Consultant - Community Manager on Disability-Inclusive Education

JOB DETAILS

Type of contract : Consultant Contract

Level :  Level 2 - Middle

Hiring Unit : Education Sector (ED)

Duty Station : Dakar

Work location : Remote

Duration of contract : 11 months

Hiring open to : External candidates

Application deadline (Midnight UTC±0 (UTC) Time) : 31/07/2026

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

OVERVIEW

With more than 50 years of experience developing the capacity of member states, IIEP- UNESCO is the only specialized organization with the mandate to support education policy, planning and management in the UN system. For decades, IIEP-UNESCO has been working with UNESCO Member States to develop more inclusive systems, in particular by helping them to become more responsive to gender issues, crises and conflicts, and climate change. Through a Programme funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), IIEP-UNESCO in Africa is strengthening its commitment to supporting countries in making their systems more inclusive for children and young people with disabilities. Indeed, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and the IIEP-UNESCO in Africa have signed an agreement for the joint development of a programme on inclusive education for children and youth with disabilities in West Africa. This programme, entitled "Planning for inclusive education. Regional Programme in West Africa”, has the following development objective: ’Education systems in West Africa are inclusive, ensuring that girls, boys, young women and young men with disabilities have the same opportunities for access and learning as all other children and young people". It is being implemented in eight (8) West African countries (Cabo Verde, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Sierra Leone) and consists of four components: Component 1: Hybrid Training; Component 2: Knowledge sharing; Component 3: Evidence generation;  Component 4: Technical support for analysis and planning. Within the component 2 of the Programme, a Community of Practice with a focus on Disability-Inclusive Education Sector Planning is being implemented from February 2026, the CoP-DIESP. The IIEP-UNESCO in Africa aims to hire a consultant to support the continued development and implementation of the regional programme’s Community of Practice.

Long Description

Mid-February 2026, the IIEP-UNESCO in Africa launched the Community of Practice on Disability-Inclusive Education Sector Planning (CoP-DIESP), operating in 3 languages (English, French and Portuguese). Within the component 2 of the regional Programme “Planning for Inclusive Education”, the  Community of Practice on Disability-Inclusive Education Sector Planning is designed as a platform for education planners, education practitioners, Organisations of Persons with Disability members, civil society organisations’ members, experts, researchers, donors,  across the globe, to share, learn and exchange experiences, good practice and information about promoting and improving education analyses and planning focusing on disability-inclusion, co-create knowledge, and advance inclusive education systems. Activities include online forums, a shared resource library and live events on relevant themes (global webinars and thematic working sessions).CoP-DIESP members are currently 410, from 93 countries from all over the world.To support the institute’s efforts to implement, strengthen and grow this unique Community of Practice, the IIEP- UNESCO in Africa is looking for a consultant community manager, with knowledge about key themes in disability-inclusive education, to join the team for a eleven-month period. This consultancy will strengthen the CoP-DIESP, foster networking, exchange and peer- learning amongst education planners. Moreover, this will contribute to other IIEP-UNESCO in Africa activities, including capacity strengthening, technical assistance and applied research.

ASSIGNMENTS

The consultant Community Manager of the Community of Practice on Disability-Inclusive Education Sector Planning (CoP-DIESP), under the overall leadership and supervision of the Head of the IIEP-UNESCO in Africa, will closely work with the Project Officer in charge of coordinating the regional programme “Planning for Inclusive Education”, the IIEP in Africa Technical Cooperation and Communication Teams, and the IIEP KGeM Team in Paris, to ensure the day-to-day running of the CoP:

• Recruitment and onboarding of participants
• Design and implementation of activities following established planning
• Animation of the community (encouraging member participation, communicating with members to drive engagement, etc.)
• Management of the CoP’s online space (creation, posting, and translation of content and exchange spaces, management of users)  
• Content moderation of forums and other exchange spaces
• Systematization and archival of information shared by participants
• Amplification of the messages and learning which emerge from the CoP
• Sourcing and curation of resources relevant to the CoP
• Event organisation

Within these responsibilities, the consultant will be in charge of a range of activities to implement and optimize the CoP. More specifically, the Community Manager for the Community of Practice in Disability-Inclusive Education Sector Planning will undertake the following tasks:

1. Contribute to the planning, development and management of the CoP
   1. Contribute to the continuous design and the implementation of the CoP, in alignment with IIEP’s CoP guidelines and best practices specified by the Knowledge Generation and Management (KGeM) team and with the approach and the strategy which has been defined for the CoP within the regional program “Planning for inclusive education. This includes maintaining and improving the CoP virtual platform.
   2. Support the design and delivery of the CoP-DIESP thematic sequence for the contract period: Theme 4 – Financing Equity: Budgeting for Disability-Inclusive Education, Theme 5 – Intersectional and Cross-Sectoral Approaches to DIESP (Feb 2027) and Theme 6 – Disability-Inclusion in TVET
   3. Ensure the systematization and archival of information developed within the CoP and/or shared by participants

