Education Expert

UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.
UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children's rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children.
UNICEF insists that the survival, protection and development of children are universal development imperatives that are integral to human progress.
UNICEF mobilizes political will and material resources to help countries, particularly developing countries, ensure a "first call for children" and to build their capacity to form appropriate policies and deliver services for children and their families.
UNICEF is committed to ensuring special protection for the most disadvantaged children – victims of war, disasters, extreme poverty, all forms of violence and exploitation, and those with disabilities.
UNICEF responds in emergencies to protect the rights of children. In coordination with United Nations partners and humanitarian agencies, UNICEF makes its unique facilities for rapid response available to its partners to relieve the suffering of children and those who provide their care.
UNICEF is non-partisan and its cooperation is free of discrimination. In everything it does, the most disadvantaged children and the countries in greatest need have priority.
UNICEF aims, through its country programmes, to promote the equal rights of women and girls and to support their full participation in the political, social and economic development of their communities.
UNICEF works with all its partners towards the attainment of the sustainable human development goals adopted by the world community and the realization of the vision of peace and social progress enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

Kyrgyzstan’s education system achieved notable progress over the past decade, marked by governance reforms, increased financing, expanded access, and consistent efforts to improve quality and inclusivity. These reforms are aligned with the country's national strategies, such as the National Development Strategy 2018-2040, National Development Program 2026, and the national education reform Altyn Kazyk. Despite these advancements, challenges persist in ensuring equitable participation, raising overall education quality, and addressing systemic bottlenecks. Some groups of children, especially children with disabilities, children affected by migration, children from the poorest households, and girls, still face significant barriers in inclusive access to quality education services. Driven by the Country Programme Document for 2023-2027 between the Government and UNICEF, UNICEF works to ensure that, by 2027, all children and adolescents in Kyrgyzstan, including the most vulnerable, have equitable access to inclusive quality education from the early years, improve learning outcomes, develop skills for life and work, and participate in decision-making.

Under the direct supervision of the Chief of Education Section, and in close collaboration with the Education and cross-sectoral teams, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

• Provide high-quality technical and analytical support to the Education programme, contributing to effective programme design, implementation, monitoring, and reporting aligned with UNICEF’s results-based management approach.
• Contribute to high-quality situation analyses, policy briefs, and strategic documents, identifying opportunities for systemic and structural reforms, and leveraging UNICEF’s comparative advantage to inform government decision-making.
• Support evidence-based planning, policy dialogue, and advocacy by contributing to research, data analysis, and sector planning processes; actively represent UNICEF in technical working groups and coordination platforms, as required.
• Bring strategic, innovative, and solution-oriented thinking to education initiatives, promoting scalable approaches to equity, inclusion, and learning outcomes, in line with UNICEF’s programme priorities and joint sector workplans with the Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, and partners.
• Support the Development Partners Coordination Committee (DPCC) Working Group on Education by acting as its secretary, ensuring effective coordination, timely communication, and strategic information sharing among partners to enhance sector coherence and alignment.
• Support visibility, knowledge management, and communication of results, including documenting good practices, lessons learned, and programme impact.

The UN Volunteer will provide the following specific support for:

GPE/ISDB SmartEd Project for Improving Access to and Quality of Inclusive Learning Opportunities for All Children in the Kyrgyz Republic:

• Technical support: Provide technical support to ensure the timely and quality delivery of all planned results under UNICEF’s components of the SmartEd Project, including inputs to learning materials, teacher development, and inclusive education interventions.
• Coordination: Support the Education team in coordinating Technical Working Groups and ensure effective coordination between UNICEF, government, Project Implementation Unit under the Ministry of Education, and partners, including organizing consultations and stakeholder engagement processes.
• Monitoring & Evaluation: Develop tracking tools, support progress and donor reporting, conduct field monitoring, and ensure records management and systematic documentation of implementation progress, results, and lessons learned.

UNICEF/MOE Digital Education and AI Initiative:

• Technical support: Provide technical support to ensure the effective development, piloting, and scale-up of digital and AI-driven education interventions, including teacher capacity development, policy inputs, and integration of inclusive and safeguarding approaches.
• Coordination: Support coordination with government, IT teams, platform developers, and partners, including facilitating stakeholder engagement and organization of key events such as validation workshops and conferences.
• Monitoring & Evaluation: Support the design and implementation of M&E frameworks, track pilot and scale-up results, and ensure systematic documentation, reporting, and evidence generation to inform policy, scaling, and integration into national systems.

Following induction, the UN Volunteer will develop a results-oriented workplan with clear deliverables, timelines, and performance indicators, to be agreed with the supervisor.