National Experts to provide technical assistance on Annual Faculty Evaluation System to three Vietnamese public universities and their member universities

USAID Partnership for Higher Education Reform (PHER)

SCOPE OF WORK

for National Experts to provide technical assistance
on Annual Faculty Evaluation System to three Vietnamese public universities and their member universities

I. BACKGROUND

The Partnership for Higher Education Reform (PHER) is a five-year initiative to help strengthen Vietnam's leading public universities. The project activities are funded by USAID to support targeted reforms to improve institutional leadership and administrative capacity, improve teaching practices to enhance student learning outcomes, elevate university research capacity to international standards, network Vietnamese researchers to maximize access to global knowledge, enable university graduates to better engage with the labor market, and help university faculty to leverage their research for innovation.

To achieve these objectives, PHER activities focus on:     

Governance: This pillar supports the building and strengthening of institutional performance management systems based on agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) supported by a comprehensive Management Information System (MIS) that provides consistent, reliable data for decision making and for accreditation of institutions and programs. This includes the establishment of a robust internal quality assurance (IQA) system at each of the target universities. Improved governance will help the leadership of public universities in Vietnam to make better informed decisions as they exercise greater autonomy and focus on academic quality. 

Teaching & Learning: This pillar supports the growing of faculty professional development opportunities through the establishment of formalized Centers for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) as well as supporting the work of less formal, more specialized faculty-driven affinity groups through Faculty Academies on Excellence in Teaching (FACET). The goals are to support expansion of faculty capacity to design state-of-the-art courses, digitize curricula, support the development of priority online courses and programs, improve student learning assessment techniques, and develop graduate students in the teaching profession. This pillar will also support technical assistance to help prepare faculty and administration for international accreditation reviews of academic programs and institutions. The objective is for improved teaching and learning at Vietnam’s public universities to increase learning outcomes, enhance recognition of high-quality academic programs, and improve the employability of graduates.

Research & Innovation: This pillar supports the enhancing of research capacity so that the scientific outputs of public universities in Vietnam meet international standards, increase knowledge sharing among specialists, grow the number of publications in recognized journals, and align research activities to the social and economic needs of the country.  This will take place through faculty exchanges, visiting scholar programs, research conferences, webinars, workshops, and short course training on research methodologies and academic specialties. The key vehicle for this pillar is the establishment of Vietnam International Academic Networks (VIAN) to help scientists across Vietnam to connect more readily with fellow experts from around the world. The objective is for VIAN activity to lead to greater knowledge sharing, broader promotion of research taking place in Vietnam, and enhanced opportunities for joint research and publications with partners abroad.

The PHER project also seeks deeper exploration of policy areas vital to the improvement of Vietnamese public higher education by supporting analytical work on the areas of technology and digitization, as well as gender equity. These cross-cutting policy areas are essential to success across the four pillars and to support the long-term sustainability of higher education reforms in Vietnam.  

PHER focuses on reforms at three major Vietnamese public universities and their member universities and respective institutes and academic programs:

• Vietnam National University-Hanoi (VNU),
• Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City (VNUHCM), and
• The University of Danang (UD).          

II. OBJECTIVE OF ASSIGNMENT

The PHER project seeks a group of consultants to provide technical assistance to key leaders and staff from member institutions under VNU, VNUHCM, and UD with reviewing, developing and proposing an annual faculty and staff evaluation based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This assignment ultimately contributes to building and strengthening of institutional performance management systems.

The work of this assignment is to be conducted mainly in Vietnamese language, but all summary reporting is required in English. All activities should ensure equitable treatment irrespective of gender, disability or ethnic background.

III. TIME AND LOCATION

The timing is negotiable but the work is expected to commence in January 2024. Working days are planned for both face-to-face and online working sessions over the period January 2024 to December 2024. The expert will undertake in-person visits with the relevant staff at member institutions under Vietnam National University-Hanoi, Vietnam National University-HCMC, and the University of Danang. Further details are provided below.

IV. TASKS, DELIVERABLES, TIMELINE AND LEVEL OF EFFORT

See the table below for specific tasks, deliverables, and a tentative timeline for the assignment of the group of consultants.

Notes:

In cooperation with the PHER focal point persons at participating universities, a record of the participants must be kept at every workshop and a roster of the names reported to PHER.

Reporting:

• In addition to the final report, an interim report after each trip on progress with regard to activities and outputs should be presented to the PHER managers.
• The number, schedules, and topics of workshops and mentoring sessions should be recorded. A list of participants should be provided as an annex to each report. 
• The interim reports should analyze both factors that contribute to and those that inhibit progress regarding the implementation of activities and expected outputs.
• The final report should specifically analyze the achievement of objectives, and include lessons learned and recommendations - in addition to the other areas specified in the template provided by PHER.

V. BUDGET

Applicants send financial and technical proposals with working time, indicating the expected consultancy fee in the application documents.

VI. SUPERVISION AND REPORTING

The consultant will work under the direction of the PHER team.

VII. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCES

Essential:

• holds a doctorate level of education and experience working in Vietnamese universities;
• has expertise and experience in the field or practice of human resources management, especially regarding the development and implementation of faculty and staff evaluation including KPIs in the context of Vietnamese university;
• able to plan and deliver a program of work to support the two universities strengthening their systems of faculty and staff evaluation that will include the addition and integration of  KPIs and related application methodologies;
• has the skills to not only to assess the current situation in faculty evaluation practices, but also be able to drive the implementation of activities in collaboration with key persons at the two universities and PHER;
• able to prepare and deliver effective interactive workshops on faculty and staff evaluation;
• able to demonstrate active listening and effective mentoring skills with people at different levels in the university hierarchy;
• successful past experience delivering similar interventions in human resources management and a willingness to shore this experience in building a plan together with the two universities;
• is fully bi-lingual in English and Vietnamese and will not rely on any interpreter or translator.

VIII. APPLICATION

The application documents include:

• A letter of motivation
• CV with three references
• A technical proposal with level of effort (numbers of working days)
• Financial proposal, indicating the expected consultancy fee

Application documents should be sent to [email protected] titled “KPI Consultancy Application” by 17h00 January 18, 2024.