Social Policy Specialist (Education), NO-C, Chennai, India - (This vacancy is for Indian Nationals only)

The incumbent will be part of a small team of experts on child-centered social policy related programming and will work under the guidance and supervision of the Inclusive Chief Social Policy, NO-D, based in Chennai. This entails supporting the State education policy, strategy development, monitoring, data analysis and planning. The focus will be on introducing results-based management and innovations in the education portfolio, supporting knowledge management and an analytical monitoring and evaluation tool for equitable access to education and learning, especially focusing on transition from elementary to secondary schooling and twenty first century skills for employability. The incumbent will work with a wide range of partners linked to State and District governments, academia, private sector, community led organizations and CSOs.

UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. UNICEF has spent 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. Defending children's rights throughout their lives requires a global presence, aiming to produce results and understand their effects. UNICEF believes all children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential – to the benefit of a better world. And we never give up!

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For Every Child, AN ADVOCATE:

In an effort to measurably improve UNICEF's ability to deliver better results for children, 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. 

Organizational Context and Purpose for the job:

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.

UNICEF recently developed a new Strategic Plan 2018-21 in which one of the pillars is focusing on Education Every Child Learns to operationalize UNICEF’s equity focus and so ensure that the most disadvantaged communities have access to education from preschool to secondary and all children learn. The inclusive education policy approach promotes addressing the multiple deprivations common to children in resource constrained settings. Its main priorities include national and state education policies, strategies, plans and budgets; building sub-national capacity for implementation of education policies, from preschool to secondary levels and strengthening the community-based approaches and systems to include all children in schools and learn, paving the way towards the relevant Sustainable Development Goal 4 targets.

Job organizational context: The incumbent will be part of a small team of experts on child-centered social policy related programming and will work under the guidance and supervision of the Inclusive Chief Social Policy, NO-D, based in Chennai.

This entails supporting the State education policy, strategy development, monitoring, data analysis and planning. The focus will be on introducing results-based management and innovations in the education portfolio, supporting knowledge management and an analytical monitoring and evaluation tool for equitable access to education and learning, especially focusing on transition from elementary to secondary schooling and twenty first century skills for employability. The incumbent will work with a wide range of partners linked to State and District governments, academia, private sector, community led organizations and Civil Society Organizations. 

Purpose for the job:

Under the guidance of the Chief Social Policy, NO-D, and in close collaboration with the Education, Social Policy outcome leads (based in Delhi) as well as other relevant senior staff in India Country Office (ICO), the incumbent will provide policy, technical and programme guidance and support for the design, operationalization and monitoring of evidence-based Education strategies that accelerate and sustain education outcomes for children from 4-18 years, and especially focus on transition of children from elementary to secondary schooling and twenty first century skills for employability. This will include developing, piloting and documenting approaches, methods and tools for Early Childhood Education (ECE), preschool, primary and secondary systems capacity development at state level, and raising the profile of inclusive education approaches within ICO. The incumbent will maintain regular interactions with other programmes and technical clusters within Chennai Office and ICO. This includes the Inclusive Social Policy, Communication, Advocacy and Partnerships (CAP), Education, Child Survival, Disaster Risk Reduction, as well as the Deputy Representative and team.

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks:

Management:

• Under guidance of Chief Social Policy, promote and operationalize the UNICEF Education priorities aimed at improving education and learning for the poorest children, starting from ECE to graduating from secondary schools, managing transitions across all levels of schooling thereby enabling all children to be in school and learn.
• As part of the Chennai Team, collaborate with Child Protection/Social Policy outcome leads and other sections in ICO to build cross-sectoral linkages for accelerated scale up. 
• Provide strategic direction, guidance, planning and management oversight for the Education Policy related activities in Tamil Nadu and Kerala; in line with UNICEF Country Progamme 2018-22 and regional targets.
• Assist in managing programmes and budgets and submit periodic progress reports to the supervisor and senior management.

