Vacancy: Education Officer (Formal Education), NO2, Kathmandu, Nepal

Contract

This is a NO-2 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-2 contracts.

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.

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.

How can you make a difference?

Under the supervision of the Education Specialist – formal education and system strengthening and the overall supervision of the Education Chief (Level 4), the Education Officer provides professional technical, operational and administrative assistance throughout the programming process for the EU/UNICEF and Let us Learn (LuL) program. The Education Officer will help to facilitate programme development, implementation, programme progress monitoring, evaluating and reporting. The Education Officer will support work closely with the field offices and education team to ensure smooth implementation of the activities around development of local level education plans and modelling of activities as part of the common package for developing Palika-level SESPs and related activities supported by the EU-funded and LuL funded programme in Nepal. The post will also support the generation of evidence and advocacy tools related to programme activities.

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

Support to programme development and planning

• Contribute to the preparation and updating of the situation analysis for the development, design and management of education related programmes/projects. Research and report on development trends (economic, social, health etc.) and data for use in programme development, management, monitoring, evaluation and delivery of results.
• Contribute to the development and establishment of sectoral programme goals, objectives and strategies and results-based planning through research, collection, analysis and reporting of education and other related information for development planning and goal setting.
• Provide administrative support throughout all stages of the EU/UNICEF and Let us Learn (LuL) program in order to effectively meet program outcomes, particularly those related to the development of local level education plans.
• Work closely with the field offices and implementing partners to develop plans and activities as outlined in the EU and LuL description of actions.
• Work closely with the Education Specialist to ensure that all activities under the common package are implemented as per agreed plans.
• Work closely with the education team, field office and communications team to follow up on activities outlined in the communication and visibility plan.
• Liaise with field office teams and partners to ensure that local governments receive timely support on developing and budgeting activities in their education plans.

Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results.

• Work closely and collaboratively with provincial and local government, internal colleagues and partners to collect, analyze and share information on implementation issues.
• Suggest solutions on routine programme implementation for EU/UNICEF and LuL related programming areas (and, in case of humanitarian response) and submit reports to alert appropriate officials within UNICEF for higher-level intervention and/or decisions. Keep record of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual sectoral reviews with government and other counterparts and prepare minutes/reports on results for follow up action by higher management and other stakeholders.
• Work closely with output managers to monitor and report on the use of programme resources (financial, administrative and other assets), verify compliance with approved allocations, organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity. Report to the supervisor on issues identified to ensure timely resolution by management/stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.
• Prepare draft inputs for programme/donor reporting.

Technical and operational support to programme implementation

• Undertake field visits and surveys and share information with stakeholders to assess progress and refer to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks and potential problems for timely action to achieve results.
• Provide technical and operational support to provincial government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners/donors on the application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes and best practices on education related issues to support programme implementation, operations and delivery of results.

Networking and partnership building

• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate programme implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve and sustain results on education programmes.
• Draft communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships and alliances, and support fund raising for education programmes.
• Participate in appropriate meetings and events on programming to collaborate with cross sectoral colleagues and inter-agency partners.

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Contribute to identifying, capturing, synthesizing, and sharing lessons learned for knowledge development and capacity development of stakeholders.

• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practice to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.

• Research and report on best and cutting-edge practices for development planning of knowledge products and systems.

• Participate as a resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders.

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

Minimum requirements:

Education:

A university degree in one of the following fields is required: education, psychology, sociology or another relevant technical field.

Work Experience:

• A minimum of two years of professional experience in programme planning, management, and/or research in education is required.
• Good understanding of the School Education Sector Plan (SESP) and local level planning and budgeting cycles
• Good understanding of the child-friendly school framework
• An understanding of inclusive education and multilingual practices is preferred.
• Experience working with the provincial and local governments on education delivery.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

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

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

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 measures to include a more diverse workforce, such as paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

Remarks:

Female candidates and candidates from the under-represented ethnic groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable [Insert candidates from targeted underrepresented groups] 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.