Introduction
ActionAid Zambia (AAZ) is a part of the ActionAid Global (AAG) Federation, sharing common values and aims to drive social change towards a just, equitable and sustainable world. The ActionAid Federation builds the active agency of people living in poverty, their organizations, and movements, to address the structural causes of social injustice, gender inequality and poverty.

In Zambia, our program implementation is guided by our Country Strategic Paper which outlines priority areas for the period 2023 to 2028. These include Environmental Sustainability and Climate Justice; Civic Participation and State Accountability; and Transformative Youth-led Engagement. Our vision is to see A just equitable and sustainable Zambia in which every person enjoys freedom from poverty and oppression for enjoyment of their right to a life of dignity.

Background
Education is not only a human right and elementary to human dignity, but also a force for sustainable development. The economic and social development of any country is dependent on its intellectual capital and human capital. Access to quality education is an avenue for social mobility and reducing inequalities. Education is essential for building the knowledge base we need to tackle critical socio-economic challenges. Education helps youths to prepare for employment in the high-skill jobs of the fourth industrial revolution.

And education is a foundation for peaceful societies and effective institutions.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, therefore, does not only prioritise education but also has an explicitly stand-alone goal in SDG4. Education and the achievement of SDG 4 ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all – plays a central role in building sustainable, inclusive, and resilient societies.

The Transforming Education Summit (TES) in September 2022 was the highest-level education meeting ever – convening Heads of States on an unprecedented scale to address the education crisis. One of the five core tracks for the Summit focused on finance, with a TES Discussion Paper on Financing developed with 193 UN Member States and a Call to Action on Financing Education endorsed by the UN Secretary General, that was launched on 19th September 2022.

However, for any country to actualize the TES Calls to Action and achieve SDG4 fore quitable growth and development, there is need for responsive, adequate, and sustainable financing. Education financing should not only be contingent upon economic growth leading to more spending in the social sector, but rather it should come from the political priority attached to education by the state as the duty-bearer for delivering on the right to education.

2022 also marked a year of significant policy change for Education in Zambia. The Government introduced the “Education for All” policy which eliminated tuition fees for all learners in primary and secondary schools – drastically increasing access. With this free education, the influx of learners has put a strain on existing infrastructure and human resource in the sector.

In line with the 4S Framework outlined in our Transforming Education Financing Toolkit, the Tax and Education (TaxEd) Alliance seeks to ensure national education budgets are inclusive and sensitive – promoting gender responsive public services. To achieve this, ActionAid Zambia and the TaxEd Alliance promotes evidence-based advocacy through the production and use of accurate empirical information. Consequently, ActionAid Zambia intends to engage a consultant to assess the sensitivity and responsiveness of education
financing for the attainment of SDG4 in Zambia.

2. General objective
To assess the responsiveness and sensitivity of national education budget and policy framework for the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal number 4 (SDG4) in Zambia.
Specific Objectives
1. Assessing Zambia’s progress, opportunities, and challenges in the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal number 4.5 (SDG4.5).
2. Undertake a trend analysis of the sensitivity of education financing in Zambia based on the 4S framework – establishing the adequacy and/or education financing gap.
3. Assess the impact of fiscal consolidation (austerity) on gender responsive public service delivery in education sector in Zambia.
4. Provide quality policy recommendations and advocacy messages for progressive and inclusive education sector financing and expenditure in Zambia.

Process
The Consultant will engage relevant stakeholders to collect the necessary information required to meet the specific consultancy objectives in line with the timelines provided. The consultant will be expected to produce and deliver/share preliminary reports and/or draft reports with the Policy and Programs Manager (PPM), ActionAid team and its partners for review. Further, the Consultant will be expected to address all the comments and feedback from ActionAid for external validation, review, and finalisation of a consolidated report, and subsequent submission to ActionAid Zambia.

Time schedule
The consultancy will be conducted over a period of fifteen (15) working days inclusive of validation of draft reports and submission of final report. Therefore, the Consultancy period will take place from 2nd June 2025 to 20th June 2025. The final report must be submitted by the Consultant no later than Monday, 23rd June 2025.

Bid Submission
Prospective consultants should submit the following:

• Not more than three (3) pages technical proposal highlighting how they intend to undertake the required deliverables – inclusive of timelines.
• Not more than three (3) pages of a detailed financial proposal.
• A Resume outlining demonstratable experience in carrying out similar work and traceable references.

Qualifications and Competencies
The consultant should have the following qualifications:
a) Post graduate degree in Social Sciences, preferably in education, development
studies, economics, gender, human rights or any other related social science.
b) Demonstrated knowledge of global and national public education policy processes, education financing and management.
c) Knowledge of public finance management and policy is highly recommended.
d) Extensive, experience in undertaking complex and similar assignments with
reputable civil society or research institutions.
e) Good understanding of gender and social inclusion issues in the education sector
f) Demonstrated ability to prepare timely and high-quality reports.

Applications must be submitted via e-mail to Info.Zambia@actionaid.org. The subject line of the email should state “Consultancy Application – TaxEd Education Research”. The deadline for submission of applications is 21st May, 2025.