Senior International SEL Expert (Consultancy)

1. Position Summary:
Lebanon’s education system continues to navigate multiple challenges impacting both student learning outcomes and overall well-being and underscoring the importance of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) as a key strategy to support students holistically. In recent years, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE), in collaboration with the Centre for Educational Research and Development (CRDP), has made significant progress in advancing SEL at the national level. This includes the co-development of a National SEL Framework, alongside ongoing institutional capacity-building efforts to support its future implementation.

In parallel, Lebanon is currently undertaking a broader curriculum reform process which has adopted a competency-based approach to teaching and learning. As part of this reform, technical efforts have been initiated to explore the systematic integration of SEL competencies within subject curricula and unit models.

Within this context, substantial groundwork has already been completed under several World Learning (WL) initiatives. These initiatives include the development of a roadmap for a National SEL Policy for children in Lebanon, a white paper to inform SEL integration into the curriculum, and an emerging National SEL policy in collaboration with MEHE and CRDP. In addition, WL is planning to organize a National SEL Policy Conference to promote and advocate for the importance of SEL policy for children in Lebanon. Considering that policy development efforts and curriculum reform processes are advancing concurrently, coherence between emerging policy directions and curriculum operationalization has become a critical priority.

WL- Lebanon seeks to engage a ‘Senior International SEL expert’ in SEL policy and curriculum integration through a short-term consultancy. The purpose is to support the integration of SEL into the Lebanese curriculum and provide strategic guidance for the National SEL policy development. The role of the expert is to provide strategic technical assistance focused on strengthening the alignment between National SEL policy development and curriculum implementation strategies. Furthermore, the expert will be acting as a keynote speaker and will be responsible for guiding stakeholder engagement at the National SEL Policy Conference to ensure policy commitments are grounded in evidence-based practices, and operationally feasible.

2. Overall Objective:
The overall objective of this consultancy is to enhance the coherence and operational alignment between the emerging National SEL Policy and ongoing efforts to incorporate SEL into the Lebanese curriculum through providing capacity building workshops, advising on the National SEL policy development, and supporting in the preparation and delivery of the National SEL Policy Conference.

3. Position Responsibilities:
The consultancy is conceived as a short-term strategic advisory engagement designed to provide targeted technical inputs and inform key policy directions at this critical stage of policy making and curriculum reform.
The consultant will undertake the following tasks under three components:

A. Component 1: Technical Support to the National SEL Policy Conference:
• Provide technical advice on the thematic framing and overall structure of the National SEL Policy Conference, drawing on the synthesized findings from a series of consultative meetings that WL team will be conducting with different education stakeholders in Lebanon with the aim to gather their insights and inform policy design.
• Contribute to the conference as a keynote speaker and/or lead panelist, providing relevant international perspectives contextualized to the national process.
• Contribute to the guiding questions for thematic working sessions during the conference linked to emerging policy priorities.
• Consolidate key outcomes into policy-relevant considerations.
Deliverables:
• Brief pre-conference note outlining suggested thematic framing and structure for the conference.
• Keynote presentation and panel discussion contribution.
• Proposed guiding questions for thematic working sessions.
• Short post-conference advisory note highlighting key reflections and indicative policy-relevant considerations (3–5 pages).

B. Component 2: Policy Review:
• Conduct meetings with WL team and other stakeholders to deepen the understanding of the Lebanese educational context and its challenges, and the progress accomplished towards institutionalizing SEL in Lebanon.
• Conduct a technical review of the draft National SEL policy documents.
• Provide advisory inputs on the draft National SEL policy documents ensuring coherence between policy vision, pillars and proposed actions.
• Identify potential gaps related to the National SEL policy implementation feasibility and governance arrangements.
Deliverables:
• Technical advisory note summarizing observations related to policy coherence including indicative suggestions and gaps to further strengthen the policy (around 6 – 8 pages).

C. Component 3: Support Integration of SEL into the Lebanese Curriculum:
• Engage with curriculum committee leads to review ongoing SEL integration efforts within subject curricula and unit models.
• Rapid review of the curriculum material available at CRDP.
• Facilitate one or two short technical workshops for curriculum committee leads through sharing practical approaches for integrating SEL into the curriculum and introducing sample tools and indicative guidance to support SEL integration.
Deliverables:
• Workshops presentation and supporting materials.
• Brief guidance notes, outlining suggested minimum considerations for SEL integration across subjects with indicative checklist.

4. Duration and Modality:
The consultancy will be conducted over 10 working days, between April 1 and May 15, 2026. Within this period, the consultant is expected to be physically present in Lebanon for 5 days from April 20 to April 24, 2026.
A detailed workplan will be agreed upon prior to commencement based on the following:

Components:
1. Technical Support to the National SEL Policy Conference:

• Preparation: 1 consultancy day (8 working hours)
• Facilitation: 1 consultancy day (8 working hours)
• Reporting:1 consultancy day (8 working hours)

2.Policy Review:
Meetings (virtual and/or in-person): 1.5 (12 working hours)
Reviewing available documents: 1 consultancy day (8 working hours)
Preparing technical advisory note: 1.5 consultancy days (12 working hours)

3. Support Integration of SEL into the Lebanese Curriculum:
Reviewing curriculum material: 1 consultancy day (8 working hours)
Preparing for workshop/s: 1 consultancy day (8 working hours)
Conducting workshop/s: 1 consultancy day (8 working hours)

Total consultancy days: 10 (80 working hours)

5. Reporting:
The consultant will report to Porticus III- Project Manager at World learning Field office - Lebanon and will work in close coordination with the World learning team and the technical teams at MEHE and CRDP.

6. Expected Outcomes:
• A structured synthesis of the key results from the National SEL Policy Conference to directly inform policy drafting.
• An enhanced draft National SEL policy with improved coherence, logical flow, and implementation feasibility.
• Curriculum committees equipped with practical tools and shared standards to guide the systematic integration of SEL across the curriculum.
• Clearly defined and actionable next steps for finalizing the policy and operationalizing curriculum implementation.

Required Qualifications and Competencies:

Educational Background:
• A doctoral degree (PhD or EdD) in Education, Education Policy, Curriculum Studies, Educational Psychology, Educational leadership, or related field.
• Specialized certification in SEL.

Professional and Technical Expertise:
• Minimum of 8 years of demonstrated experience in managing education programs or working on curriculum development with administrators and policy makers at district or national level.
• Proven experience in designing, mapping, and implementing SEL curricula, including integrating SEL into academic subjects.
• Deep understanding of international SEL frameworks and their core competencies.
• Experience in facilitating workshops, conferences, and professional development sessions for diverse audiences.
• Experience working with Ministries of Education or educational institutions.
• Experience in transforming educational policies into actionable, measurable strategies.
• Advanced ability to assess policy coherence and alignment with the curriculum and to embed reform initiatives into established institutional frameworks.
• Awareness of the Lebanese general context and educational system is preferable.

Skills:
• Strong analytical and policy-writing skills.
• Ability to synthesize information into concise written products.
• Exceptional communication and negotiation skills.
• Strategic thinking and systems perspective.
• Excellent facilitation and communication skills.
• High level of cultural and institutional sensitivity.
• High proficiency in English (spoken and written), knowledge of Arabic or French language is an asset.