Recruitment notice: CONSULTANT, CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE

INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANT TO SUPPORT THE CREATION OF REGIONAL UNIVERSITY CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE
Supervisory sector: Education sector (ED)

Duty station: Yaounde

Job category: Education

Type of contract: Individual Consultant

Duration of contract: 2 months

Recruitment open to: External candidates

Closing date for applications (midnight Paris time): October 2, 2023

 

UNESCO core values: Commitment to the Organization, integrity, respect for diversity, professionalism

SUMMARY OF POSITION FUNCTIONS

Context and justification

The direction of education and training, drawn by the SDGs, reinforces the multidimensional role of higher education as an important lever for sustainable development. The 17 SDGs require, in higher education as in research and innovation, extensive regional and international cooperation to find innovative solutions to socio-economic and ecological challenges. This is consistent with the concerns repeatedly expressed at the level of economic and regional communities in Central Africa, notably ECCAS and CEMAC.

 

The ministers in charge of higher education in the ECCAS countries met in Yaoundé, Cameroon from June 26 to 29, 2012 to sign the Declaration committing to the establishment of university technological centers of excellence centered on the fields 1) Agriculture, Livestock, Fishing, Agro-industry, Biotechnology; 2) Energy, Energy, Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Thermal, Renewable Energy, Hydroelectricity; Infrastructure, Mines and Metallurgy; 3) Oil, Gas, Chemical Engineering; of the Forest – Wood, Environment; 4) Applied Mathematics, Mechanics, Computer Science and 5) Computer Science, Telecommunications, Information and Communication Technology. Furthermore, CEMAC adopted its economic strategy document, the Regional Economic Program (PER), whose growth levers are the agricultural and fishing, energy, mining, infrastructure, information and communication technology, forests and wood sectors. In this document, CEMAC intends to establish Regional Centers of Excellence (CER).

 

The CEMAC Regional Centers of Excellence program aims to promote the development in CEMAC of higher training structures meeting new international quality standards and financially solid, particularly in the field of management and in the major pillars of growth (the agronomy, electricity, transport and logistics, water, environment and sustainable development, new information and communication technologies, livestock and fishing professions, construction civil engineering , mechanical engineering, oil, mining, etc.).

It is in the context described above that the UNESCO Regional Office in Central Africa supports Member States in the creation of Regional University Centers of Excellence. This vacancy notice aims to recruit an international consultant to technically support the development of project documents and the process of creating Regional University Centers of Excellence (RECs) in Africa central.

Position summary

The consultant will work under the general authority of the Director of the UNESCO Regional Office in Yaoundé, the direct supervision of the Head of the Education Sector and in close collaboration with other specialists in the Education sector. As such, he/she will have the following tasks and responsibilities:

Provide technical support in updating the working documents relating to the CEUR project, including the action plan, the concept note, the preliminary draft summary and a presentation note of the project to different authorities and partners potential;
Support the UNESCO Regional Office in seeking partnerships and mobilizing the resources necessary for the creation of CEURs;
Support the UNESCO Regional Office in the organization of sub-regional consultations on the CEUR project;
Provide technical support in the organization and holding of various meetings (expert meetings, meetings of university rectors/presidents, ministerial conferences, etc.) with a view to presenting and promoting the CEUR creation project;
Carry out all tasks requested by UNESCO as part of achieving results relating to the CEUR creation project.
Deliverables / expected results

A concept note on the approved CEUR creation project;
The action plan for the CEUR creation project over the period 2023-2024 approved;
A draft of the approved CEUR creation project, including a cost estimate;
A draft resource mobilization strategy, including a list of potential donors contacted.
SKILLS (Fundamental / Managerial)
Responsibility (F)
Communication (F)
Innovation (F)
Knowledge sharing and constant desire for improvement (F)
Planning and organization (F)
Culture of results (F)
Teamwork (F)
Professionalism (F)
For more information, please consult the UNESCO Competency Framework.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

A doctoral level university degree in the field of engineering or any other relevant field.

Professional experience

At least 15 years of experience in the areas of evaluation of teaching and research institutions or the design of development projects for higher education institutions;
Proven experience in leading higher education projects, regional and international inter-university cooperation;
Relevant professional experience in the development and management of projects in higher education with international, regional and/or sub-regional organizations.
Know-how and skills

Very good knowledge of the functioning of education systems and more specifically of the higher education subsystem, research and innovation in the context of developing countries and Central Africa in particular;
Ability to design and develop concept notes, project documents and prospective studies, particularly in the field of higher education, research and innovation;
Very good knowledge of the priorities and requirements of main donors in the field of higher education, research and innovation;
Ability to establish strategic partnerships and mobilize resources;
Proven ability to lead, manage and supervise teams, including in multicultural contexts;
Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines;
Excellent oral, written and remote communication skills;
Mastery of the MS Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.).

Languages

​​Excellent command of French and English.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Know-how and skills

Very good knowledge of the challenges and priorities of higher education in Africa in general and in Central Africa in particular (external effectiveness, performance of institutions, quality assurance and governance of higher education, research and innovation, etc.);
Good knowledge of the issues of sustainable development, the green economy, the use of new technologies and artificial intelligence in relation to higher education, research and innovation;
Good knowledge of development issues in Central African countries in relation to the challenges of higher education, research and innovation;
Good knowledge of the missions and strategies of the regional economic communities of Central Africa (ECCAS, CEMAC, etc.).

 

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS