, along the following objectives.
Objectives
The first objective of the consultancy is to, under the supervision of the activity manager, facilitate and support the establishment of a working group with MES and representatives of communities and education NGOs, civil society and international stakeholders to deal with various aspects of pre-university education of non-majority communities throughout Kosovo. The consultant will draft one concept note on selected topics to be covered. The consultant will be part of the working group, will support the identification and discussion of the main challenges that impede access to education and finalise the design of a mid-term plan to rectify those challenges.
The second objective, with the aim of improving Kosovo Turk and Kosovo Bosniak access to education, is a mapping and inventory activity to assess the extent of missing textbooks in Turkish and Bosnian languages for students attending schools throughout Kosovo. The consultant will collect information related to the number of schools providing education in Turkish and Bosnian languages, the number of students in grades 1 to 10, which books are required and how many are missing according to the curriculum. In addition, the consultant will provide an inventory of required books and a corresponding budget.
The duration of consultancy is 60 working days.
Tasks and Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the activity manager establish MES working group, identify and invite members to working group meetings, which may include technical experts from the field (including both international stakeholders and Kosovo civil society organizations), community representatives and parents within an agreed framework to discuss challenges and find solutions for communities education in Kosovo; the consultant will be responsible for organising meetings (setting dates and writing minutes to be submitted to the Mission)
Deliverables
Performance Indicators
Necessary Qualifications
Remuneration Package
Remuneration will depend on the qualifications and experience of individual experts as well as the detailed work plan to be agreed upon and will be based on the current OSCE consultancy rates.
How To Apply
In order to apply for this position you must complete the OSCE's online application form, found under https://jobs.osce.org/. Applicants are encouraged to use the online recruitment and only fully completedOSCEapplications will be accepted. However, if you have technical difficulties with the system you may use the offline application form found under https://jobs.osce.org/resources/document/offline-application form and forward the completed form quoting the vacancy number by e-mail to: consultancy.omik@osce.org. In line with yourqualifications please indicate preference to one or more field of expertise listed above (while using the onlineapplication the field of expertise preference can be indicated in the cover letter part). Kindly note that applications received after the deadline, submitted in different formats than the OSCE Application Form or inother languages than the English language would not be considered. The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious, ethnic and socialbackgrounds to apply