Evaluation Expert: Language Teacher Development Programme

About the project

The British Council’s Ethiopia Language for Resilience project operates in the primary schools of five refugee camps and eight host community schools in Benishangul-Gumuz western Ethiopia, where there are over 52,000 refugees, a quarter of primary school age. Education follows the Ethiopian curriculum, with the first language as the official language of instruction (LoI) up to Grade 4, after which it is English. With over 30 first languages in the camps language is a major issue in the schools. English functions as a link language amongst refugees and organisations working in the camps, as being the LoI from Grade 5.

The project aims to improve teachers’ classroom capacity and thereby enhance learning by developing a sustainable system of Continuous Professional Development using face-to-face and distance methods. 475 teachers currently benefit from the project which develops both pedagogical and English skills. Our partners are Ethiopia’s Agency for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA) and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

About the Role

The consultant will carry out an interim evaluation of the project, advising on possible ways forward and reporting to the British Council’s Sub-Saharan Africa English in Educational Systems team. The consultancy will include visits to refugee camp, so the consultant will need a valid Disclosure Barring Certificate. ARRA operate strict rules regarding entry to the camps.

Objectives:

• To review the appropriacy and achievement to date of project aims and scope with reference to the documents and in meetings and focus groups with key stakeholders.
• To gain a clear perspective on the awareness of and demand for the project amongst the refugee community in the five camps, taking into consideration the range of relevant factors that relate to the educational contexts for refugees living in camps in Ethiopia.
• To review the training programme for teachers, through interviews and lesson observations, aimed at evaluating to what extent the training has subsequently impacted on their work in the classroom.
• To make an initial assessment of the quantitative and qualitative results of the programme.
• To assess the likely sustainability of the project if UK support is concluded.
• To advise on future project activities beyond April 2020.

Outcome:
The consultant will provide the British Council with an assessment of the project’s achievements, with advice on how it could be developed and improved. 

Timing and duration:
The consultancy will occur in February 2020, reporting by the end of March. The visit to Benishangul-Gumuz will include a 50-minute flight to the regional capital, Assosa. The camps are situated between 30 and 120 kilometres from the capital, with UNHCR providing road transport.

 The British Council in Addis Ababa will provide:

• A daily fee (to be negotiated) for an estimated seven contact days in Ethiopia.
• A negotiated daily fee for work on preparation and report writing totalling six days.
• Return economy air tickets from the consultant’s home country to Addis Ababa and reasonable costs between the consultant’s home and the airport for the flights to and from Addis Ababa.
  Visa costs.
• Hotel accommodation and transport within Ethiopia. Note that hotels in Assosa do not meet normal three or four star international standards as it is one of the least developed regions of the country.

Please note that there will be no paid subsistence during the consultancy, but that hotels will provide breakfast.

Qualifications and Experience Required:

Applicants must have;

• a relevant Masters degree, for instance in English Language Teaching (ELT) or Education;
• experience of evaluating education or ELT projects, preferably in refugee or educationally low-resourced contexts.
• experience in the following areas, preferably with refugees: 
  - educational distance learning programmes
  - teacher training in primary educational systems
  - strengthening educational systems through capacity building

If you are interested in this consultancy, please send your CV tailored to the above requirements, and a statement of no more than 250 words outlining how you are suited to this consultancy, to information@et.britishcouncil.org with the title Evaluation of Language for Resilience Project, by 29 December. Selection will take place in mid-January.

Please note we will respond to successful applicants within 10 working days of the application deadline date.