National Education Expert to Support Designing the SIB Intervention

Vacancy Number: Pr18/01777

Location:Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline: 18 Oct 2018, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:Individual Contract
Starting date: 24 Oct 2018
Reference to the project: Private Sector Engagement for SDGs (PSE4SDGs) Business Innovation Unit
Expected Duration of Assignment:up to 20 working days in the period 22 October 2018 - 15 December, 2018
Submission Instructions:

Proposals should be submitted by pressing the "Apply online" button no later than October 18, 2018.

Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: a.moraru@undp.org. UNDP will respond by standard electronic mail and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all applicants.

Supporting Documents:
INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT PROCUREMENT NOTICE
TERMS OF REFERENCE
OFFEROR’S LETTER TO UNDP CONFIRMING INTEREST AND AVAILABILITY FOR THE INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTOR (IC) ASSIGNMENT
UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Contacts:

Ms. A Moraru.

a.moraru@undp.org


Background

A social impact bond (SIB) is a fairly new result-based financial instrument of impact investing, where outcome payers agree to pay and reward investors only if upon agreed outcomes are achieved. The idea is to engage private capital in funding viable social/environmental/development projects with a potential of a financial return. Public institutions agree that if the bond succeeds in achieving the agreed outcomes, the investors will get their capital back plus a financial return. The financial return is dependent on the degree to which outcomes improve the initial situation. Typically, SIBs have been designed to help reform public service delivery.

Impact investing opens up an innovative way to engage private sector to bolster global sustainability further, together with public sector and service providers. It creates incentives for service providers to improve their performance through results-based contracting where the impact of the services has to be measurable. Also, it transfers the financial risks from public sector to the investor, as the outcome payers (usually the government or municipality) agree to pay and reward investors only if outcomes are achieved. Thus taxpayer’s monies will only pay for proven successful social interventions.

The first SIB was launched in 2010 in the UK and, as of now, over 100 SIBs have been commissioned across Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States. SIBs have raised over $750m of capital and touched over 90,000 lives. Almost half of the SIBs focus on employment, while others are covering areas such as health, homelessness, child welfare, education and criminal justice. There is a strong focus on preventive and early intervention measures.

According to the most recent data from PISA report, Moldova finds itself at the bottom of world rankings in terms of innovation and education. Investing in education is particularly important in today’s global realities when humanity is undergoing fundamental transformations. In fact, the mankind has already entered the so called Fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as the Digital Revolution where almost all processes, systems and mechanisms are operating based on digital programs, and the possibilities are multiplied in an unprecedented rhythm by Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and nanotechnologies. Moreover, today’s economic realities demand more and more creativity, abstract thinking, empathy and many other aspects of emotional intelligence.

UNDP Moldova intends to pilot a SIB mechanism to finance social outcomes concerning primary and secondary education in Moldova. The primary outcomes will focus on building ICT skills in schools, on one hand, and capacity building for teaching these skills to school teachers, on the other. The intervention will contribute to achieving SDG4 - ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all.

The project will utilize outcome-based contracting and SIBs as a financial instrument to deliver the set outcomes. As part of this activity, UNDP intends to:

  • Identify main potential stakeholders and beneficiaries;
  • Design the SIB and integrated financial model and enter into negotiations with the outcome payer;
  • Define expected outcomes and outcome metrics;
  • Conduct legal due diligence to get recommendations for the SIB design, outcome payments mechanisms, investments and other issues;
  • Formulate preliminary intervention strategy with timeline.

Scope of work

The National Educational Expert will support UNDP Moldova in helping define the current challenges in primary and secondary education and zoom in on the area of intervention through SIB, contributing to formulating the outcome metrics. More specifically, the consultant will work in the following directions:

  1. Target group and area of intervention

This activity will focus on data collection and analyses for setting up detailed criteria for the target groups and establishing intermediary and long-term education outcomes. It will cover educational programs and target group analysis. This will be done by analyzing available historical data on quantitative and qualitative (if available) indicators related to education and performance in public schools, also small data on Future of Education and Skills to complement available administrative data. The National Education Expert will make sure to consult data from all actors covering education field, such as Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, National Bureau of Statistics, on-going or planned interventions in education, such as TwentyTu, Scoala Viitorului, etc. Based on the data, the consultant will provide recommendations for the selection of the precise target group for the SIB interventions and background for developing intervention strategy.

  1. Preliminary intervention strategy

The intervention strategy shall provide details about the main education challenges and service gaps and include hypothesis on the most appropriate interventions to address the gaps in the current education program.  Skills analyses and forecasts, as well as the needs of the employment market will be taken into consideration in developing the hypothesis for appropriate services. The consultant will also identify potential service providers in the education sector.

As minimum, the following questions should be covered under this component:

  • What are the challenges and gaps in the current service provision?
  • What potential services will meet the needs of the target group to improve the outcome?
  • How does the potential intervention respond to the education challenge and the needs of the target group?
  1. Intervention outcomes and M&E framework

The National Education Expert will support the identification of appropriate intermediary and final outcomes for the SIB. The outcomes shall conform to the SMART criteria. Additionally, the expert will support the International Data Analyst in the modelling of outcome metrics. In this sense, the National Education Expert will compile and deliver all necessary data for the Impact Investment Expert to conduct the modelling. Modeling of the outcomes will be used in setting up the social and financial targets of the impact bond. This also includes supporting in the calculation of the cost of the intervention, funding requirements and targeted savings for the government, estimations to be done in cooperation with the impact investment and financial consultant.

Requirements for experience

Qualifications and Experience

  • Master’s degree or equivalent in the field of Social Sciences, Economics or another related field;
  •  At least 5 years of professional experience in education policy design and evaluation at the national level;
  • At least 2 years of experience in data analysis and research is a strong asset;
  • In-depth understanding and knowledge of education policies and institutional frameworks in Moldova, education and labor market trends, as well as vision on the future of skills;
  • Knowledge of the principles of successful education systems across the world (Scandinavian, others);
  • Specialized expertise and experience in issues related to public education programs and challenges in Moldova;
  • Advanced knowledge of the National Statistics System in the field of education;
  • Familiarity and knowledge of SIB mechanism is an advantage.

Skills and Competencies

  • Proven capacity to produce reports and analyses in English;
  • Well organized and able to work effectively in teams and to liaise with national stakeholders;
  • Ability to deliver when working under pressure and within changing circumstances;
  • Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
  • Demonstrates integrity by modeling ethical standards;

Language:

  • Proficiency in English and Romanian. Knowledge of written and conversational Russian language is mandatory.

Documents to be included

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

  1. Proposal: explaining why they are the most suitable for this position;
  2. Financial proposal (LUMP SUM) in USD, specifying in a total requested amount per day, including all related costs, travel, phone calls etc.;
  3. Offeror's Letter confirming Interest and Availability
  4. Personal CV, including past experience in similar projects and the contact details of at least 3 reference persons.

The United Nations Development Programme in Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non-citizens legally entitled to work in the Republic of Moldova, are particularly encouraged to apply.

Financial proposal

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals the financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including fee, taxes, travel to join duty station, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).

Travel

No travel costs are envisaged by this assignment.

In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.  UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class she/he should do so using their own resources.

 


 

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