Minimum School Construction Standards and Guidelines

Purpose:
To develop Minimum School Construction Standards/Guidelines for the South Sudan General Education Sector.

Objectives

The proposed standards and guidelines will contribute to ‘education for all’ through the following strategic objectives:

· Increased access to general education and the promotion of equity in participation in education through ‘child friendly schools’

· Promotion of inclusive education aspirations by improving access to learning facilities for all children.

· Promotion of education for all through complimentary efforts of different design options for varying settings, including temporary learning spaces, community schools, formal public schools, day and boarding primary schools and options for teachers’ houses.

· Inculcate child friendly school standards, including hygiene practices and behaviors that may last a life time.

· Improved outreach to underserved communities through the use of complementary approaches through community schools.

· Overall improved quality of learning environments in South Sudan.

· Increase in general enrolments, attendance and completion rates.

· Improved operation and maintenance of school facilities for enhanced sustainability of structures.

The proposed school construction standards and guidelines will enhance the enabling environment for improving the quality of the general education situation in South Sudan.

Specific Tasks

The overall objective of this consultancy is to develop a comprehensive document on minimum standards and guidelines in line with existing policies for the design and construction of Primary schools in South Sudan in collaboration with the Ministry of Education Science and Technology, as well as other stakeholders. The Consultant is expected to:

1. Review and synthesize various school construction guidelines, manuals and standards from other countries as well as UNICEF materials and publications on school construction.
2. Consult with Ministry of Education Science and Technology, NGOs and other agencies involved in school construction interventions in South Sudan for additional information and views on school construction standards and guidelines for South Sudan.
3. Conduct field visits to twenty schools selected from different states to asses school facilities in urban and rural areas including operations and maintenance and prepare a case study.
4. Develop first draft of comprehensive school construction standards and guidelines including lay outs.
5. Present first draft of comprehensive school construction standards and guidelines at a workshop for stakeholder consultations with key stakeholders from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, representatives from State Ministries of Education, Development Partners, NGOs and other agencies involved in school construction interventions for inputs and comments on the first draft
6. Prepare second draft of comprehensive school construction standards and guidelines incorporating comments from the first draft along with illustrations, drawings, figures, maps, tables, sample bills of quantities and charts
7. Prepare summary PowerPoint presentation of the second draft comprehensive school construction standards and guidelines and an abridged Summarized version at a validation workshop for all stakeholders
8. After a review of the second draft by all stakeholders at the validation workshop, finalize comprehensive school construction standards and guidelines and present hard and electronic copies to UNICEF in a format ready for printing with illustrations, drawings, figures, maps, tables, sample bills of quantities and charts.
9. Present an abridged summarized version of the school construction standards and guidelines in hard copy and electronic copies to UNICEF in print-ready format.

Expected background (Qualifications & Experience)

The Consultant must have proven experience in developing school construction standards and Guidelines preferably in development related sectors. Specifically the consultant is expected to have the following experiences, skills, knowledge and qualifications.

1. Advanced university degree in Civil Engineering, Architecture or Building Construction.
   *A first university degree with a relevant combination of academic qualifications and experience may be accepted in lieu of advanced university degree.
2. At least 5 years of professional work experience in construction with a focus on buildings construction, some of which experience must have been in school construction.
3. Demonstrated experience working in the areas of proposal development, programme management, strategic planning and policy and strategy development.
4. Experience in developing guidelines, preferably for school construction
5. Excellent communication skills, including report writing skills and facilitation skills
6. Excellent writing, communication and presentation skills in English (oral and written);
7. Familiarity with the current developments, research, best practices and global trends in the school construction sector.
8. Knowledge of South Sudan Education systems and environment is an asset;
9. Knowledge about building design and construction is an asset.
10. Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines;
11. Ability to deliver highest quality products in the allotted period of time, under the guidance and supervision of the reference group or Technical Working Group.

General Conditions:

Terms of payment: Consultants shall be paid in a lump sum in three months each of which is determined by deliverables and deadlines.

· 1^stpayment (30%) – upon submission and approval of:Report of the Consultative meetings including Hard and electronic copies of the case studies on the current situation of school construction for primary schools in South Sudan highlighting operations and maintenance situation with proposed strategy for maintenance and sustainable use of school facilities

· 2^nd payment (30%) – upon submission and approval of first draft of comprehensive school construction standards and guidelines including layouts; presentation of first draft at the consultative meeting, and Minutes of the consultative Workshop

· 3^rd Payment (40%) upon approval ofFinal Consolidated comprehensive school construction standards and guidelines including layouts and an abridged Summary version in Hard and electronic copies; and the PowerPoint Presentation of these Approved standards and guidelines.

· Note that final payment to a consultant is dependent upon the completion of deliverables to satisfactory standard and endorsed by the Reference Group.

Policy both parties should be aware of:

Ø The consultant will not be provided lodging and/or meals.

Ø UNICEF may not provide the consultant office space and the consultant needs to arrange his own working space.

Ø The consultant should provide his/her own materials, i.e. computer, office supplies, etc.

Ø Consultant is not entitled to payment of overtime.

Ø The contract commences when it is signed by both UNICEF and the consultant.

Ø Fees are payable upon satisfactory completion of the contract and acceptance by UNICEF. Standard UNICEF procedures will apply for invoicing and all other financial management requirements set out in the contract. Standard UNICEF penalty clauses will apply for late and poor quality deliverables. UNICEF shall provide the consultant with the criteria for the evaluation of the quality of each deliverable.

Ø The consultant will arrange for his or her own office and will report to UNICEF on progress on a regular basis.

Ø The ownership of the finalized minimum school constru