State Consultant

Unicef; Kota, Jaipur, Bikaner, Jodhpur; Remote; INR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

UNICEF Rajasthan seeks a State Consultant - Comprehensive Skills to support the rollout of a 21st-century skills package for adolescents in Rajasthan. Based in Jaipur, the assignment is home-based with local travel and involves regular engagement with UNICEF and the government over a 20-month contract.

The consultant will contextualize the skills package, build the capacity of education functionaries, assist with printing and distribution of materials, and coordinate with state and district

Qualifications

• Post-graduate degree in Education / Social Sciences / Humanities / Policy.
• At least 5 years of experience in education with Life skills / 21st century skills development.
• Experience of working with education data - data analysis & report writing.
• Experience of working with Education Government systems.
• Expertise in using MS-Office applications, especially Excel.
• Experience of monitoring State and District level programmes.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical support for integrating the comprehensive skills package into the secondary education system.
• Develop capacity-building plans for education functionaries and facilitate implementation.
• Support printing and distribution of learning materials.
• Strengthen state and district PMUs to guide programme implementation, including research coordination.
• Provide technical support for monitoring and evaluation.

Skills

MS-Office

Data analysis

Report writing

Excel

Education data

Education

Post-graduate degree in Education

Tools

Diksha

YouTube

Job description

Job Summary

State Consultant - Comprehensive Skills, Jaipur, India, Remotely with local travel, 20 Months. Contract type: Consultant. Level: Consultancy. Location: India. Categories: Education.

Contract Duration: 20 Months

Working arrangement: HomeBased

The purpose of this assignment is to provide technical support to the Education Departments of Rajasthan to roll out the comprehensive skills package with adolescents in the state.

This includes working closely with the government, and other stakeholders in the eco-system, and ensure effective data collection and reporting as per requirements.

The consultant is expected to be based in Jaipur and regularly engage with UNICEF and the government.

Scope of Work

Background and Rationale

Rajasthan s adolescent education landscape reveals stark inequities that demand urgent reform.

Labor force participation among women highlights the challenge: while 43.8% of rural women are engaged, only 27% of urban women participate.

Foundational life skills remain fragile-among girls aged 14-16, just 37.2% can manage a budget, 19.1% can apply a discount, and a mere 3.4% can calculate repayment.

Even basic literacy and numeracy are uneven, with 73.6% of youth able to read a Grade II text, but only 42% of girls solving division problems compared to 45% of boys.

This evidence underscores the urgency of embedding 21st-century skills into Rajasthan s education system.

Critical thinking, digital literacy, financial capability, creativity, and resilience are not optional-they are essential competencies for adolescents to thrive in higher education, the labor market, and civic life.

For girls and marginalized groups, these skills are particularly vital to overcome structural barriers and participate meaningfully in India s modernizing economy.

By integrating these competencies into curricula, pedagogy, and assessment, Rajasthan can transform its demographic dividend into inclusive growth.

Equipping adolescents with future-ready skills will strengthen human capital, foster innovation, and ensure that every young learner contributes to building a resilient and equitable society.

Rajasthan s vision for Viksit Rajasthan 2047 seeks to transform its economy from USD 197 billion in 2025 to USD 4.3 trillion by 2047, powered by youth and women through skills, entrepreneurship, and leadership.

Central to this ambition is a globally competitive, inclusive, and technology-driven education system where AI-enabled classrooms, immersive digital content, and adaptive assessments redefine learning outcomes.

Aligned with the National Education Policy 2020, education must nurture values, character, and essential 21st Century skills-critical thinking, creativity, adaptability, and collaboration.

For adolescents in Grades 9-12, this stage is decisive as they prepare for higher education, employment, and citizenship.

Yet, while subject knowledge is taught effectively, students often struggle to apply concepts in real-world contexts, making the bridge between classroom learning and practical application essential.

UNICEF Rajasthan proposes an integrated intervention with three outputs: a co-created skills framework to support school-to-work transitions; strengthened teacher quality through targeted capacity building; and improved student proficiency in foundational, transferable life skills, digital literacy, and financial awareness.

Embedding ICT and AI into daily teaching ensures blended learning, personalized support, and data-driven assessments.

Integrated within government systems, this approach reinforces policy alignment rather than creating parallel structures.

The comprehensive skills package will have a blended learning approach combining the immediate support of interactive classroom with flexibility of digital learning for continuous reinforcement:

• Interactive sessions: Teacher-led, simple activity-based methods supported by structured lesson plans
• Self-paced digital learning: Curated course on Diksha/YouTube allowing students to learn concepts at their own pace and revise topics as needed.
• Service based learning: Self-learning (project based) helping students strengthen skills in real life

Through this vision, schools will evolve into hubs of innovation, teachers will become facilitators of holistic growth, and students will emerge as adaptable, creative, and productive citizens-laying the foundation for Rajasthan s long-term economic and social aspirations.

Key Objectives of the Assignment

The consultant, while working closely with government institutions, will provide technical support for the integration of the comprehensive skills package into the secondary education system.

More specifically, they will provide support in the following areas:

• 1. Contextualization of comprehensive skills package (including service-based learning component)
• 2. Development of a capacity building plan for education functionaries including teachers, and facilitate its implementation
• 3. Logistics support for printing and distribution of learning materials
• 4. Formation and strengthening of state and district PMUs to guide programme implementation including coordination support for research
• 5. Technical support to the M&E

Minimum requirements

Education:

Post-graduate degree in Education/ Social Sciences/ Humanities/ Policy

Work Experience:

• At least 5 years experience of work in education with at least some of those for Life skill, 21st century skills development
• Previous experience of working with education data - data analysis & report writing
• Experience of working with Education Government system.
• Expertise in using MS-Office application software (MS Word, Excel, Power Point) essential, especially Excel.
• Previous experience of monitoring State and District level Programme