UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.
Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.
And we never give up.
For every child, Education
The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this mission into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity —will not only give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but will also lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. Therefore, the focus on equity is vital for realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF as outlined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.
Purpose for the job
Under the overall guidance and direction of the Regional Education Adviser, the Education Specialist will:
be accountable for the development, design, planning, implementation and management of the Education programme within her/his area of responsibility;
work in collaboration with other programmes and sectors, governments, and other key partners;
provide expert advice, advocacy, analysis and technical support to the ECARO and to the ECAR country offices on programming, policies and operational strategies;
facilitate the management and delivery of results on strengthening national education systems to improve learning outcomes for children, with a focus on Data, Education Statistics, planning processes and budgeting;
contribute to knowledge development/innovation; and
support the regional adviser in managing the section.
The Education Specialist will contribute to achieving results, consistent with UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, through credible planning, resource allocation, applying results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM) and UNICEF’s standards of performance and accountability framework.
Key function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks
Programme planning, development and management
Lead, in collaboration with relevant staff at country, regional and head-quarters level, the development and implementation of the programme under her /his responsibility at regional level; including design, implementation and oversight of programme activities and results.
Provide Technical support/leadership and professional advice to the Regional Office and country offices in operationalising UNICEF’s key priorities in Education through the development of results-oriented and costed national education strategies and plans.
Contribute to accurate, coherent and reliable collection, analysis and reporting of regional information with an emphasis on the disaggregation of data to monitor inequities, and disparities for monitoring, evaluation and advocacy purposes.
Provide technical assistance and advice to colleagues in the section on all aspects related to data analysis, statistics, indicators and result-based management to enable colleagues to achieve programme/performance objectives.
Technical assistance to country offices
Coordinates UNICEF’s support to countries in the development and the implementation of education programmes with a focus on data analysis, statistics, indicators, RBM and M&E.
Contribute to timely and high-quality sectoral analyses to enhance planning and advocacy in respect of equity issues in education; including inputs to situation analyses and education sector analyses, in collaboration with other key stakeholders (government, development partners, academia and other programmes and sectors).
Support countries during national planning processes, with a focus on the development of education sector analysis, simulation models, education sector plans and policy evaluation.
organize capacity development programmes based on identified needs and contribute to building a critical mass of specialists in key domains relevant to her/his area of work to enhance technical assistance to Country Offices.
Programme oversight and quality assurance
Contribute to ensuring that programme delivery, monitoring and evaluation, as well as reporting are carried out efficiently, rigorously and transparently; in compliance with established guidelines and procedures.
In collaboration with the other regional office sections and HQ, contribute to programme quality assurance and oversight through participation in Regional Office planning and review exercises and support to COs during planning processes (Strategic Moment of Reflection, Midterm Review, Mid-Year Review etc.) and annual reporting (SMQs).
Innovation, knowledge management and intellectual leadership
Promote critical thinking, innovative approaches and good practices for sustainable education programme initiatives through advocacy and technical advisory services.
Provide intellectual leadership and support in respect of data analysis, strategy development and coordination in the priority areas of the Strategic Plan; to help facilitate high quality implementation of regional and country strategies developed in collaboration with technical colleagues and management at Country, Regional, and HQ levels.
Contribute to improving monitoring of results at Regional and Country Office levels and provide capacity development to Country Offices to enhance their results monitoring and knowledge management.
Keep abreast, research, benchmark, introduce and implement best and cutting-edge practices on education management and information systems. Institutionalize and disseminate best practices and knowledge learned.
Strategic representation, advocacy and partnership
Establish and pursue strong partnerships with other international agencies and provide guidance and support to form strategic alliances with national and regional partners to influence programme strategies and planning in basic education.
Contribute to regional office working groups and cross-sectoral work and in areas including (but not limited to) gender, children with disabilities, adolescents, C4D, Migration, emergencies and resilience and early childhood development.
Participate and/or represent UNICEF in inter-agency discussions and planning on education and related issues to ensure the organisation’s position, interests and priorities are fully considered and integrated.
Communication, resources mobilization and donor reporting
Contribute, in collaboration with the other Regional Office sections and HQ, to effective fundraising and resource mobilization for education programming and/or leveraging of existing resources for UNICEF’s support to education; provide technical and advisory support to ECAR Country Offices for the development of funding proposals to support programme implementation.
Collaborate with Communications to ensure development of effective communication materials and strategies to support advocacy and resource mobilization efforts.
Contribute to fundraising and resource mobilization efforts for education programmes and/or leveraging of existing resources for UNICEF’s support to education; provide technical and advisory support to ECAR COs for the development of funding proposals.
Prepare regional office donor reports and quality assurance reviews of country office donor reports.
Impact of Results
The strategic and effective advocacy, planning and formulation of education programmes/projects and the achievement of sustainable results, contribute to the achievement of goals and objectives to improve learning outcomes and equitable, inclusive and universal access to education in the region. Achievements in education programmes and projects in turn contribute to maintaining/enhancing the credibility and ability of UNICEF to provide programme services for mothers and children that promote greater social equality in the region.
Competencies and level of proficiency required (based on UNICEF Professional Competency Profiles/ratings).
UNICEF’s values of Care:
Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA)
Core competencies
Communication (II)
Working with people (II)
Drive for results (II)
Functional Competencies:
Leading and supervising (I)
Formulating strategies/concepts (II)
Analyzing (III)
Relating and networking (II)
Deciding and initiating action (II)
Applying Technical Expertise (III)
Technical Competencies
Good understanding of the overall global development context, including issues such as: poverty, conflict, and the impact of these factors on education and vice-versa; and inter-sectoral approaches to address such issues in collaboration with other sectors (including ECD, Adolescence, Social Policy, Child Protection, Nutrition, WASH, Health and Communications within UNICEF).
Good knowledge of global developments in education and international engagement strategies, including equity and human rights perspectives on programming.
Good ability to support policy dialogue: translation of analytical findings and evidence into development programmes and policy discussions around equity and learning with partners, including government, development partners, CSOs and academia in relevant areas.
Good education sector planning knowledge/ability, including the range of modalities for delivering education, linkages between different sub-sectors (e.g. Primary age, Secondary age, Inclusive Education), cost-effectiveness and efficiency issues, key institutional structures, components and processes, as well as governance issues.
Good education and policy sector analysis capacity, including understanding of the core education data sets, indicators, tools for analysis of equity, determinants of student access and learning, budget, cost and financing, education system management, political economy and application to education policy and strategic planning.
Good ability to support engagement with partners (e.g. Sector Wide Approaches, Development Partners, Education in Emergency Clusters, Education Provider Forums, Inter-sectoral partnerships), as well as networking with other key partners.
Good understanding of gender and equity issues in relation to education and development and the application of gender / equity analysis to policy and planning in education.
Good understanding of policies and strategies to address issues related to migration and emergencies.
Recruitment Qualifications
Education: An Advanced University Degree in education, economics, psychology, sociology or related social science field is required.
Experience:Minimum of 8 years of relevant work experience in programme planning, management, and/or research in education at the international level, some of which preferably in a developing country is required. Experience working in the UN system agency or UN organization is an asset.
Language Requirements:Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language or regional language is considered an asset.
http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
Remarks:
Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
