United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Vacancy Nº EDU/12/016
Consultancy: International Technical Adviser to Support the
Education Management and Information System (6 months)
Closing Date: 30 August 2012
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1. Objective
The overall objective of the consultancy is to develop the capacity of the EMIS Office of the Department of Planning within the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport
(MoEYS), at national and sub-national levels for the management, use and development of EMIS.
2. Background
MoEYS launched the Education Management Information System (EMIS) in 1995.
The system was initially piloted in 10 provinces and in 1996 it was rolled out to all 24 provinces. Since then, the EMIS Office in the Department of Planning has benefited from substantial international technical support. Nevertheless, since 2000, all tasks have been done by MoEYS officers. MoEYS’ EMIS includes all the recommended education statistics according to international standards including the definitions, key data to be collected, and statistical formulae. Every year, MoEYS publishes the annual education statistics and indicators for national and sub-national levels. The mandate of the EMIS Office is to provide comprehensive data to Technical
Departments within MoEYS and other related Ministries to inform the development of the Cambodian education sector.
The EMIS Office is currently supported by UNICEF/Sida, the Asian Development
Bank (ADB), the Global Partnership for Education and more recently by the education
Capacity Development Partnership Fund (CDPF). The EMIS System was verified twice in 2006 by international consultants and in 2007 by an expert from the National
University of Educational Planning and Administration, India.
Over the past 16 years, data has been collected regularly conducted, education statistics and indicators published annually for use in the education sector performance reviews. The responsibility of the EMIS Office is to provide comprehensive data to Technical Departments within MoEYS and other related ministries to inform the development of the education sector.
The following software is currently used: Visual dBase 5.5, SPSS, and LAN. In 2009 and 2010 with support from ADB, a review of the process of three information systems within MoEYS: EMIS, Financial Management Information System (FMIS) and Human
Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) was conducted. As a result, it was proposed to establish a web-based system which integrates all three systems. A new integrated database using a new, more complex software called MySQL Server, has been developed and will be piloted in two provinces in July and August 2012 with the intention to roll it out nationwide in October 2012 for the start of the school year.
The new system will make it easier to generate the EMIS data more rapidly. This will make it possible for Technical Departments to use the data from the current school year during the Education Congress in March (Cambodia’s annual education sector review).
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3. Scope of Work
The consultancy will support the the EMIS Office in the Department of Planning to develop a system to collect data regarding children’s enrolment in educational institutions under other relevant line ministries. The consultancy will also support the development of a medium-term operational plan for the development of EMIS including hard and software needs. The consultancy will also support the expansion of the new integrated web-based system to include school-level data. It will also provide technical support to the Department to analyse the trends in EMIS data in order to diagnose sector performance. It will provide training support so that EMIS staff can develop the capacity of MoEYS officials at sub-national levels.
4. Reporting
On a day to day basis the consultant will work with and report to the Deputy Director for EMIS and will be overseen by the Director of the Department of Planning. The consultant will also report formally to the Education Specialist, UNICEF.
5. Responsibilities
In order to achieve the objective of the consultancy, under the Deputy Director for
EMIS, the Technical Adviser will undertake the following tasks: i. Planning related to EMIS
 Support the EMIS Office to design and implement a system on the collection of education data from other line ministries including the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, the Ministry of Religions and Cults, the
Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the Ministry of Planning.
 Hold meetings with technical departments in the afore-mentioned
Ministries to discuss the collection of education data
 Develop a five-year operational plan for the development of EMIS including software application, data collection and analysis, equipment and human resource needs ii. Development of EMIS system and use of EMIS data
 Support the EMIS Office to develop a system within the new web-based database to design School Reports using school-level data
 Review EMIS to identify the type of statistics that are needed by senior managers and policy makers in MoEYS in order to ensure that appropriate information is available for management decisions, policies and planning for all sub-sectors
 Support the planning process for the next MoEYS Education Strategic
Plan and make recommendations regarding the development of appropriate Core Breakthrough Indicators to measure in the sector on an annual basis
 Provide technical support to the EMIS Office in analysing statistics and indicators within the latest EMIS output; support the Office to produce an analytical report on the education sector using EMIS data
 Support the EMIS Office to develop training materials, handouts and assessment materials for training workshops on EMIS for Provincial
Offices of Education, District Offices of Education and School Directors
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6. Deliverables Linked to Payment of Fees
 Inception report
 Report regarding a system of collecting education data from other line ministries
 Progress report on months 1 and 2
 Operational Plan for EMIS
 Analytical report on trends in the education sector using EMIS data
 Progress report on months 3 and 4
 Training materials on EMIS for sub-national levels
 Final report including month 5
30 percent
30 percent
40 percent
7. Duration
The duration of the input will be six months, from the beginning of October 2012 to end of March 2013.
8. Approach to Work
The Technical Adviser is contracted under the CDPF and will be required to work in such a way as to maximise the impact and sustainability of the input by taking an approach that actively supports capacity development and ownership on the part of the lead department. In particular, the technical adviser is required to:
 Work in close communication with the designated MoEYS manager, following the reporting lines
 Take a mentoring approach that supports identified counterparts to progressively take the lead on key tasks
 Work in close communication with the Senior Technical Adviser on Strategic
Planning as well as others appointed under the CDPF in order to ensure coherence
9. Administrative Arrangements and Official Travel
The Technical Adviser will be based in the EMIS Office of the Department of Planning,
MoEYS, Phnom Penh. The consultant will use his / her laptop. It is expected that the consultant will travel to the provinces at least once to understand EMIS data collection and entry processes at sub-national levels.
10. Qualifications or Specialised Knowledge/Experience Required
 Advanced University degree (at least Masters) in a relevant field such as education planning, management, statistics or IT
 At least eight-year experiences on Education Statistics and Indicators Analysis and International Education Management Information System Establishment
 High competency in using Visual dBase, mySQL Server, Web-based
Technology and Statistical Software Packages
 Recent and relevant experience of national, sub-national, and school-level education sector issues, preferably in Cambodia or the region.
 Experience of sectoral planning and reporting arrangements, including working in professional teams and use of results frameworks, logical frameworks and work planning arrangements.
 Excellent interpersonal, mentoring, facilitation and communication skills.
 Able to work to meet deadlines
 Fluency in English language is required. Knowledge of Khmer is an asset,
 Computer literacy and presentation skills
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11. Nature of ‘Penalty Clause’ to be Stipulated in Contract
Standard UNICEF penalty clause applies.
Unsatisfactory performance : In case of unsatisfactory performance the contract will be terminated by notification letter sent 5 days prior to the termination date. In the meantime, UNICEF will initiate another selection in order to identify appropriate candidate.
Performance indicators : Consultants’ performance will be evaluated against the following criteria: timeliness, quality, quality of facilitation, and relevance/feasibility of recommendations for Cambodia.
12. Remuneration Level and Estimated Cost of Contract
Given the technical nature of the work related to EMIS, the fee for the consultancy has been established at the P4 level within the United Nations Salary Scale for the
Professional and higher Categories. The fee range is between USD 44,000 and USD
60,000, depending on experience and qualifications.
Payment of the fee instalments will be made following the submission of deliverables to a satisfactory level, certified by the Education Specialist.
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