Consultant - Early Childhood Education

• Job Title: Consultant - Early Childhood Education

The objective of this consultancy is to support the Government of Balochistan, through SED, in the development of a dedicated ECE teacher cadre and accompanying service rules. The consultant shall:

• Define the structure, roles, and responsibilities within the ECE cadre.
• Develop career pathways, recruitment mechanisms, qualification standards, and continuous professional development requirements.
• Align the cadre framework with provincial, national, and international best practices and legal frameworks.
• Promote gender-responsive and inclusive workforce strategies, especially for recruiting and retaining qualified teachers in marginalized communities.

Under the supervision of IIEP-UNESCO team coordinator, the consultant shall support the following activities:

1) Inception and Situational Analysis

a. Conduct a desk review of:

• 2015 ECE Policy, Provincial Education Policy (2015), BESP (2020–2025), and the Compact (2024–2028).
• Existing teacher service rules and human resource frameworks in Balochistan and other provinces in Pakistan.
• International ECE workforce standards (e.g., ILO, UNICEF, UNESCO).
• Comparative practices from similar low-resource and decentralized contexts.
• Relevant administrative data, surveys and reports.

b. Participate in joint consultative online meetings with the ECE policy and education policy consultants to:

• Identify existing gaps in teacher preparation, deployment, training, and career development.
• Map the institutional roles and capacity needs related to ECE teacher management.

c. Co-prepare and co-facilitate inclusive and participatory consultative meetings and focus-groups with key stakeholders (to be identified) at both national and subnational levels (and including both public and non-public actors) to gather diverse inputs and perspectives on the current status and challenges of the ECE workforce in Balochistan (during a two-week mission in Quetta and/or at distance). Having inputs from ECE teachers and personnel will prove particularly important.

d. Draft an analytical report on the current status and challenges of the ECE workforce in Balochistan, based on data analysis and consultations identifying key elements and opportunities for a cadre framework, including service rules.

2) Drafting the ECE Cadre Framework and Service Rules

e. Draft the ECE cadre and service rules framework, including:

• Cadre structure and entry points.
• Recruitment criteria, qualifications, and induction procedures.
• In-service training, performance evaluation, and career progression pathways.
• Institutional roles and capacity requirements.
• Incentives and retention strategies for remote or marginalized areas.
• Gender-responsive strategies and accommodations for female educators.

f. Ensure coherence with broader education reforms and alignment with the ECE Policy, the Provincial Education Policy and the Provincial Gender Equality in Education Policy.

3) Consultation and Validation

g. Co-design and co-facilitate a stakeholder consultation workshop (virtually) to:

• Present and validate the draft cadre and service rules.
• Gather inputs from education managers, teacher training institutes, district officials, ECE teachers and personnel, development partners and other key actors.

h. Revise the draft cadre framework based on feedback.

i. Submit the final version of the ECE cadre and service rules framework.

j. Contribute to the synthesis of policy linkages between the ECE cadre, ECE policy, Education Policy, and Gender Equality in Education Policy.

k. Prepare a summary policy brief and a PPT on ECE cadre for government dissemination use.

The development of the ECE teacher cadre(1)will be closely integrated with three key policy instruments: the revised Early Childhood Education (ECE) Policy, the overarching Education Policy, and the Gender Equality in Education Policy. This alignment is essential to ensure consistency across policy objectives and to leverage synergies in planning and implementation.
Establishing strong alignment between these policies and the ECE teacher cadre is critical. The Education Policy will serve as the overarching framework, with the Gender Equality and ECE policies nested within it. Ensuring that the Gender Equality Policy aligns fully with both the Education and ECE policies is a key priority. Accordingly, the sequencing of work is proposed as follows: the ECE Policy will be reviewed first, followed by the development of the ECE teacher cadre framework, then the Education Policy, and finally the Gender Equality in Education Policy.
To avoid duplication of efforts and fragmented monitoring, it is recommended that each policy remain strategic in nature—focused on outlining core priorities, high-level strategies, and key performance indicators (KPIs). Detailed action plans, implementation strategies, and monitoring frameworks will be embedded within the forthcoming Education Sector Plan (ESP). The update of the ESP offers a timely opportunity to consolidate and operationalize these reforms—ensuring that the revised ECE, Education, and Gender Equality policies, along with the ECE teacher cadre, are translated into coherent, actionable plans supported by integrated results matrices for effective delivery and monitoring.

Academic Qualifications:
Advanced university degree (master's or higher) in Education, Human Resource Management, Public Policy, or a related field.

Professional Experience:

• At least 10 years of professional experience in education planning, teacher management, or public sector human resource policy.
• Proven experience in designing teacher cadres, service rules, or institutional frameworks.
• Experience in ECE or foundational learning initiatives is highly desirable.
• Proven experience in conducting assessments, stakeholder consultations, and facilitating participatory processes.
• Familiarity with decentralized education systems or low-resource contexts.
• Previous engagement with government education systems and international development organizations is an asset.

Skills and Competencies:

• Strong analytical, drafting, and communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize complex data and information into actionable policy recommendations.
• Cultural sensitivity and the ability to engage with diverse stakeholders including government, civil society, and marginalized groups.
• Demonstrated experience in multi-stakeholder consultations and bringing diverse stakeholders together towards a common vision and knowledge.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Fluency in English (required). knowledge of Urdu or local languages is an asset.