State Consultant

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.

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:

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.

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:

Education:

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

Work Experience: