Background

Within the framework of the ITALEEM project funded by EU, UNESCO Office in Iraq will support the Iraq Ministry of Education enhance its capacity in utilizing Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) to inform evidence-based participatory educational policy planning, forecasting/simulation, budgeting, financing, management, monitoring, and evaluation in day-to-day operations guided by EMIS and Quality Assurance Framework. This initiative is crucial for improving the quality and effectiveness of education policies and practices by strengthening the linkages between the data and evidence generated by EMIS and the improvement of educational quality. Moreso, the application of EMIS data informs management functions at senior and technical levels, bringing greater integration of gender dimensions, social inclusion and other cross-cutting concerns into educational planning, and provides a basis for dynamic advocacy for adequate and sustained funding for education.

The value of a fully functioning EMIS lies in the comprehensive and reliable data that it provides to guide policy, planning and operational management of the education system. Thus, obtaining an analysis of the progress, gaps and challenges in delivering education is a key condition of working towards higher quality in the system as a whole. While the need for quality improvement may be clearly perceptible in a general manner to actors and stakeholders in the system, the precise nature of what needs to be changed and where intervention is most needed only becomes visible with accurate data. If the EMIS, therefore, is a foundation on which the analysis of educational quality may be built, the pathways of change must also be mapped out, using an appropriate quality framework. Taken together, EMIS data and the principles of a quality framework constitute a viable basis for consistent attention to and progress in quality of teaching and learning for Iraq’s children.
Linked to the ongoing training in EMIS and its roll-out at governorate level, capacities in designing and operationalising a quality framework are also necessary. In the Iraqi context, contextualized tools, adapted for example from those proposed in UNESCO’s General Education Quality Analysis/Diagnosis Framework (GEQAF), serve to deepen the analysis and understanding of the nature of educational quality in the local context and, by asking questions of the actors involved, to envisage why and how the quality can be improved.

Once the quality framework is accepted and adopted, and EMIS results are available as input, education staff at central (MoE) and governorate (GDoE) level are trained in both administering an analysis of quality and in developing new pathways to improve it. Given their experience on the ground, CSOs make an important contribution in this regard. In addition to adequate capacity, ownership of these processes at a high level is a crucial factor in sequencing and implementing the steps involved, at both central and decentralized levels.

Senior leadership in education is responsible for setting direction for the system as a whole, its purposes, societal connections, role in national development, for articulating the vision for education and communicating it throughout the education sector, for inspiring and motivating staff, as well as promoting positive interaction and teamwork among them. Representing education to other national and international partners, promoting coordinated action, and monitoring overall progress also fall within the remit of senior leadership. Building new and strengthened competencies in using EMIS data and reports for these functions takes shape as follows:

Policymaking/high-level planning: competence in policy design and its implications for planning focus, on the one hand, on an understanding of factors that underpin policy making as a political and conceptual foundation for educational development, and on the other hand, consideration of contextual factors which facilitate or constrain policy making. It is important for senior leadership to be able to make choices regarding different planning models and to assess the implementation of planning at centralized and decentralized levels. This includes the promotion of EMIS data as the evidential base of policies and planning. UNESCO facilitates the engagement of IIEP inputs on this topic for senior MoE and GDoE leadership, through participatory workshops tailored to the concerns that senior leadership expresses.

Financing: as an essential concomitant activity to planning, understanding and applying rigorous and realistic approaches to financing are essential, based on needs, gaps, and opportunities revealed by EMIS data. Developing capacity in this area focuses on the current and prospects for financing education in Iraq, in the light of macroeconomic factors and projections. Senior leadership also acquires stronger skills in interpreting budget structures and linking them with EMIS data, to be able to assess the feasibility and realism of budgets prepared by their technical departments; learning to ask ‘good questions’ on financing is central in this process.

Management: at the senior level, management focuses on ensuring that competent personnel are hired, inspired, motivated, and have the resources and tools to do their job. This includes support for training of senior management of the MoE and GDoEs in evidence-based educational planning and management utilizing EMIS data.

Monitoring and evaluation: Senior leadership has the responsibility to make sure that educational delivery in all its aspects is on track and achieving the desired results, using indicators based on the INES objectives and outcomes. This monitoring function is underpinned by EMIS data and the analyses it enables the educational authorities to make. At the senior level, officials work with their departments to verify that adequate, relevant data are available in a timely manner, to draw out from the data the implications in terms of any necessary change, and to assess needed improvements in the monitoring system itself, in terms of capacity and resourcing.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Under the overall authority of the Director of UNESCO Iraq Office, overall supervision of the Chief of Education Unit and day-to-day guidance from the Programme Manager ITALEEM the consultant will perform the following duties and responsibilities;

1. Develop training manuals in close collaboration with technical staff at MOE General Directorate of Education planning.
2. Training of 50 MoE and 50 GDoE Senior Officials on EMIS-informed evidence-based participatory educational policy planning, financing, management, monitoring, and evaluation. This activity should focus on the competencies required to manage the education system making full use of EMIS data in policymaking, planning, financing/budgeting, and monitoring and evaluation. This activity focuses on the functions of senior officials/leadership.

Deliverables

The consultant will be responsible for delivering the following:
a) Training materials and manuals on EMIS and evidence-based policy planning.
b) A set of participatory policy development guidelines.
c) Financial management training modules.
d) M&E frameworks and tools
e) Reports on training sessions, workshops, and overall progress.

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)

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Required Qualifications:

Academic Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in Education, education administration and management, Public Policy, Economics, Education Information Management or related fields.

Work Experience

• At least 10 years of work experience in Education planning in academia, working with the Ministry of Education and other education institutions.
• Excellent understanding of Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) and their application in educational policy planning and management.
• Proven track record in capacity building and training, particularly within the education sector.
• Experience in developing and implementing evidence-based policies and participatory approaches.
• Understanding of financial management, including budgeting, financial planning, and resource allocation.
• Demonstrated experience in the development of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks and tools.

Skills and Competencies:

• Excellent analytical and data interpretation skills.
• Strong facilitation and training skills, with the ability to engage and build the capacity of diverse stakeholders.
• Proficiency in using EMIS and other relevant data management tools.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work collaboratively with government officials and other stakeholders.
• Ability to develop comprehensive training materials and manuals.
• Familiarity with the educational context and challenges in the region or Iraq.

Language

• Excellent knowledge of English (written and spoken) is required
• Knowledge of the Arabic language is desirable.