ThaiNGO

Job Title: Refugee Education Data Management Consultant

Organisation: Save the Children

Location: Mae Sot, Tak province, Thailand

Type of contract: Consultancy

Timeframe: August – November 2017 (with potential to develop further in 2018)

Child Safeguarding:

level 3: The responsibilities of the role may require the incumbent to have regular contact with or access to children or young people.

Background

Save the Childen (SC), in partnership with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), Right To Play (RTP), and ethnic education entities: Karen Refugee Committee Education Entity (KRCEE) and the camp implementing body, Office of Camp Education Entity (OCEE), Karen Teachers Working Group (KTWG), and The Karenni Education Department (KnED) are supporting the provision of quality basic education and the achievement of durable education solutions for the Burmese refugees living in 9 refugee camps along Thai-Myanmar border. The refugee situation in Thailand is among the most protracted in the world. The recent positve political progress in Myanmar aims at achieving sustainable peace within the country, paving the way for potential large-scale voluntary repatriation of refugees. Considering the context, Save the Children and partners are working to improve preparedness in the education sector for sustainable voluntary return, while ensuring that refugee childen in the camps have access to quality basic education services, adequate teaching and learning materials and a safe and condusive learning environment. Save the Children is also committed to ensure all refugee teachers are able to continue their profession upon return to Myanmar.

One area of urgent need is to strengthen the process and system of managing education data by the refugee education providers, including further capacity building of education staff in data entry, data cleaning and data analysis.  The refugee education data management system needs to enable students and teachers the benefit of having their records, experiences, training and skills safe, organised and eaily transportable from one context to another. Receiving schools and systems also need information about refugee students and teachers prior learning and accomplishments, so that they can develop suitable transition initaitives to avoid disruption in children’s education.  

Current Refugee Education Data Management System

Currently the primary function of the refugee data management systems of KnED and KRCEE relates to general, basic descriptive statistical data -  that is used in donor reporting.

Currently there are gaps in the way data is collected, stored, cleaned, analyzed and used to inform school level decisions, teacher professional development, and additional supports to students. Both KnED and KRCEE have different data collection tools and systems operating in the camps, and both have specific requirements for an data management system dependent on scale and purpose of data collection and reporting, as well as the camp context and skills and capacity of data collectors and managers.However, there is a need for streamlined systems that enable sytematic data management, anlysis and reporting.

While considerable need exists to look at the entirety of education data collected, the first stage of reformation is in the area of teacher data due to current priorities to improve teacher profiles and ensure there is a safe repository of informaton about each refugee teacher that can be used for the purpose of future employment and professional development.

Teacher data management

In order for skills and knowledge of teachers and teacher trainers to be recognised upon repatriation to Myanmar, the data held about refugee teachers needs to clearly present evidence that can be easily verified. The refugee education data management system needs to include the capacity for storing relevant data and reporting on a range of teacher outcomes. Currently no such system exists for basic education in the refugee camps

The proposed solution

The data repository would:

• Provide a primary source of evidence for new and established refugee teachers and trainers by providing comprehensive educator profiles linked to training, classroom observation, ongoing mentoring workshop (Friday afternoon workshops) outcomes.
• Be mapped to multiple data collection tools that could be easily verified by supervisors
• Be simple and functional, enabling data collectors of various skill levels to navigate, enter and analyse data, and run a range of different reports for donors, other stakeholders and educational planning purposes

Consultancy Focus

• Undertake a health check review of KnED and KRCEEs current data management tools, processes and analysis of emerging needs for refugee teachers and students upon their return to Myanmar
• Develop a set of key recommendations for KnED and KRCEE with three costed options (basic to more advanced system) on how best to strengthen the quality of data, the system of collection and management and utlisation practices using available human and technology resources;
• Present the options using mock prototypes discussing advantages, disadvantages and costings likely with each option to inform the decision making process.
• Based on the decisions of the two education providers, support the build, testing and revisions needed for effective roll out including training and instructional guide development

 Management

The consultant will be managed by Save the Children’s Snr Field Coordinator, Mae Sot.

In relation to day to day activities related to project work, the consultant will also liaise with Save the Children’s Senior Education Officer. The deliverables of the consultancy will be reviewed and approved by SCI Thailand’s Program Development & Quality department.

Qualifications and experience

• Qualifications in and / or extensive experience in the conceptualisation, development, implementation and fit for purpose training of contextualised and flexible education data management systems
• Proven experience supporting education data management systems
• Experience with working with teams towards shared goals
• Experience working with refugee and migrant sectors, or displaced peoples, along the Thai / Myanmar border
• English essential, Karen language skills preferred

Submission for consultancy

The submission must address the terms of reference and include:

• A resume addressing skills and experience relevant to the role
• A proposal addressing the deliverables, incorporating a full budget and work plan to achieve deliverables: timeframe / methodologies and approaches to be employed (max 5 pages)

Note: Please cost in accommodation and travel. SC can assist with camp passes, if required. If travel to camps or long distance travel is required SC will only be able to provide car travel if consultant activities and travel dates coincide with field staff activities.

Please indicate in the subject as “Apply for Refugee Education Data Management Consultant_(Name of candidate)”

Closing date for submissions:

Applicants should submit their interest by 22 August 2017. Submissions must be addressed to Save the Children Thailand HR: HRthailand@savethechildren.org 

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

“We need to keep children safe so our selection process reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.”

Closing Date               :      19 April 2026 (11:59 PM, Bangkok Time)