OVERVIEW
Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)
Duty Station: Remote
Job Family: Education
Type of contract : Consultant
Duration of contract : 3 months
Recruitment open to : External candidates
Application Deadline (Midnight Duty Station Time) : 19 July 2025
UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism
Background
The Arab Reading Challenge (ARC) is a cultural and educational initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ruler of Dubai, to contribute to the creation of a knowledgeable, informed, and critically thinking generation in the Arab world. It is one of the activities of the Mohammed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI).
More specifically, the ARC aims to respond to the issue of low reading skills and to foster literacy as a cornerstone of individual and societal progress by addressing major barriers, such as limited access to books, high costs of books, and an education system often focused on rote learning through:
- Promoting sustainable reading habits.
- Developing critical literacy and creative thinking skills.
- Enhancing cultural awareness among students.
Long Description
Since 2015, eight editions of the ARC have been implemented. The initiative has engaged more than 131 million students, hundreds of thousands of schools, and countless dedicated educators in 50 countries, especially in the Arab region.
In this context, a review of the ARC will be conducted to understand how the initiative has influenced childrenโs reading habits and reading cultures across participating communities in selected Arabic-speaking countries. This study examines the ARCโs transformative potential to offer valuable insights into how this large-scale, cross-country initiative empowers children and young people and fosters cultural understanding. These findings may help demonstrate its contribution to building a brighter future and lay the groundwork for the initiativeโs potential expansion.
Objectives and scope
The main objectives of the review are to understand the following dimensions of the ARC initiative in several selected countries.
- Relevance and effectiveness of the ARC initiative and its governance: The review aims to generate insights into the relevance and effectiveness of ARC activities and governance.
- Participation and reading habits. The review aims to generate a cross-time comparison on the ARC participation (e.g. students and countries participating in 2015 and 2024) and reading data (e.g. time spent on reading, number of books read, etc.).
- Socio-cultural context and community engagement. The review aims to examine 1) literate environments and socio-cultural contexts which might have impacted ARC participation; and 2) ARCโs role in shaping learnerโs engagement in socio-cultural activities within their communities and with families and peers.
- Policy implications. The review will also explore implications of ARC for the enhancement of national education policies, especially the integration of ARC into national curricula and/or strengthening of their reading component and required actions, paying attention to the alignment of curricula, pedagogies and assessments.
Expected outputs
The expected outputs of the review are as follows:
- A comprehensive report which includes the results of the review of the ARC, noteworthy cases of ARC practices and a set of evidence-based recommendations.
- A policy brief which highlights key findings and recommendations for policymakers.
Design and Methodology
Review design
This review will adopt a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative research approaches for a comprehensive analysis of data and information. UNESCO will oversee review-related activities. The data collection process will be facilitated by UNESCO through its field networks and contacts with governments, while MBRGI will mobilize its coordinators and other contacts as necessary. The draft document on review design and methods of data collection and analysis will be further developed with a senior consultant, in consultation with a Technical Reference Group (TRG), co-chaired by representatives of UNESCO and MBRGI and composed of experts.
Data collection
In addition to ARCโs existing data, new data will be collected through surveys and interviews. The draft surveys, interview questions and reference documents for data collectors and respondents will be peer-reviewed by the Technical Reference Group (TRG) and will be pilot tested with a small sample group before their full deployment, to ensure the clarity and relevance of the tools.
- Quantitative data could be gained through: 1) ARC registration information which includes the country, school, name, age, date of birth, gender, region/district of the school, type of the school (public/private) of student participants. (Sample data will be shared by MBRGI); and 2) online surveys composed exclusively of closed-ended questions with scale-based responses to facilitate quantitative analysis except for 1-2 open questions at the end.
- Qualitative data will be collected via:1) Semi-structured Interviews with students, teachers, parents, ARC national coordinators and policymakers to collect in-depth information and their perceptions about the ARC programme and its implementation. These interviews will also facilitate the collection of personal stories (including those from previous winners); 2) 1-2 open questions that will appear at the end of the above-mentioned surveys.
The collected data, where possible, will be disaggregated by variables (e.g., gender, age, region, socio-economic background) to enable the study to provide comparative and more detailed analysis, especially for understanding the dimensions of inclusion, equity and equality of key findings.
Main responsibilities
Under the overall guidance of the Director of the Division for Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems of UNESCOโs Education Sector (ED/PLS), and overall supervision by the Chief of the Section of Youth, Literacy and Skills Development (ED/PLS/YLS), who will liaise with the Chief of the Sections of Education Policies (ED/PLS/EDP) within the Division, the junior consultants will support and work in close collaboration with a senior consultant, who will lead the evaluation. The incumbents will also work closely with MBRGI country coordinators where necessary.
Main tasks
The junior consultants are expected to provide all necessary support for the delivery of the following items upon the guidance and feedback of the senior consultant.
Inception phase:
- Implementing activities to prepare the ground for the evaluation, including participating in a kick-off meeting with the Technical Reference Group (TRG), collecting relevant documents and the available data from the student registration platform, mapping stakeholders, and conducting scoping interviews.
