Education Officer (ADAP/Skills), P2, TA, Niamey, Niger #128615 ( - 4 months)

Contract

This is a P-2 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 2 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 78,823 USD and 107,061 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, Education!

Background & Justification

Niger has the youngest population in the world with a median age of 15.4. Rapid population growth creates a high demand for public investments in education and health. Niger has been ranked last in UNDP’s Human Development Index for the past few years, indicating poor outcomes for education, health, and life expectancy. The school-aged population (5-24 years old), which represents 48% of the population, is expected to continue to increase according to the projections made by the National Institute of Statistics (NIS). The largest proportion of the school-age population, children and adolescents aged 7 to 16 years, faces many challenges to access education. As a result, 53% are out of school, and therefore are neither employed, nor in education, nor in training. Furthermore, learning results remain poor.

Niger has been exposed to multifaceted risks and vulnerabilities, both structural and situational. Armed conflicts in Niger have led to a humanitarian crisis that has worsened structural problems in the education system. The closure of schools or reduced access to educational opportunities has particularly negative effects for the most vulnerable groups, especially children living in rural areas and girls.

Recent institutional changes have led to many difficulties with immediate effect for Niger. This context exacerbated existing inequities in education, skills, and access to the labor market. The digital divide was further deepened with millions of young Nigeriens not being able to maintain their education or access other youth related services. Currently, fewer than 5% of schools are connected to the internet, putting digital skills acquisition out of reach for most young people in Niger.

Changing the situation requires that adolescents and young people can realize their full potential in terms of education, skills development, and participation, aligning with the aim of the Niger Country Office which works with public and private partners, as well as communities, to ensure that every young person between the ages of 10 and 24 is educated, learning, trained or have some form of employment by 2030.

Purpose

Under the supervision of the Chief Education, and in close collaboration with the Education Manager (Quality), the Education Officer (ADAP/Skills) assists in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating of UNICEF’s adolescent development and participation strategy in Niger to make their learning, skills, participation and engagement capacities reinforced.

How can you make a difference?

Key accountabilities

1. Engage with public, private, and civil society partners at regional, and local levels to provide children and adolescents out of school with opportunities for learning, participation, civic engagement, and employability.

2. Work with mobile network operators, incubators, and relevant partners to develop sustainable digital or multimodal programs around learning, skills, and participation.

3. Provide professional technical and operational assistance throughout all stages of programming processes to support implementation of programs around learning, skills, innovation and children and adolescents’ participation.

4. Support the scale up of programs linked to out-of-school children and adolescents’ skilling, ensuring that results are fed back to policymakers and encourage the integration of innovation in skills building programs for children and adolescents.

5. Support the documentation of lessons learnt and good practices on the innovation initiatives for development planning and timely intervention (including reporting and human-interest stories and case studies).

6. Work closely and collaboratively with internal colleagues and partners to collect, analyze and share information on skilling and innovation’s programs.

7. Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, program reviews and annual reviews with the government and other counterparts to assess progress and to determine required action/interventions to achieve results.

8. Undertake other key responsibilities as required.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

The following minimum requirements:

a. Education

An advanced University Degree (Master) in education science, psychology, sociology, communication, international development, or another relevant field.

A university degree in relevant field with 2 additional years of relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of a Master degree.

b. Work experience and knowledge

• At least 2 years of proven work experience at national and international levels in children/adolescent participation and skills development, innovation, or youth engagement. Work experience with marginalized adolescent and youth, including out-of-school is an advantage.

• Some knowledge of global developments in education and skills for all, international engagement strategies, including the application of the equity lens and human rights perspectives to programming.

• Good understanding of Global human rights issues, specifically relating to adolescent and youth, gender, education and skills for all, and current UNICEF position and approaches, including UNICEF programme guidance for adolescents. • Some ability to support knowledge management: translation of analytical findings and evidence into development programme and policy discussions around equity and learning with partners, including government, development partners, CSOs and academia in relevant areas.

• Strong interpersonal, communication, presentation, writing, critical thinking, and analytical skills. Good understanding of innovation, adolescent development and participation (ADAP), data management (including Rapid Pro and U-Report) and the overall global development context and the impact of these factors on education and vice versa.

• Some knowledge of the fundamentals of working in various media formats – print, audio, video, web etc. Computer systems, including internet navigation, office applications, and specifically, interactive digital media and platforms.

• Some understanding of gender and inequity issues in relation to education and development and the application of gender / equity analysis to policy and planning in education.

c. Languages

Fluency in French and proficiency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language or a local language is an asset. Excellent written and verbal communication skills required.

The following desirables:

• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidate are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.