Consultancy: ECD Programme Learning and Evidence Synthesis
About the role
POST TITLE: Consultancy: ECD Programme Learning and Evidence Synthesis PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT: 6 months LOCATION: Based in any African country TRAVEL: 40% - 5 trips for the lead of the assignment to Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Ghana REPORTING TO: Senior Research, Evaluation and Impact Manager SALARY: Competitive - dependent on experience ABOUT ESSA ESSA improves education using evidence and data from Africa in research, advocacy and programme design. We take a systems approach by identifying challenges and co-designing solutions in partnership with local education researchers, education leaders, policymakers, funders and employers to improve education outcomes for young people. Our research generates actionable insights that inform decisions, policies and practice and strengthen education systems. ESSA’s values are at the heart of everything we do, and they are: • Evidence-driven: We are driven by data and evidence to find what works best, building an evidence alliance for education in sub-Saharan Africa. • Solutions-focused: We seek the highest impact for young people and educators in sub-Saharan Africa with the cost-effective funds we invest. • Strengthening Trust: We strive to create supportive environments, building trust with the communities we work with. • Always learning: Everyone’s opinion is valuable; we develop solutions through teamwork. To find out more about ESSA, visit essa-africa.org. ABOUT THE ROLE Background and Context Since 2022, ESSA and the Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre at the University of Cambridge, with funding from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, have been working across three phases to strengthen ECD research, support African researchers, and create opportunities for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to learn and engage with one another. For more about the ECD Programme, kindly visit here. Purpose of the Assignment ESSA seeks an individual consultant or consultancy team to assess the ECD programme contributions, review documented evidence, prepare case studies and prepare a publicly accessible learning collection. The assignment will generate credible findings and practical recommendations from four years of investment in African-led early childhood development (ECD) research executed by ESSA in partnership with the Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre at the University of Cambridge. The purpose is to provide a credible, inclusive and practically useful assessment of the ECD programme’s contributions, learning and emerging evidence, supported by traceable and verifiable sources. The assessment will go beyond documenting activities and outputs to examine what has changed, what has been learned, how evidence is being generated and used, and what this means for future ECD research, practice and investment. This is guided by five interconnected pillars: 1. What has been generated? Consolidate the evidence, research outputs, learning products and knowledge generated across Phases 1 and 2. 2. What has changed? Examine changes in researchers’ capacity, collaboration, publication, evidence generation, dissemination and engagement with evidence users. 3. What have we learned? Identify what worked, what did not, intended/unintended learning, enabling factors and challenges across the programme. 4. What is happening to the evidence? Trace how Africa-led ECD research is being communicated, accessed, used and potentially influencing policy and practice. This builds particularly well on the Phase 2 ECD Policy and Evidence Forum, whose intended outcomes included stronger communication of evidence and better connections between local ECD evidence and decision-makers. 5. What should happen next? Identify evidence gaps, emerging priorities and implications for future ECD research, researcher support, evidence dissemination and evidence-to-policy engagement. Scope of Work a