Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)
Duty Station: Nineveh
Job Family: Education
Type of contract : Non Staff
Duration of contract : 4 months
Recruitment open to : Internal and external candidates
Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 28.02.2024
UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

Background

The Mosul University library was extensively damaged during the conflict with ISIL/Da’esh. The space once housed more than one million books, periodicals, manuscripts, and government publications from as early as the 1920s. As a house of learning and knowledge at the center of the University, the Library was among the first institutions targeted by ISIL/Da’esh after their occupation of Mosul in 2014. The Library was deliberately set on fire, almost all of its collection was destroyed, and its building was severely damaged. In the absence of the central library, more than 60,000 students, university lecturers, and staff did not have easy access to the required literature for their research and academic projects. UNESCO aims to build resilience and promote rapid recovery and transition in Mosul. Education provides physical, psychosocial, and cognitive protection that can sustain and save lives during a crisis. Education remains a fundamental human right, and quality learning opportunities should be available for all ages. The Mosul University library plays an important role in realizing this objective by supporting the revival of the spirit of Moslawi youth, ensuring access to a safe learning environment, especially for young girls, and fostering peaceful coexistence among the youth of Mosul. The physical infrastructure rehabilitation of the Central Library was completed in February 2022, but the operationalization of the library requires urgent support to put in place the necessary measures for designing library functionalities and providing the modern tools and instruments necessary to effectively perform those functionalities from acquisition to archiving and digitization of the existing old and new library materials and holdings. Additionally, technical and professional capacity strengthening of the library staff through tailored practical training programs is essential. Currently, the gaps within institutional and professional capacities of the Central Library undermine the wider investment and prospects of the university in offering a holistic approach to learning and research.

Long Description

Project Objectives, Results and key Activities
With the overall objective of making the Mosul University Library fully functional and ensuring that it is perceived as an essential knowledge resource and a cultural connecting place, UNESCO will implement the following activities:
1- Capacity-building: Develop and implement a training program for more than 87 Library staff in various areas such as access to services, acquisitions, cataloging, archive management, conservation, digitization, repository management, reference services, Koha LIS (Library Information System) use and communication. The training program will employ a cascaded approach, beginning with intensive training for a core group of up to 20 staff members. These trained individuals will then transfer their knowledge to the remaining library staff members, ensuring comprehensive capacity-building across various library functions throughout the project duration.
2- Application of the LIS: Selection, customization and deployment of an enterprise software solution, covering the Library local functions and remote e-services, including acquisition, warehousing, interchange and virtual integration with other libraries’ content and catalogues, cataloging, classification, collection management, local and remote access and circulation/borrowing/reading/interlibrary loan, reference services, research and instruction, patron and subscriber relation management, management of scanned materials, periodicals, ebooks, rare materials and manuscripts. The selected LIS to be applied in the library is Koha. The procurement of the system in in progress and expected to be in place by March 2024.
3- Conservation, restoration, digitization, and indexing/cataloguing: Restoration, preservation, conservation, digitization and bookbinding of rare and other endangered library materials including manuscripts and historical documents, through the establishment of an on-site laboratory with modern chemical and mechanical technologies.
4- Partnerships: Establishment of partnerships with relevant institutions across the world, thereby reinforcing sustainability of the library’s functions and operations. These partnerships shall, in particular, facilitate the provision of international expert advice and support to capacity building as well as result in agreements on acquisitions of relevant up-to-date knowledge material.
The Capacity Building Consultant will be in charge of leading the implementation of the first output of the project on capacity building for the library staff in the aforementioned library’s functions. He/ She will be working collaboratively with the MoHESR (Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research), University of Mosul, and UNESCO team.

Long Description

Duties and Responsibilities of Consultant
Under the overall authority of UNESCO Director and Representative to Iraq and direct guidance and supervision of the Chief of Education and the Project Officer, UNESCO Iraq Office, the Consultant shall be responsible for leading the Project Capacity Building component, through the achievement of the following objectives and tasks:

Objectives to be achieved by the consultant:

1. Identification of staff capacity gaps and training needs.
2. Planning, implementing and supervising the capacity building activities, including the trainings that will be conducted by the contracted company, providing the library staff with the required skills, capacities and knowledge in the different library functions.
3. Following up the use of the Koha Library Information System and provide guidance and advice to the library staff.
4. Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting to the project stakeholders.

Main Tasks and responsibilities of the consultant:

• Considering the already listed training needs (Koha system, RFID and IT related trainings, digitization, quality control and metadata creation, cataloguing, circulation, acquisition, repository management, patrons service, archiving, Audio-Visual Production and Documentation, use of library services such as interlibrary loans.), the consultant should work jointly with the contracted company for the development of training programmes, planning and implementation of the trainings to the relevant library staff in the different divisions .
• The consultant should supervise the theoretical and hands-on training sessions and Identify of the challenges and further training needs for the staff.
• Design and deliver the needed training sessions, ensuring alignment with the functionalities and features of the Koha system.
• Monitor and evaluate the capacity-building efforts, tracking the progress of library staff in adopting the new system and addressing any challenges that arise.
• Facilitate the transfer of knowledge and skills to internal staff who can serve as trainers or provide ongoing support after the consultant's engagement concludes.
• Support and monitor the hands-on training to be carried out by the trained group to the rest of library staff during their work, ensuring an effective on-job training.
• Regular reporting of progress and challenges to project stakeholders, providing updates on the status of capacity-building efforts.

Long Description

Consultancy Deliverables: Monthly payment will be dependent on the achievement of each deliverable within the