National Education Specialist, at National professional level NOC, on Temporary Appointment (TA), PAT, Dushanbe, Tajikistan (for Tajik nationals only)

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,

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, 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.

Purpose:

Under the guidance and general supervision of Chief, Education Section, P4, the Specialist supports the development and preparation of the Education programs and is responsible for managing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating and reporting the progress of education programs/projects within the country program. The Specialist provides technical guidance and management support throughout the programming processes to facilitate the administration and achievement of results on education programs/projects to improve learning outcomes and equitable and inclusive education, especially for children who are marginalized, disadvantaged and excluded in society.

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

How can you make a difference?

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Support to programs/projects development and planning
2. Program management, monitoring and delivery of results
3. Technical and operational support to program implementation
4. Networking and partnership building
5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

1. Support to program/project development and planning:

• Support the preparation/design and conduct/update of situation analysis for the education programs/projects and/or sector to ensure that current comprehensive and evidence-based data on education issues are available to guide UNICEF’s strategic policy advocacy, intervention, and development efforts on education programs and to set priorities, strategies, design and implementation plans. Keep abreast of development trends to enhance program management, efficiency, and delivery.
• Participate in strategic program discussion on the planning of education programs/projects. Formulate, design, and prepare programs/projects proposal for the sector, ensuring alignment with the overall UNICEF’s Strategic Plans and Country Program and coherence/integration with UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, regional strategies and national priorities, plans and competencies.
• Establish specific goals, objectives and strategies and implementation plans for the sector/s using results-based planning terminology and methodology (RBM). Prepare required documentations for program review and approval.
• Work closely and collaboratively with internal and external colleagues and partners to discuss strategies and methodologies and to determine national priorities/competencies to ensure the achievement of concrete and sustainable results.
• Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes and to ensure integration, coherence, and harmonization of programs/projects with other UNICEF sectors and achievement of results as planned and allocated.

2. Program management, monitoring and delivery of results:

• Plan and/or collaborate with internal and external partners to establish monitoring benchmarks, performance indicators and other UNICEF/UN system indicators and measurement to assess/strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results for the assigned sector on education programs.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, program reviews and annual reviews with government and other counterparts to assess progress and to determine required action/interventions to achieve results.
• Prepare/assess monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths/weaknesses in program and management, identify lessons learned and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely intervention to achieve goals.
• Actively monitor programs/projects through field visits, surveys and/or exchange of information with partners/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/appropriate use of sectoral program resources (financial, administrative and other assets) confirming compliance with organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity and ensuring timely reporting and liquidation of resources.
• Prepare regular/mandated program/project reports for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of program progress.

3. Technical and operational support to program implementation:

• Provide technical guidance and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and country office partners/donors on interpretation, application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes and best practices and approaches on education and related issues to support program management, implementation and delivery of results.
• Arrange/coordinate availability of technical experts with Regional Office/HQ to ensure timely/appropriate support throughout the programming/projects process.
• Participate in education program meetings including program development and contingency planning to provide technical and operational information, advice and support.
• Draft policy papers, briefs and other strategic program materials for management use, information and/or consideration.

4. Networking and partnership building:

• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with relevant government counterparts, national stakeholders and global partners/allies/donors/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 programs.
• Prepare communication and information materials for CO program advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnership/alliances and support fund raising for education programs.
• Participate and/or represent UNICEF in appropriate inter-agency (UNCT) discussions and planning on education and related issues to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on UNDAF planning and preparation of programs/projects ensuring organizational position, interests and priorities are fully considered and integrated in the UNDAF process in development planning and agenda setting.

5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building:

• Apply/introduce innovative approaches and good practice to build the capacity of partners and stakeholders and to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable program 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 programs and projects.

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

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

Education: An Advanced University Degree in education, economics, psychology, sociology or other social science field is required.

Experience: A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in social development planning and management in education and related areas at the international level, some of which preferably in a developing country is required. Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.

Language Requirements: Fluency in English, Tajik or Russian is required.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

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

Competencies and level of proficiency required (based on UNICEF Professional Competency Profiles)

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are...

• 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)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Technical competencies must be demonstrated in the following areas:

• 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).
• knowledge of global developments in education and international engagement strategies, including the application of the equity lens and human rights perspectives to programming.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• programme management in education, including programme design, costing, monitoring and evaluation and reporting.
• 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.
• 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.
• understanding of policies and strategies to address issues related to resilience: risk analysis and risk management, education in conflict situations, natural disasters, and recovery.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

APPLICATION:

The candidates, who are interested to apply for the position, should follow the electronic application's instructions. It requires the applicant to upload a detailed CV and academic degrees/diplomas, and to upload at least two latest performance evaluation reports from the current and previous direct supervisors.

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:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.