Policy and Programme Guidance:

• Provide technical guidance to the State Governments on public policies and vision on Education and operationalize the development and dissemination of related policies, strategies and programme guidance; serve as UNICEF’s technical/knowledge focal point for Education related social policy in Chennai Office.
• Provide guidance and draft education policy analysis, monitoring, evaluation and costing of education strategies and support development of monitoring and analytical tools for implementation of State education policies and plans in line with UNICEF Country Programme priorities. This includes support the use of data, systemic analysis, research and policy to contribute to the equity agenda, in particular for improving education and learning for the poorest children.
• Enhance cross-sectoral coordination especially between the Education and Child/Social Protection Sectors with focus on children out of school, prevention of dropping out and managing transitions from one level to the other;
• Support the strengthening and quality assurance of the education system from pre-school to completion of secondary schools;
• Provide technical assistance for linking formal education with skilling for life and livelihoods especially for girls.
• Follow and guide on the development and quality assurance of methods, approaches and tools on equity and bottleneck analysis, strategy prioritization, evidence-based planning and budgeting, and routine performance monitoring and capacity development to accelerate the scale up of high impact education policies and interventions.
• Provide technical input to adapt and successfully apply Education approaches and tools during emergencies, in line with UNICEF Emergency Preparedness Plan guidance and Core Commitment for Children.    
• Provide input to generate evidence and to strengthen data and knowledge management on integration of out-of-school children in appropriate learning opportunities through modeling of innovative approaches, documentation of best practices, operational research and evaluation.

Partnerships and fundraising and resources:

• Establish / strengthen strategic partnerships with key partners to support the implementation of education policies to accelerate progress in line with the UNICEF Strategic Plan and ICO Country Programme.
• Identify opportunities to leverage resources for the development and implementation of Education strategies, methods, approaches, and tools. This can include plans for resource mobilization in collaboration with Public Private Sector Engagement teams and other appropriate units in UNICEF;

Monitoring and reporting:

• In close collaboration with the Education and Child Protection outcome leads, provide input to monitoring and analysis of programmes linked to ECE, school readiness, learning assessment and transitioning to graduating from secondary education to ensure programme quality and determine the contribution to specific State and national education goals;
• Contribute to monitoring programmes and budgets and submit periodic progress reports to the supervisor and senior management.

Impact of Results:

The incumbent’s work will contribute to the effectiveness and efficiency of UNICEF’s role and visibility in Education as a key programme strategy in India. It will influence further strategic outlook and strategy of ICO on Early Childhood Education, Preschool and Primary/Secondary Education policies, as well as policies for children out of school. It will also have positive effects on Early Childhood Development, Communication for Development (C4D), Child Protection and school based interventions linked to other sectors such as health, WASH and nutrition. This will increase UNICEF’s credibility and leverage partnerships to support the Government of India and UNICEF’s agenda for all children to be in school and learn.

Competencies and level of proficiency required:

Core Values:

• Commitment
• Diversity and inclusion
• Integrity

Core competencies:

• Communication (II)
• Working with people (II)
• Drive for results (II)

Functional Competencies:

• Analyzing (II)
• Leading and supervising (II)
• Formulating strategies and concepts (II)
• Relating and networking (II)
• Persuading and influencing (II)
• Creating and innovating (II)

Education:

Advanced university degree in Education, Social Sciences, Social Policy or related field.

Experience:

At least 5 (five) years of relevant professional work experience in Education that involves substantive and relevant experience in education policy and system strengthening, preferably with a focus in secondary education.

Language Requirements:

Speaks, reads and write fluently in English. Mastery of another UN language is desired.

To view our competency framework, please click here. 

 UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified candidates from all national, religious, gender and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organization.

 Remarks:  

• Selected applicant will have an initial two (2) year fixed-term contract, with possibility of extension, subject to satisfactory performance.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be notified and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.
• UNICEF does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process including application, interview, meeting, traveling, processing, training etc. UNICEF is a nonsmoking working environment. 

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