Long Description

2. Animate the CoP

1. 1. Launch, animate, and moderate discussion forums and other asynchronous activities to foster active participation and knowledge exchange.
   2. Contribute to the preparation and delivery of online events and other synchronous activities, including webinars, live discussions, and virtual/face to face meetings

3. Cultivate a sense of community 

1. 1. Promote a sense of community and collaboration by demonstrating empathy, autonomy, creativity, trust, respect, attentive listening, and open discussion.
   2. Get to know community members, their needs, and challenges, and help them connect with each other to develop productive relationships based on trust and mutual respect.
   3. Keep an up-to-date list of community members.
   4. Design and deliver communications targeted at CoP members, in line with the CoP communications strategy, via the IIEP CoP platform as well as via email and other message platforms
   5. Identify and support active and engaged community members to encourage them to take on responsibilities and co-facilitation roles within the community.
   6. Identify potential community leaders, facilitate their involvement, provide guidance to them, to ensure that their participation and involvement is relevant and beneficial for the CoP-DIESP members

4. Populate and resource the community   .

1. 1. Keep abreast of the field of disability-inclusive education/disability-inclusive education planning in order to bring innovative ideas in terms of content, programming and partnerships and to source, adapt, and publish relevant content (e.g., documents, tools, publications, news stories) for the benefit of CoP members
   2. Reach out to members to prompt member-driven content and to co-create content
   3. Devise, test and implement other strategies to increase user engagement within the Community, including targeted outreach, personalised content and interactive formats such as surveys.
   4. Regularly update the informal forum discussion on the CoP-DIESP platform with information related to external learning opportunities, job opportunities, events, publications etc. related to disability-inclusion

5. Increase the membership of the CoP

1. 1. Regularly update the mapping of the CoP ecosystem to understand the audience, key partners and stakeholders; create links with strategic initiatives to expand the community's reach
   2. Liaise with IIEP-UNESCO in Africa partners to reach out to potential new members for the CoP
   3. Welcome and integrate new members by helping them use the platform and actively participate in CoP activities.

Long Description

6. Support the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the CoP

a) Participate in data collection efforts to support the monitoring and evaluation of CoP activities and outcomes

b) Prepare a mid-year review report which includes: output from a mid-term review survey launched through the CoP-DIESP platform and a write-up of all CoP activities, reporting on the extent to which objectives and targets are being met

c)  Contribute to discussions within the IIEP-UNESCO in Africa and with the KGeM team on the results and impact of the CoP

7. Contribute to the identification, preparation, and facilitation of collaborations (support from IIEP-UNESCO, South-South collaborations and peer learning)

1. 1. Establish a routine process to review technical forum discussions, extracting themes, recurring challenges, and innovative practices
   2. Ensure the regular analysis of CoP-DIESP members’ contributions in the technical forum discussions in order to identify potential paths of collaboration and potential support to be provided by the IIEP-UNESCO to the countries
   3. Identify clusters of countries with similar priorities (e.g., inclusive EMIS, teacher training, financing strategies) to highlight potential collaboration areas.
   4. Contribute to the identification of potential needs for support from IIEP-UNESCO to countries, through the regular analysis of CoP-DIESP members’ contributions in technical forum discussions, in order to inform tailored technical assistance or capacity-building
   5. Produce periodic (every two months) briefs summarizing forum insights, highlighting opportunities for peer learning, South-South exchange and provision of support from the IIEP-UNESCO.

The consultant will report to the Project Officer coordinating the regional programme “Planning for Inclusive Education”, who is also the CoP leader.

The global supervision of the contract will be ensured by the Head of the IIEP-UNESCO in Africa office.

CONTRACT DURATION

The consultancy will be for a 11-month period and is scheduled to start on 1st September 2026 and end on 31 July 2027. An average engagement of 3 days per week is expected during that period. It is expected that the consultancy will be carried out remotely. Payment is conditional on the satisfactory completion of deliverables in a timely manner, according to the anticipated completion dates indicated above unless otherwise agreed with the project leader.

Long Description

DELIVERABLES

At the end of each month the consultant will submit an activity report, setting out the activities undertaken for the CoP that month, attaching all relevant documents and links, as well as a draft work plan for the following month, which has to be approved by the project officer.