- Finalizing the review design (including a Theory of Change) and an evaluation matrix with key questions, data collection methods, and data sources.
Instrument development and data collection phase:
- Developing data collection tools, namely interview protocols and surveys, as well as guidance documents for data collectors and respondents.
- Conducting a peer review of data collection instruments by members of the TRG (technical reference group).
Analysis and report drafting phase:
Cleaning and analysis of data from a student registration platform, surveys and interviews. Preparing the draft and final report of the review (between 50 and 60 pages, excluding annexes: 320 words per page) in English with Annexes, including a list of references, a list of interviewees, tools, case studies and a brief survey report. Preparing 2 pagers and 2 PowerPoint slide decks to present the key findings and corresponding power point documents.Responsibilities
UNESCO will facilitate the data collection process, including contacts with concerned governments and access to the various respondent groups, while MBRGI will mobilize its ARC coordinators to suppport the process. The consultants will be responsible for logistics, including space for work, relevant software for quantitative and qualitative data analysis, telecommunications and printing of documents. UNESCO will facilitate travel arrangements when necessary. The consultants will ensure the quality of work, considering TRGโs advice and guidance to be provided by UNESCO and MBRGI. UNESCO jointly with MBRGI will be responsible for ultimate quality assurance.
As an overarching principle, the consultants are requested to work under the supervision of UNESCO, which serves as the Secretariat for the review. The junior consultants shall provide all necessary support to the senior consultant to make sure the first draft submitted to UNESCO for appraisal and input and based on comments which would be provided by UNESCO and MBRGI, finalize the draft and submit the final version to UNESCO for its approval.
Compliance with the evaluation policies of the UN and UNESCO
In line with UNESCOโs Evaluation Policy (2022-2029), the review will comply with the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) Norms and Standards for Evaluation, UNEG Guidelines for Integrating Human Rights and Gender Equality in Evaluations and UNEG Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation. The review consultant will have to ensure that ethical, human rights, inclusion including โLeaving no one behind (LNOB)โ promise, and gender equality principles are duly integrated in all consultations and at all stages of the review process. The junior consultants are expected to support the senior consultant to further develop the review methodology and propose a customized review framework, in accordance with 196 EX/12 Part I (Annex) presented in an evaluation matrix to guide the evaluation exercise. The review report will take into account the UN Evaluation Group (UNEG) Quality Checklist for Evaluation Reports and the UNESCO Evaluation Manual.
Deliverables
The junior consultants are expected to provide all necessary support for the delivery of the following items upon the instruction of the senior consultant.
Note: The timeline of implementation may be adjusted, subject to approval, to accommodate additional administrative requirements or other unforeseen circumstances. Due Date
Inception phase
Inception report including the Theory of Change (ToC), the review design and a revised review matrix, prepared based on the draft concept note on final review that UNESCO developed, and the work conducted during the inception phase 10 August 2025 Data collection tools Semi-structured interview questionnaire and protocol Survey questionnaire for online quantitative data collection Sampling strategy A data collection template for case studies Guidance documents for data collectors and respondents15 August 2025 Data collection phase
Report on data collection (combining data from student registration platform, surveys, and interviews), including sampling, how data collection was conducted, preliminary findings, and limitations and challenges that may have been encountered. 31 August 2025 Analysis and report drafting phase Draft report of the final review (50-60 pages (320 words/page), excluding annexes) Executive summary (5 pages max.) Purpose and scope of the review Theory of Change Review design, sampling strategy, and methods of data collection and analysis Results Lessons learnt Conclusions and Recommendations. Annexes (including interview list, data collection instruments, key documents consulted, Terms of Reference, list of donors, full version of case studies, a brief survey report) 20 September 2025 Draft PPT presentation document for the online validation workshop to discuss the preliminary assessment findings and conclusion 20 September 2025 Final draft report of the review 10 October 2025 2 PowerPoint slides for presentation of key findings of the review 10 October 2025
Required qualifications and experience
The proposed review is highly specialized and requires demonstrated expertise and excellent knowledge in the field of education and lifelong learning, as well as review and monitoring. Hence, the consultants are required to possess the following qualifications and experience.
Academic background
A masterโs degree (or equivalent) in education, educational psychology, curriculum & instruction, measurement, literacy, social sciences, or other relevant areas. PhD candidates or recent graduates are also eligible.
Professional Experience
At least 2 years of relevant experience in research, education, project assistance, or monitoring activities; Previous experience in conducting surveys or interviews is desirable.Skills/competences
Familiarity with basic qualitative and quantitative data collection methods; Excellent analytical and writing skills, as well as oral communication skills; Ability to work independently and as a team member; Strong organizational and coordination skills, as well as the ability to meet deadlines; Good interpersonal skills to interact with wide-ranging stakeholders, notably children, parents, educators, project managers and policymakers; Excellent command of Arabic and working proficiency in English.
Other requirements