National Consultant to Lead the Drafting and Validation of the National Framework for Inclusive Education in Syria
Local Work Rights Required
This employer does not provide visa sponsorship. Applicants must already have the legal right to work in the job location.
This opportunity may still be relevant if you already have work authorization, are a permanent resident, citizen, student or dependant with work rights, or are seeking jobs within Africa.
Role Summary
Join Terre des Hommes Italia as a National Consultant to lead the drafting and validation of the National Framework for Inclusive Education in Syria, focusing on improving educational access for learners with disabilities.
Key Responsibilities
Terre des Hommes Italia (TDH Italy) has worked in Syria since 2013, supporting children, families, schools and communities through education, child protection, disability inclusion and social cohesion. Under the project “Building Resilience and Enhancing Education Quality in Syria”, TDH Italy is supporting the Ministry of Education and relevant stakeholders to develop a nationally owned Framework for Inclusive Education.
The Framework will adopt a system-wide approach to inclusive education while maintaining a specific and substantive focus on removing the legal, institutional, physical, educational and social barriers faced by learners with disabilities. It aims to enable them to access, participate in and benefit from safe, relevant and quality education on an equal basis with others. Its development is informed by national legislation and policies, consultations across Syria, selected international and comparative references, and engagement with government institutions, education practitioners, civil society organisations, organisations of persons with disabilities, families and other stakeholders.
TDH Italy seeks a qualified National Consultant to translate the available evidence, institutional knowledge and consultation findings into a coherent and implementable Framework. The Consultant will lead the drafting and validation process under the guidance of the Ministry of Education, coordinate with the international technical expert for quality assurance, and ensure that the final Framework reflects Syria’s context, legal framework and national priorities.
The purpose of the consultancy is to provide high-level national technical expertise to lead the analysis, drafting, consultation, revision and validation of the National Framework for Inclusive Education in Syria, in close coordination with the Ministry of Education, TDH Italy and the designated technical stakeholders.
The assignment will result in a rights-based, contextually grounded and operationally relevant Framework that will adopt a system-wide approach to inclusive education while maintaining a specific and substantive focus on the rights of learners with disabilities, in line with national legislation and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities:
The final structure will be agreed during the inception phase. At a minimum, the Framework should address:
Methodology; detailed workplan; proposed allocation of the 60 working days; document map; stakeholder engagement and quality-assurance approach; information gaps; decision points; and annotated outline of the Framework
Within 10 working days of contract signature
\*2 .\*Desk review and situation/gap analysis
Review of national and international references; synthesis of available evidence; analysis of legislation, policy, systems, institutional and workforce capacities and current practice; identification of capacity-development priorities; and initial reform priorities.
Within three months duration based on the consultant offer
Consolidated findings; representation and evidence gaps; divergent views; supplementary engagement completed; and traceability between findings and proposed Framework content.
Agreed vision, theory of change, strategic results, pillars, proposed chapter structure, governance logic and initial results chain.
Full draft of the National Framework, including references and agreed annexes, ready for structured technical review.
Revised draft; comment-response matrix; validation presentation; discussion questions; and structured feedback tools.
Final Arabic Framework incorporating approved validation and quality-assurance comments; final comment-response matrix; and technical review of the English version prepared by an external translator to verify accuracy and consistency with the final Arabic version.
Initial phased implementation plan; results and monitoring framework; list of required secondary tools; executive summary; policy brief; and final presentation.
The assignment is expected to require up to 60 working days over approximately four months. Work will combine home-based document review and drafting with in-person or online meetings, technical working sessions and validation activities. Travel within Syria may be required subject to prior agreement, access, security considerations and applicable TDH Italy procedures.
- defines a national vision, principles, intended results and strategic directions for inclusive education;
- clarifies the scope of inclusive education across relevant education levels and pathways;
- identifies the policy, institutional, pedagogical, accessibility, support-service, data and financing reforms required;
- sets out governance arrangements and responsibilities at national, sub-national and school levels;
- provides a basis for phased implementation, monitoring, accountability and future technical guidance; and
- reflects meaningful participation by persons with disabilities and their representative organisations, learners, families, education personnel and other relevant stakeholders.
- Consolidate and critically analyse available national legislation, policies, data, studies, consultation findings and relevant international standards.
- Identify systemic barriers, institutional gaps, enabling factors and priority reform areas for inclusive education in Syria.
- Develop an agreed structure, conceptual foundation, theory of change, strategic results and substantive content for the National Framework.
- Draft successive versions of the Framework through a structured and documented review process.
- Support inclusive technical consultation and national validation of the draft Framework.
- Develop an initial implementation and results framework that supports translation of the Framework into phased national action.
- Ensure coherence with any regional or international technical review subsequently provided, without weakening national ownership or contextual relevance.
- purpose, scope, methodology and relationship with relevant national policies and legislation;
- national situation and barrier analysis;
- legal, conceptual and rights-based foundations and definitions;
- vision, overall goal, theory of change, national results and guiding principles;
- legislation, policy, governance, accountability and inter-ministerial coordination;
- access, admission, attendance, retention, progression and transition across education levels and pathways;
- curriculum, teaching and learning, assessment, examinations and reasonable accommodation;
- teachers, school leadership, resource-room personnel, specialised staff and multidisciplinary support;
- physical, communication, information and digital accessibility;
- identification of barriers, educational assessment, support planning, referral pathways, assistive technology and related services;
- learner protection, psychosocial wellbeing, prevention of violence, bullying and discrimination, and safeguarding;
- participation of learners, families, communities and organisations of persons with disabilities;
- disability-inclusive education data, research, monitoring and data protection;
- financing, resource allocation and sustainability;
- phased implementation, risk management and education in emergencies; and
- institutional roles, results framework, indicators and accountability mechanisms.