Deliverable 1 (due date: 06 November 2026)

Activity report for September and October 2026, with clear reference to the outputs/outcomes, and Month Work plan for November and December 2026

Deliverable 2 (due date: 08 January 2026)

Activity report for November and December 2026, with clear reference to the outputs/outcomes, and Month Work plan for January and February 2027

Deliverable 3 (due date: 05 March 2027)

Activity report for January and February 2027, with clear reference to the outputs/outcomes, and Month Work plan for March and April 2027

Deliverable 4 (due date: 07 May 2027)

Activity report for March and April 2027, with clear reference to the outputs/outcomes, and Month Work plan for May and June 2027

Deliverable 5 (due date: 02 July 2027)

Activity report for May and June 2027, with clear reference to the outputs/outcomes, and Month Work plan for July 2027

Deliverable 6 (due date: 06 August 2027)

Activity report for July 2027, with clear reference to the outputs/outcomesAmong the expected deliverables, to be included in the bi-monthly workplans and reports, there will be the following:

• Community engagement calendar.
• Bi-monthly activity reports and analytics dashboard.
• Mid-year review (January 2027).
• Report related to the establishment phase (August 2027).

Long Description

COMPETENCIES - Core (C) & Managerial (M)

• Communication (C)
• Accountability (C)
• Innovation (C)
• Knowlegde sharing and continuous improvement (C)
• Planning and organizing (C)
• Results focus (C)
• Teamwork (C)

For detailed information, please consult the UNESCO Competency Framework.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• Master degree or equivalent in education, social sciences, communications or related fields.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Demonstrated professional experience (at least 3 years) in disability-inclusive education
• Demonstrated experience (at least 1 year) of working with ministries of education and development partners in low- and middle-income countries
• Demonstrated experience of using communication and presentation skills with multi-national audiences

Long Description

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal communication and relationship management skills
• Proven skills in community facilitation and discussion moderation
• Skills in writing, content creation, and storytelling to engage and retain community members
• Ability to analyze data and use performance metrics to measure community engagement and impact
• Ability to work independently, meet deadlines, and manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Ability to use innovative and engaging formats while adhering to brand guidelines

LANGUAGES

• Excellent command (written and oral) of English or French

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience of managing communities of practice or knowledge networks, ideally education or disability-inclusion related
• Professional written and oral proficiency in the other language
• Proficiency in Portuguese
• Proven experience in a facilitation or moderation role
• Experience in managing international projects in a multicultural environment

Long Description

In order to carry out this work, the IIEP-UNESCO in Africa will provide the consultant with all the administrative and analytical documentation available in relation to the work. IIEP-UNESCO in Africa will, if necessary, facilitate contacts with institutions and individuals who the consultant needs to meet in the context of this consultancy, as well as providing logistical support. The IIEP-UNESCO in Africa team, and particularly the Project Officer in charge of coordinating the regional programme “Planning for inclusive education” will provide guidance and technical support throughout the period of the assignment. The consultant will be responsible for any necessary visa/residence permit procedures in destination countries during the consultancy period. IIEP- UNESCO will facilitate contact with the relevant national authorities for these procedures.

The deadline for submitting applications is 24/07/2026.  Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. The consultant may be selected before the date indicated above.

In addition to the mandatory information and documents to be provided on the UNESCO recruitment platform, interested candidates must submit through the platform the following documents:

1. An up-to-date curriculum vitae (3 pages maximum), highlighting relevant experiences, the dates when they were carried out (month and year of beginning and end) and their duration (in months).
2. A technical offer (3 pages maximum), outlining the understanding of the assignment, appreciation of the project, its scope and the challenges for its implementation, highlighting the relevant experience linked to the ToRs.
3. A financial offer, presenting a proposed remuneration for the work (total fees for the 11-month contract only – no other costs will be eligible). NB: the consultant may need to undertake travel for the face to face gathering of the CoP, TBC; travel and associated subsistence costs will be supported by IIEP and amendments to the contract will be made to incorporate these if the mission is confirmed.

 NOTA BENE: Only applications that include all the requested documents will be considered.

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information, by the above deadline.

To apply, please visit the UNESCO Careers website. No modifications can be made to the application once submitted. 

The process may include pre-recorded video interviews and/or written assessments, interviews with a Panel, as well as reference checks. In addition, candidates may be requested to provide additional information which may be pertinent to the position’s qualifications.  

Please note that all candidates, whether selected or not, will be informed of the outcome of their application in due course. 

Short-listed candidates may also be added to Talent Pools; subject to their consent (i.e. Data Privacy Statement).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• UNESCO recalls that paramount consideration in the appointment of personnel shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, technical competence and integrity.
• UNESCO applies a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of harassment.
• lndividuals from minority groups and indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply.
• All applications will be treated with the highest level of confidentiality.
• UNESCO does not charge a fee at any stage of the hiring process.