International Consultant – for Guidance on Planning and Deployment of the Demonstration Model

Project: Intergeneration Deaf Education Outreach
Title: International Consultant – for guidance on planning and deployment of the Demonstration Model
Location: Hanoi-base with travel to project sites
Report to: Project Manager

Introduction
The Intergenerational Deaf Education Outreach Project is implemented by World Concern Development Organization in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) through four years (July 2011 – June 2015) in the four provinces of Hanoi, Thai Nguyen, Hue and Ho Chi Minh City. The overall objectives of the project is to assist young deaf children to integrate into mainstream society, by piloting an innovative joint family and institution-based delivery system comprising screening, family support, and preschool services.
The project is funded by Japanese Social Development Fund (JSDF Grant No. TF099058), a trust fund managed by the World Bank (WB). The total grant is USD 2,798,270.

The project aims to assist young deaf children to integrate into mainstream society, according to each child’s visual and/or auditory learning capacities, by piloting an innovative joint family and institution-based delivery system comprising screening, family support, language instruction, and preschool services aimed at school-readiness.

Job Summary:
The Consultant in planning and deployment of the demonstration model in preschool services for the deaf children will support the  technical working groups in the project to ensure that all activities and outcomes are adequately planned and documented for future monitoring and evaluation. As the project aims at capacity-building of participating individuals and organizations, the consultant will lead the development of training activities for participants involved in monitoring of project activities and outcomes. The consultant will help coordinate the input of international consultants, and in collaboration with other consultants, help in writing up the lessons learned about elements of a new model of Vietnamese deaf early childhood service.

Responsibilities, outputs and timeline
Under this assignment, the Consultant will:
1. Provide guidance for the project technical working group, in planning and deployment of the activities related to preschool education services for the deaf children and their families.
2. During the start-up period, participate in drafting a plan to collect baseline information from the school/organization, community, and family levels. Help determine division of responsibility in this effort and then participate in data collection and following appraisal
3. Draft the terms of reference (TOR) for international consultants and handle the initial screening of applicants. For duration of the project, coordinate inputs of international consultants to ensure timely and relevant contributions to overall project
4. Assist in setting the standards and procedures for training in video recording of the learning settings (home, classroom) so that the records are useful in assessment of children’s development and in the training sessions for family support teams. Assist with guidelines for management of video records (compressing, archiving).
5. Make recommendations as to the selection of materials to be translated as part of the knowledge base (component 1) and, for selected documents, write an abstract/paraphrase/definitions to assist with clear translation in Vietnamese and Vietnamese sign languages
6. Facilitate /interpret communication for Deaf international consultants who are involved with the project if needed
7. Participate in presentations and discussions with project participants throughout the service area.  Assist with report write-up of the work within the scope of this consultancy

Qualifications and experience
- A doctorate in education, social sciences or a related discipline, with expertise in Deaf education (preferably early child education), and area specialty in the region;
- Substantial international experience in Deaf education and Deaf communities, preferably in developing countries;
- Experience as an applied educational or social science researcher and as an education program evaluator in settings with deaf people;
- At least 10 years of experience in project design. work planning and implementation of multi-component projects involving children, schools, and community groups;
- High level of fluency in one or more natural sign languages (especially a Vietnamese or historically related sign language [e.g. a Thai/Lao sign language, French sign language, American sign language]);
- Demonstrated capacity to organize and manage community-based consultation processes (e.g. workshops, focus groups, town-hall meetings, et cetera);
- Demonstrated capacity to work effectively in a team, to manage a range of tasks, to work pro-actively and with diligence, and to manage resources effectively while meeting deadlines;
- Excellent report writing skills in English.

Assignment modalities and duration
The International Consultant will carry out this assignment in association with other international consultants and national consultants.  It is expected that the International Consultant will work in total of 12 days, with occasional follow-up support later on technical issues.

The Consultant will be responsible for: (i) arranging his/her own travel within the approved budget; (ii) following agreed timelines; and (iii) producing the agreed written materials in timely manner.
Estimated start: September 2011
Interested candidates are requested to send a letter of application and their CV with details of qualifications, experience and references via email to: [email protected]   
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. 

Deadline for Applications: 15 Sep 2011