Education Specialist ( Refugee Education), NO-3 TA, Athens, Greece

Mid Teaching & Training Programme & Policy

Contract

This is a NO-3 contract. This kind of contract is known as National Professional Officers. It is normally only for nationals. It's a staff contract. More about NO-3 contracts.

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, [results]

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 commitment to children’s rights 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 — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

UNICEF became operational in Greece in early 2016 as an outposted team from the Regional Office of Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) to respond to the significant influx of refugee and migrant children and their families at that time. The response centered on a two-track approach covering direct service delivery as well as national capacity building through critical partnerships with governmental bodies, ministries, local authorities, civil society and NGOs and focused primarily on three main strategic sectors – child protection, education and child rights monitoring.

Following several years of engagement with national stakeholders, UNICEF and the Government of Greece made a decision in January 2020 to formalize the agency’s presence in the country under the form of a Greece Country Office. This office falls under the UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia located in Geneva, which supports the work of 21 Country Offices within its geographical scope, reporting in turn to global headquarters in New York. Within the framework of an expanded mandate for all children in Greece, UNICEF and Greece are moving towards an even greater collaboration and partnership in order to address the needs of all vulnerable, marginalized and left-behind children in the country.

How can you make a difference?

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Support to programme development and planning

2. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results

3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation

4. Networking and partnership building

5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

6. Support to programme development and planning

▪ Support the preparation, design and updating of the situation analysis for refugee education and related to the refugee and migrant response areas (child protection, psychosocial support) to ensure that current and comprehensive data on refugee education issues is available to guide UNICEF’s strategic policy, advocacy, intervention and development efforts.

▪ Help supervisor set priorities, strategies, design and implementation plans. Keep abreast of development trends to enhance programme management, efficiency and delivery.

▪ Participate in strategic programme discussion on the planning of refugee and migrant response programmes, ensuring an integrated response and reflecting priorities in the area of education and child protection. Formulate, design and prepare programme proposals for the sector, ensuring alignment with UNICEF’s Strategic Plans and Country Programme, regional strategies and national priorities, plans and competencies.

▪ Establish specific goals, objectives, strategies and implementation plans for the sector using results-based planning terminology and methodology (RBM). Prepare required documentations for programme review and approval.

▪ Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes and to ensure integration, coherence and harmonization of programmes/projects with other UNICEF sectors and achievement of results as planned and allocated.

2. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results

▪ Plan and collaborate with internal colleagues and external partners to establish monitoring benchmarks, performance indicators and other UNICEF/UN system indicators to assess/strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results for the assigned sector on refugee education.

▪ Identify lessons learned and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely

intervention to achieve goals.

▪ Actively monitor programmes/projects through field visits and surveys, and exchange information with stakeholders to assess progress, identify bottlenecks and potential problems, and take timely decisions to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for timely resolution.

▪ Monitor and verify the optimum and appropriate use of sectoral programme resources (financial, administrative and other assets) confirming compliance with organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity, ensuring timely reporting and liquidation of resources.

▪ Prepare regular and mandated programme reports for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of programme progress.

3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation

▪ Provide technical guidance and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and country office partners and donors on interpretation, application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes and best practices and approaches on education and related issues to support programme management, implementation and delivery of results.

▪ Arrange/coordinate availability of technical experts with Regional Office/HQ to ensure timely and appropriate support throughout the programming process.

▪ Participate in refugee education programme meetings including programme development and contingency planning to provide technical and operational information, advice and support.

▪ Draft policy papers, briefs and other strategic programme materials for management use.

4. Networking and partnership building

• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with relevant government counterparts, national stakeholders, global partners, donors, and academia through active networking, advocacy and effective communication to build capacity, exchange knowledge/expertise and to reinforce cooperation to achieve sustainable and broad results on education programmes.

• Prepare communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships and support fund raising for education programmes.

▪ Participate and/or represent UNICEF in appropriate inter-agency discussions on the refugee and migrant response to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on UNDAF planning and preparation of programmes/projects ensuring organizational position, interests and priorities are fully considered.

▪ Coordinate the Education Sector Working Group and its sub-groups in Greece.

5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

▪ Apply and introduce innovative approaches and good practices to build the capacity of partners and stakeholders and to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.

• Keep abreast, research, benchmark, and implement best practices in education management. Assess, institutionalize and share best practices and knowledge learned.

▪ Contribute to the development and implementation of policies and procedures to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programmes and projects.

• Organize and implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders to promote sustainable results on education and related programmes/projects.

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

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: education, social sciences, international relations, or another relevant technical field.
• A minimum of five years of professional experience in programme planning, management, and/or research in education is required.
• Experience working in the refugee and migrant context is considered a strong asset.
• Experience in the design, management and monitoring of multi-year development or humanitarian projects/programmes funded by a variety of donors, including the European Union is considered a strong asset.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English and Greek is required.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

Technical competencies must be demonstrated in the following areas:

• Some understanding of the overall refugee and migrant context, including inter-sectoral approaches (Education, Social Policy, Child Protection, Nutrition, WASH, Health, and Communications within UNICEF).

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

• Some 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.

• Some 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), cost-effectiveness and efficiency issues, key institutional structures, components and processes, as well as governance issues.

• Some 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.

• Some programme management in education, including programme design, costing, monitoring and evaluation and reporting.

• Some ability to support engagement with partners e.g. Sector Wide Approaches, Global Partnership for Education, 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.

• 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.

• Some understanding of policies and strategies to address issues related to resilience: risk analysis and risk management, education in conflict situations, natural disasters, and recovery.

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The core & functional competencies required for this post are...

Core Values

· Care

· Respect

· Integrity

· Trust

· Accountability

Core Competencies

· Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (1)

· Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)

· Works Collaboratively with others (2)

· Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)

· Innovates and Embraces Change (2)

· Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)

· Drives to achieve impactful results (2)

· Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Functional Competencies

· Analyzing (3)

· Deciding and Initiating action (2)

· Applying technical expertise (3)

View our competency framework at

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 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.

Apply now

Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: unicef.org