external ConsultantRTI International

TEXTBOOK POLICY CONSULTANT
Background
Advancing Basic Education in the Philippines (ABC+) is a five-year, $38.5 million United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded project to improve early reading, math, and social and emotional skills for children in the early grades (kindergarten to grade 3) in the Philippines.
ABC+ is currently providing technical assistance to DepEd in the development of instructional resources to support home-based learning for Kindergarten through Grade 12 students. The 2020-2021 school year in the Philippines will start on October 5th, after a 6-month long interruption to schooling resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. There will be no face-to-face instruction until further notice and all learning will take place in the home. To meet the challenges of home-based learning during COVID-19, as part of its Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan, DepEd developed a streamlined K-12: the Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELCs). DepEd plans to procure MELC-aligned self-guided learning modules for each grade and subject for all learners, to be distributed in the third quarter of this school year; roughly, in February 2021.
Scope of Work
ABC+ is currently seeking applications from international experts in textbook procurement in low- and middle-income countries to provide technical assistance to DepEd. Working through DepEd's Office of the Secretary, the Consultant will advise DepEd's Bureau of Learning Resources (BLR) in the development of technical specifications for the procurement of MELC-aligned self-learning modules for K-12. The Consultant will work with BLR to ensure that the technical specifications are less prescriptive about physical specifications and more broadly focused on aspects of quality, such as MELC alignment. The specifications must provide clear guidelines on what constitutes a high-quality module for self-guided learning in the context of home-based learning during the upcoming school year.
The Consultant's role will be to advise BLR on how to develop specifications that meet the aforementioned criteria. S/he may provide training for BLR staff but will be primarily expected to review all draft specification documents and make recommendations for their improvement. The Consultant will be responsible for ensuring the quality of the specification documents, in accordance with a timeline set by DepEd/BLR.
The Consultant will be directly accountable to the Office of the Undersecretary and Chief of Staff, Atty. Nepomuceno Malaluan. RTI International, prime implementer of the ABC+ project, will administer the Consultant's contract.
Place and period of performance
The consultancy may be performed remotely but the Consultant must make every possible effort to accommodate Philippine working hours. The estimated period of performance for this consultancy will be October 12 - November 13, 2020. The estimated level of effort is 24 days. The period of performance and level of effort may change, depending on the DepEd Office of the Secretary's needs and timeline.
Evaluation criteria
Demonstrated experience in advising on or drafting technical specifications for textbook procurements that respond to DepEd's current needs
Demonstrated experience in advising high-level officers of ministries of education in low- and middle-income countries on textbook policies and procurement
Previous experience in Southeast Asia preferred
Familiarity with the Philippine public education sector, Philippine legislation on textbook development and procurement, and the Philippine educational publishing industry a plus, but not required
Previous experience as a consultant for USAID-funded education programs a plus, but not required
Value for money
Availability
To Apply
Interested applicants must submit CV and brief cover letter to no later than Tuesday, October 6, at 12PM ET. The cover letter must include information on the Consultant's daily rate availability to perform the task within the period of performance.
RTI International

Philippines
Permanent
Full-time