Informal Education Consultant

HOUSE OF SMILES ANNOUNCEMENT Informal Education Consultant Job Title: Informal Education Consultant Workstation: House of Smiles (HoS), Harare Reports to: Head of Mission Start date: To be agreed with the consultant. Duration: 12 working days (over approx. 4-5 weeks) ORGANISATIONAL BACKGROUND CESVI is an international, independent humanitarian organisation working in over 20 countries worldwide. CESVI is committed to reducing suffering and contributing to the long-term eradication of poverty through programmes that promote resilience, inclusion, and sustainable development. CESVI has been operating in Zimbabwe since 1998, implementing programmes in the Environment, Sustainable Livelihoods, Health and Child Protection sectors. Within the Child Protection sector, CESVI supports vulnerable children, including unaccompanied and vulnerable children living and working on the streets. In 2005, CESVI established the House of Smiles (HoS) in Harare, a safe and supportive drop-in centre where children receive psychosocial support, protection services, and opportunities for personal development, creativity, and skills building aimed at restoring dignity, self-esteem, and future prospects. CONSULTANCY OVERVIEW The House of Smiles runs a daily informal education component for the children attending the drop-in centre, delivered by a dedicated HoS educator with the support of HoS staff. Children attend irregularly, come from mixed age groups and very different learning levels, and many have had negative experiences with formal schooling. To keep them engaged and learning, the informal education offer needs to be refreshed with new, play-based and participatory activities, and the HoS staff involved need further training and practical tools to plan, facilitate and monitor these activities. CESVI is therefore seeking a consultant to (i) train and mentor up to five HoS staff members (including the HoS educator), (ii) develop a practical resource package of new informal education activities ready to be used with the children, and (iii) prepare a detailed Bill of Quantities (BoQ) of the materials required to implement them. OBJECTIVES  Strengthen the skills and confidence of up to five HoS staff members (including the HoS educator) in planning and facilitating informal education sessions for street-connected children.  Develop a practical package of new, engaging and child-friendly activities, aligned with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE) Non-Formal Education curriculum, that the trained HoS staff can use independently.  Ensure that the activities are adapted to mixed ages, different literacy and numeracy levels, and irregular attendance.  Integrate psychosocial support, life skills, and child participation into daily informal education activities.  Identify and cost all materials needed to run the new activities through a detailed BoQ ready for procurement. SCOPE OF WORK The consultant shall: 1. Rapid Assessment  Review the current informal education delivery approach, activities, timetable, space and available materials at the House of Smiles.  Observe sessions and hold short discussions with the HoS educator, the HoS Coordinator, social workers and a group of children to understand their interests, learning levels and needs.  Assess the training needs of the HoS staff members selected for training (up to five) and agree on the training plan. 2. Training and mentoring of up to 5 HoS staff (including the HoS educator)  Deliver practical, hands-on training to the selected HoS staff members (up to five, including the HoS educator; volunteers may join where relevant) on: play-based and participatory learning; managing mixed-age and mixed-level groups; session planning; positive discipline; trauma-informed and childfriendly facilitation; and simple ways to track children's progress.  Co-facilitate sessions with the children together with the trained staff members, modelling the new activities, and then observe each of them leading sessions independently, providing constructive feedback.  Carry out at least one follow-up mentoring visit after the training to review progress and adjust the activities where needed. 3. Development of new activities  Design a package of new informal education activities (activity cards / session plans), aligned with the MoPSE Non-Formal Education curriculum, covering basic literacy and numeracy through games, creative and expressive activities, life skills, and educational games and group work.  Ensure that each activity clearly states its objective, target age group and level, duration, number of participants, step-by-step instructions, materials required, possible adaptations and simple ways to assess learning.  Organise the activities into a flexible monthly/weekly plan that can accommodate new arrivals and irregular attendance, with a menu of short stand-alone sessions.  Where possible, prioritise low-cost activities that use locally available and recycled materials. 4. Bill of Quantities (BoQ)  Prepare a detailed BoQ of all materials, equipment and consumables needed to implement the activity package for an agreed period (e.g. 6-12 months).  For each item, specify: description and technical specifications, unit, quantity, estimated unit cost and total cost (USD), priority level (essential/desirable), and the activity it is linked to.  Base cost estimates on current prices from local suppliers in Harare (indicatively at least three market price references for main items), in line with CESVI procurement procedures.  Advise on the storage, management and replacement of materials and consumables. DELIVERABLES  Inception note (max. 3 pages) with methodology, work plan and findings of the rapid assessment.  Training plan, training materials and a short training report (including pre/post assessment of the trained staff members).  Informal education activity package (activity cards / session plans) with a suggested flexible monthly plan, in editable format.  Detailed Bill of Quantities (BoQ) in Excel format with specifications, quantities and estimated costs.  Final consultancy report with summary of work done, mentoring observations and recommendations for sustaining the informal education component. DURATION & TIMELINE Total: 12 working days, spread over approximately 4-5 weeks to allow practice and mentoring. Indicative schedule  Days 1-2: Inception and rapid assessment.  Days 3-5: Design of the new activity package.  Days 6-8: Training of the selected HoS staff members (up to five) and co-facilitation of sessions with the children.  Day 9: Preparation of the BoQ.  Days 10-11: Follow-up mentoring visit and finalization of the activity package.  Day 12: Final report submission and debriefing with CESVI. REPORTING & SUPERVISION The consultant will report to the CESVI Head of Mission and work closely with the House of Smiles Coordinator and Child Protection PM, the HoS educator, the other staff members to be trained and the social work team. QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE Essential  Degree in Education, Early Childhood Development, Child Development, or a related field.  At least 3 years of experience in informal or non-formal education with vulnerable children or youth.  Proven experience in training and mentoring teachers, educators or facilitators.  Demonstrated experience in designing play-based and participatory learning activities and educational materials.  Knowledge of the MoPSE Non-Formal Education curriculum and guidelines.  Understanding of psychosocial support and trauma-informed approaches with children.  Strong communication and training skills; fluency in English and Shona. Desirable  Previous experience working with street-connected children or children in drop-in centres.  Experience in preparing BoQs, budgets or procurement lists for education materials.  Experience collaborating with NGOs, CSOs, or community-based organisations.  Ability to propos How to apply APPLICATION PROCESS Interested candidates should submit:  A CV (maximum 3 pages) inclusive of at least 3 contactable references.  A technical proposal (maximum 3 pages) including the proposed methodology, a work plan/Gantt chart, and an outline of similar assignments carried out in the past.  One example of an informal education activity or teaching material previously developed by the applicant.  A cover letter (maximum 1 page) describing relevant experience and motivation for the assignment. APPLICANTS SHOULD APPLY ON THE FOLLOWING LINK BEFORE THE 13TH NOVEMBER 2026: https://ee-eu.kobotoolbox.org/x/KLFdn1Sy Please note: Due to the high number of applications we receive we are unable to provide feedback to everyone if unsuccessful at this stage. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted on the status of their application. SAFEGUARDING Cesvi has a zero-tolerance approach to any harm to, or exploitation of, a child or a vulnerable adult by any of our staff, related persons, or partners. Cesvi commitment to being a safe organization begins with the staff recruitment process which includes meticulous checks, such as criminal records check or check disclosure of previous convictions, to ensure children and vulnerable people are safeguarded and abuse is prevented. Safeguarding checks are part of the selection process. CESVI ZIMBABWE OFFICE 221 Fife Avenue, Harare, Zimbabwe | tel: +263 08677 195 057/08677 189 670 | cesvi.org