Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic Asian Development Bank’s Project “Strengthening Education System Sector Development Program” Re-Announcement for the Vacancy TEXTBOOK MANAGEMENT SPECIALISTS (2 positions) Qualification requirements: degree in pedagogy, governance, management, finance or related field; expertise in finance and financial analysis will be preferred for one of experts; knowledge of the provisions and requirements of Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic and Asian development bank in the development and approval of textbooks and educational materials; experience of not less than 3 years in the development and review of policies for the publication of textbooks; experience in projects on the development and publication of textbooks, funded by international financial institutions is an advantage; experience in the development and publication of textbooks related to projects funded by international financial institutions is an advantage; experience in organizing competitions for writers of textbooks and their publication; good interpersonal skills and skills of coordinating the work of various experts and partners; working knowledge of English, Kyrgyz and Russian languages. Terms of Reference for the position on: http://edu.gov.kg/vakansii, www.employment.kg, www.donors.kg, https://zakupki.gov.kg CV in Russian and English with 2 recommendation letters should be submitted by 05:00 pm, January 29, 2016, To the following address: Room 426, 257 Tynystanov str., 720040, Bishkek City, the Kyrgyz Republic or sent via e-mail: piustaffadv@gmail.com with copy to aimanova.contractor@adb.org. Please indicate For the vacant position “TEXTBOOK MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST” Only suitable applicants invited for an interview will be contacted. The Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic ADB Project “Strengthening Education System Sector Development Program” Terms of Reference for Textbook Management Unit Experts (2 national experts, full time, 36 person-months each) Information of the Project The Kyrgyz Republic has received the grant from ADB for the Project “Strengthening Education System Sector Development Program” which will be implemented in 2015-2021. The proposed program supports the government’s Education Development Strategy (EDS) 2012–2020. The impact will be improved human resources development for competitiveness of the Kyrgyz Republic. The outcome will be enhanced quality, access, and efficiency of public education The program, through separate policy-based and project components, will deliver four outputs to improve the: (i) quality of curriculum and teaching learning materials; (ii) quality of teachers and teacher training; (iii) access to quality education through innovative schools; and (iv) sector and project management. Qualification Requirements Textbook Management Specialists will be recruited to assist the MES in TRS introduction and management and other aspects of textbook development, evaluation, publishing and distribution. The consultant must meet the following requirements: i) have a degree in pedagogy, governance, management, finance or related field; ii) expertise in finance and financial analysis will be preferred for one of experts; iii) know the provisions and requirements of MoES KR in the development and approval of textbooks and educational materials; iv) have experience of not less than 5 years in the development and review of policies for the publication of textbooks; v) experience in projects on the development and publication of textbooks, funded by international financial institutions is an advantage; vi) practical experience in the development, replication, or the purchase of educational materials in accordance with ADB procedures; vii) experience in organizing competitions for writers of textbooks and their publication; viii) good interpersonal skills and skills of coordinating the work of various experts and partners; ix) working knowledge of English, Kyrgyz and Russian languages. Experts will report to the Manager of the PIU. Specific tasks include: i. Support MES in the coordination and management of all aspects of textbook, teachers’ guide and other LTM provision to all primary and secondary schools in the Kyrgyz Republic; ii. Support MES and the international TRS Management Expert in all aspects of the design, implementation and monitoring the pilot testing of the TRS/TRF and make recommendations for upgrading and extension as appropriate; iii. Liaise with the MES and other involved departments and organizations responsible for curriculum development, review and approval as the basis for planning the provision of the required textbooks and teachers’ guides on time and in sufficient quantity in support of the launch of the new curriculum in all languages of instruction; iv. Maintain close contact with the bidding and evaluation of bids for textbooks and teachers’ guides and work to ensure the on-time conduct of the bidding and evaluation process in order to avoid delays in the supply of learning and teaching materials to schools; v. Ensure that the bid documents contain full details of evaluation methodology, criteria, instruments and marking schemes so that authors, publishers and bidders have access to all the information that they require to submit high quality bids that are aligned with the specified objectives and learning outcomes of the new curriculum; vi. Ensures that the bid documents contain detailed content, treatment and presentational specifications and guidelines to ensure that bidders submit high quality bids that are aligned with the specified objectives and learning outcomes of the new curriculum; vii. Maintain close contact with the pilot-testing procedures to ensure that there are no unnecessary delays caused by pilot-testing and that there are no conflicts of interest involved in the pilot-testing process and procedures; viii. Become expert in the use of the Textbook MIS as an essential management and planning tool for the efficient supply of textbooks, teachers’ guides and any other specified LTMs to schools; ix. Ensure that the latest school enrolment data is exported onto the Textbook MIS in time to inform the print runs on which bid submissions and prices will be based taking into account the target book life and agreed loss and damage allowances; x. Ensure that current school textbook and teachers’ guide inventories are loaded onto the Textbook MIS and updated annually and that the inventory is annotated with information on the condition of the inventory (e.g. good, satisfactory, poor or unusable) and that annual data on textbook provision against need is reported for all schools, for different grade levels, different regions and different languages of instruction so that investments in textbook provision can be accurately targeted; xi. Provide textbook distribution lists so that bidders can deliver pre-packaged and pre-addressed consignments for each school to reduce district work on repackaging and re-addressing bulk stock into individual school packages; xii. Provide Confirmed Delivery Certificates to be signed by each school to ensure that school deliveries are accurate and undamaged and to maintain a record and provide reports on delivery dates to districts and schools; xiii. Use the Textbook MIS to provide annual monitoring reports on all required aspects of textbooks and teachers’ guide provision; xiv. Use the Textbook MIS to provide MIS with up to date planning information on shortages and high priority printing requirements; xv. Produce an annual report on all aspects of textbook and teachers’ guide provision in Kyrgyz Republic; xvi. Prepare the relevant sections of quarterly and annual project reports; xvii. Work closely with the specialist international consultants on all of the above issues.