Education Specialist, P-4, Damascus, Syria

Contract

This is a P-4 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 7 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 113,531 USD and 146,374 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

Find out how UNICEF programmes drives change for children and young people every day, in Syria by visiting this: www.unicef.org/syria

How can you make a difference?

Under the overall guidance and direction of the Chief, Education, the Education Specialist supports the Chief in managing the section, playing a key role in bringing innovation to the development and preparation of education programmes. The incumbent is responsible for the co-management, coordination and reporting of UNICEF funds from donors such as the Global Partnership for Education-GPE, educate a Child-EAC and other donors supporting formal and nonformal risk-informed education in Syria. The Education Specialist provides authoritative technical guidance and operational support throughout all stages of programming to facilitate the management and delivery of results on strengthening national education systems to improve learning outcomes and to promote universal access to quality, equitable and inclusive primary/early childhood education, especially for children who are marginalized, disadvantaged and excluded in society.

The Education Specialist contributes to the achievement of concrete and sustainable results according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM), as well as UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Management and advisory support to the Chief
2. Team management and technical support
3. Programme and grant (GPE/EAC) management, monitoring, quality control of results and reporting
4. Advocacy, networking and partnership building
5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

The strategic and effective advocacy, planning and formulation of education programmes/projects and the achievement of sustainable results, contributes to the achievement of goals and objectives to improve learning outcomes and universal access to quality, equitable and inclusive education in the country. 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 promotes greater social equality in the country.

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

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: education, economics, psychology, sociology or another relevant technical field.
• A minimum of eight years of professional experience in programme planning, management, and/or research in education is required.
• Experience in assessing teaching and learning
• Experience in managing distance education and blended learning
• Experience managing and reporting funds is an asset (for individual donors as well as donor platforms [GPE, ECW, EAC, etc.]
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Familiarity/background with emergency and protracted crisis contexts.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language or local language of the duty station is considered as an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are...

Core Competencies

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (3)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (3)
• Works Collaboratively with others (3)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (3)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (3)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (3)
• Drives to achieve impactful results (3)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (3)

Functional Competencies

• Analyzing (3)
• Deciding and initiating action (3)
• Applying Technical Expertise (3)

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 Social Policy, Child Protection, Nutrition, WASH, Health and Communications within UNICEF).
• Good knowledge of global developments in education and international engagement strategies, including the application of the equity, humanitarian and human rights lens to programming.
• Good ability to support policy dialogue: 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.
• Good education sector planning knowledge/ability, including the range of modalities for delivering education, linkages between different sub-sectors (e.g. ECD, Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Inclusive Education, Non-Formal 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 and indicators; tools for analysis of equity; determinants of student access and learning; budget, costing, and financial management in education systems; political economy; and education policy and strategic planning.
• Good ability to support engagement with partners e.g. Sector Wide Approaches, Global Partnership for Education, Education Cannot Wait, Educate A Child, Education in Emergency Clusters, Education Provider Forums, Delivering as One, inter-sectoral partnerships such as in ECD, as well as networking with other key partners.
• Solid ability to write and provide inputs to donor proposals and reports, both technically and financially.
• Good 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.
• Good understanding of policies and strategies to address issues related to resilience: risk analysis and risk management, education in conflict situations, natural disasters, and recovery for CO and RO based post and where relevant.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

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. For this position, suitable women candidates will receive preferential consideration and selection, as long as they meet the eligibility requirements stated above.

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.

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 only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/

The VA is open to all (internal and external candidates) and it is a re-advertisement in order to expand the candidate pool. Previous applicants need not reapply as their original application will be duly considered.

Fixed Term Appointment Duration: two years.