Inclusive Assessment Consultant, Kathmandu, Nepal, 8 months, Nationals only, Remote with travel

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to education.

How can you make a difference?

Under the supervision of the Education Specialist (Formal Education), the consultant will support the strengthening of the inclusiveness and accessibility of early grade learning assessments by ensuring that children with disabilities and children from diverse language backgrounds can participate meaningfully and demonstrate their learning accurately.

The consultant will:

• Review existing early grade assessment framework, tools and processes through an inclusion and equity lens.

• Identify barriers that may limit participation or performance of children with disabilities and multilingual learners.

• Develop recommendations to improve assessment accessibility, fairness, and validity.

• Strengthen guidance on assessment accommodations and adaptations.

• Support development of linguistically responsive assessment approaches.

• Build stakeholder capacity on inclusive assessment design and implementation.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here:  TMC0006795 External TOR.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: university degree (Master's level or higher) in one or more of the following:
• Education
• Educational Assessment and Measurement
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Disability inclusion
• Inclusive Education
• International Development

• Work Experience:
  • Minimum 15 years of experience in education sector programming, with focus on assessments and inclusive education.
  • Demonstrated expertise in learning assessment and foundational learning.
  • Experience developing or adapting diagnostic assessments.
  • Experience in multilingual education, disability inclusive education and learning Acceleration.
  • Experience integrating disability-inclusive and multilingual approaches into assessments.
  • Proven experience working with government education systems.
  • Experience in Nepal or South Asia is highly desirable.
• Skills:   

Demonstrated knowledge and expertise in:

• • Strong knowledge of foundational literacy and numeracy assessment.
  • Understanding of competency-based curricula and learning progressions.
  • Experience in assessment and learning systems strengthening.
  • Familiarity with Inclusive Education policies and standards.
  • Knowledge of accommodations for children with disabilities.
  • Strong analytical and report-writing skills.
  • Excellent facilitation and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Language Requirements: Excellent spoken and written skills in both Nepali and English
• Desirables:
  • Experience supporting Education Review Office and similar institutions
  • Knowledge of test item writing
  • Experience in inclusive education, disability-inclusive programming, multilingual education, gender-responsive education, and education in emergencies.
  • Previous experience working with UNICEF, development partners, or government institutions in Nepal.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

• An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
• Cover letter
• A separate financial proposal (only acceptable in the format of the linked template)  TMC0006795 Financial proposal template.docx
• A detailed technical proposal: Technical proposal should be no more than 5 pages, addressing details of the assignment, outline of the approach, methodology, and stakeholders to engage along with a realistic timeline.