Education Specialist (Digital Learning Research), P3 - 1 year, Office of Research - Innocenti, Florence Italy

Contract

This is a P-3 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 5 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 74,649 USD and 97,747 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 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 Research

Job Organizational Context

The Office of Research-Innocenti (UNICEF-Innocenti) is the dedicated research office of UNICEF. It undertakes and commissions research on emerging or current issues of relevance for children to inform the strategic directions, policies and programmes of UNICEF, Governments and partners. The Office identifies research gaps, brings together existing researchers, and supports or undertakes research and data collection to address critical questions. Every Child has the right to learn. However, 53 percent of children in low- and middle-income countries cannot read and understand a simple story by the end of primary school-age. In low-income countries, the learning poverty rate is as high as 90 percent. UNICEF's vision for education is that ‘every child learns’, articulated in the UNICEF 2019-2030 Education Strategy and 2022-2025 Strategic Plan.

Digital learning has the potential to offer interactive and personalized learning for children, in and out of school. However, depending on their design, delivery, and use, the introduction of education technologies (EdTech) can also exacerbate learning inequalities. School closures due to COVID-19 have highlighted the digital divide, with unequal access to the electricity, connectivity, and technology needed to facilitate effective digital learning. More than half of the world’s children and young people are on the wrong side of the digital divide, limiting their access to the same opportunities as their connected peers. As education systems increasingly invest in innovative and resilient delivery methods during and post COVID-19, the need for solutions to deliver digital learning to the most marginalized has never been more urgent.

Purpose of the post

The 0ffice aims to strengthen its capacity to deliver the production and use of high-quality research within the rollout of digital learning programmes. The post-holder will support the coordination and management of the digital learning research portfolio across multiple programmes. Research conducted will include action research and implementation research and will be embedded in large scale digital learning partnerships with the goal to inform and improve the way that Governments, UNICEF and partners:

· Deliver digital learning offline to the unconnected, through research on the Learning Passport, a partnership between UNICEF and Microsoft which has developed a fully interactive digital learning experience, contextualized for each country where it is implemented and that can be used without the internet (currently deployed in 19 countries). · Unlock opportunities for children with disabilities, through research on the Accessible Digital Textbooks initiative, which develops digital learning tools with features that allow children with disabilities to engage with the same content and in the same classroom as their peers (currently implemented in 6 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa). · Develop foundational skills with a fun learning app, through research on the UNICEF – Akelius Foundation partnership, which co-creates and implements an interactive and gamified digital learning app for language and math in more than 8 countries across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

The post-holder will work with Government counterparts, private sector and philanthropy partners, as well as UNICEF colleagues at UNICEF-Innocenti, New York headquarters, Regional and Country offices. The position will report to the READ unit’s education manager in charge of the innovations in education research workstream.

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

1. Support to the coordination and management of digital learning research and partnerships • Plan, coordinate and implement co-creation research design with Government counterparts, implementing partners and other research’s potential beneficiaries. • Supervise research field work in the participating countries. • Manage and supervise researchers to deliver research in a timely and efficient manner, including through quality assurance of concept notes, research proposals and deliverables.

2. Oversight of Research Designs and Methodologies • Provide oversight and overall guidance on the design and use of mixed methods research built into the roll out of digital learning programmes. • Review, quality assure and provide input to research methods and data collection tools ensuring their contextual fit, and their fit for the stage of implementation of the digital learning programme under study. Methods will include - implementation research, participatory action research, behavioral insights, mixed-methods experimental / quasi-experimental impact evaluations. • Lead on the synthesis of evidence for digital learning programmes across geographies, education levels, programme aims, partnerships etc.

3. Technical Guidance and Support to Governments and UNICEF Regional and Country Offices • Strengthen the capacity of Government counterparts and UNICEF field offices for the design and implementation of research in countries deploying digital learning. • Provide guidance and quality assurance of digital learning research to Governments and UNICEF field offices. • Strengthen and support the use of research for policy dialogue and capacity strengthening of Government and Implementing partners at country level. • Lead on codification and curation of digital learning research methods and instruments based on the implementation phase of implementation and context of a digital learning programme.

4. Contribution to the Office of Research work programme and support to the cross-cutting research agenda • Contribute to the research activities of the READ unit and of the other units of the Office • Contribute to activities aiming at increasing the use of research findings by decision makers at country level. • Participate in and/facilitate interdisciplinary research through involvement in selected cross functional teams and consultations, including Best of UNICEF Research initiative, Annual Results report and participation in office seminars • Develop joint proposals and contribute to fundraising for research and evidence. • Act as a resource person for key UNICEF meetings and advocacy activities as needed.

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

Education: Advanced university degree in education, economics, social policy or other social sciences.

Experience:

• A minimum of five years of progressively responsible professional work experience at national or international levels in education, with low/middle-income country level experience essential.

• Demonstrated experience in management of projects across multiple countries. • Demonstrated experience and knowledge of some of the areas related to digital learning research and education sector processes, e.g., digital learning platform data analysis; education management information systems/administrative education data: learning assessments; education sector analysis; and education sector planning • Experience in implementation research and in developing identification strategies for mixed methods impact evaluations is an asset. • Demonstrated experience in fundraising and resource mobilization. • Demonstrated ability to work well as part of a team and to forge and manage partnerships. • Excellent written and oral communication skills. • Commitment to UNICEF’s core values of care, respect, integrity, transparency and accountability. • Ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment. • Experience working in the UN or other international development organization is an asset.

Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required, Fluency in French, Spanish or another UN language desirable.

For every Child, you demonstrate UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability (CRITA) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: https://uni.cf/UNICEFValues

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.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

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 be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children.

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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government 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.