- Inception report
- 3.* Consultation synthesis report
- 4.* Framework architecture and annotated outline
- 5.* First draft
- 6.* Second draft and validation package
- 7.* Final validated Framework
- 8.* Implementation and communication package
- *Note: The proposed allocation totals 60 working days. Except for the inception report and the final deadline, the Consultant shall propose detailed delivery dates in the technical proposal and confirm them in the inception workplan. All deliverables must be completed within three months of the contract start date. Acceptance of each deliverable will depend on written approval by TDH Italy following consultation with the Ministry of Education and the designated technical reviewers.
- The Consultant will be administratively managed by TDH Italy and will work in close technical coordination with the Ministry of Education and the designated national technical group.
- TDH Italy will facilitate access to available project documents, consultation reports, relevant stakeholders and agreed coordination mechanisms.
- Policy decisions and matters falling within the mandate of the Ministry of Education will be referred to the Ministry through the agreed coordination structure; the Consultant will not independently determine contested policy positions.
- All substantive comments will be consolidated through an agreed focal point or review mechanism to minimise contradictory instructions and uncontrolled versioning.
- The Consultant will submit editable versions of all deliverables and participate in review meetings as required within the agreed level of effort.
- Where regional or international technical expertise becomes available, the Consultant will coordinate with the expert(s), participate in technical review sessions and address approved comments. Such support will complement, rather than replace, the national drafting process.
- Any material changes to the scope, number of consultations, travel requirements or deliverables will require prior written agreement between TDH Italy and the Consultant.
- Technical proposal -* Understanding of the assignment; methodological quality; feasibility of the workplan; stakeholder engagement; and quality assurance 30%
- Relevant technical experience -* Inclusive education, disability inclusion, education-system strengthening and national policy/framework development - 25%
- Contextual and institutional experience -* Knowledge of the Syrian education system and experience working with government and multi-stakeholder processes. 10%
- Qualifications and writing samples* Academic background, analytical capacity and quality/relevance of submitted samples -5%
- Financial proposal* Cost-effectiveness and clarity of financial assumptions 30%
- All materials, data, consultation records, drafts and final products produced under this consultancy will remain the property of TDH Italy and/or the competent national authority, as specified in the contract.
- The Consultant may not publish, circulate or use assignment materials outside the consultancy without prior written authorisation.
- All sources must be appropriately acknowledged. Plagiarism, unattributed reproduction and undisclosed use of third-party intellectual property are prohibited.
- The Consultant must protect confidential and personal information and follow agreed data-protection, consent and safeguarding procedures.
- The Consultant will be required to sign and comply with TDH Italy’s Ethical Code, Code of Conduct, Child Safeguarding Policy, prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse requirements, and other applicable policies.
- Revisions reasonably required to bring a deliverable into conformity with the approved terms of reference and agreed quality standards are included in the consultancy fee, provided that the agreed scope has not materially changed.
Minimum Requirements
The Consultant is expected to apply the following requirements throughout the assignment:
- Use a human-rights-based and social model of disability, consistent with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
- Use respectful, non-stigmatising and consistent terminology in Arabic and English references.
- Ensure meaningful participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations; consultation should not be limited to final-stage endorsement.
- Differentiate clearly between official data, verified evidence, legal requirements, stakeholder perceptions and the Consultant’s analysis.
- Reference all sources and avoid unsupported national-level claims or direct replication of another country’s framework.
- Apply gender, age, protection, safeguarding, conflict-sensitivity and do-no-harm considerations.
- Develop realistic and phased proposals that acknowledge capacity and resource constraints without reducing the State’s rights-based commitments.
- Use accessible document structures and provide editable electronic versions of all outputs.
- Maintain a transparent audit trail through consultation records, decision logs and comment-response matrices.
- Comply with TDH Italy policies on child safeguarding, prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, code of conduct, confidentiality and data protection.
Working Conditions
Payments will be linked to the satisfactory completion and written acceptance of deliverables. An indicative schedule is provided below and will be confirmed in the contract:
Milestone*10%*
Acceptance of Deliverable 1: inception report *20%*
Acceptance of Deliverables 2 and 3: desk review/gap analysis and consultation synthesis *20%*
Acceptance of Deliverables 4 and 5: Framework architecture and first complete draft *20%*
Acceptance of Deliverable 6: second draft and validation package *30%*
Acceptance of Deliverables 7 and 8: final validated Framework, review of the English translation, and implementation/communication package.
Eligibility Criteria
This position is likely restricted to candidates who are eligible to work in Syria.
⚠️ Disclaimer: PathwayAI Africa does not guarantee employment, scholarships, visas, or admission. Always verify all opportunities through official sources before submitting personal information.
Check if You Qualify
Upload your CV to compare it against this specific opportunity. You can still apply even if improvements are recommended.