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Chief of Education, P-5, Amman, Jordan

Amman

  • Organization: UNICEF - United Nations Children’s Fund
  • Location: Amman
  • Grade: Senior level - P-5, International Professional - Internationally recruited position
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Education, Learning and Training
    • Managerial positions
  • Closing Date: Closed

Given the increasing criticality of maintaining a large scale Education programme response as part of UNICEF Jordan’s new Country Programme, beginning March 2018, it is critical that strategic and coherent Education sector leadership is maintained during this time. This is particularly important given the continuing and increasing needs of up to 80,000 children out of school in Jordan – mainly Syrian refugees. and the urgent need to strengthen government education systems to deliver quality education at scale – in addition to the continued need to deliver quality education services in the camps. This also includes (in all settings) expanded Early Childhood Education Programmes in both camps and host community, as well as the ongoing urgent need to deliver Education services (access permitting) for the children living in the berm, stranded between Jordan and Syria (estimated current total population is 50,000 people).

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.

 

How can you make a difference?

Given the increasing criticality of maintaining a large scale Education programme response as part of UNICEF Jordan’s new Country Programme, beginning March 2018, it is critical that strategic and coherent Education sector leadership is maintained during this time. This is particularly important given the continuing and increasing needs of up to 80,000 children out of school in Jordan – mainly Syrian refugees. and the urgent need to strengthen government education systems to deliver quality education at scale – in addition to the continued need to deliver quality education services in the camps. This also includes (in all settings) expanded Early Childhood Education Programmes in both camps and host community, as well as the ongoing urgent need to deliver Education services (access permitting) for the children living in the berm, stranded between Jordan and Syria (estimated current total population is 50,000 people).

Furthermore, under the overall guidance of the Representative or Deputy Representative, the Chief, Education is accountable for the development, design, planning, implementation, and management of the Education programme within the country programme. As Head of Section, s/he leads a group of professional and support staff to develop and manage the education programme in collaboration with other programme sectors, and with government and key development partners. S/he is accountable for the overall quality of the programme design and for ensuring that it is effectively and efficiently managed and monitored.

The Chief is responsible for managing and leading all stages of education programmes/projects from strategic planning and formulation to delivery of results on strengthening national education systems to improve learning outcomes, universal access to equitable and inclusive primary/early childhood education, and renewing involvement in secondary education, especially for children who are marginalized, disadvantaged and excluded in society.

The Chief is responsible for leading, managing and establishing the plans of action to ensure the achievement of concrete and sustainable programme/project results, according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM) and UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework.

Managerial leadership

  • Establish the section’s annual work plan with the education team, and set priorities and targets. Monitor work progress and ensure results are achieved according to schedule and performance standards.
  • Establish clear individual performance objectives, goals and timelines; and provide timely guidance to enable the team to perform their duties responsibly and efficiently. Plan and ensure timely performance management and assessment of the team.
  • Supervise team members by providing them with clear objectives, goals, direction, and guidance to enable them to perform their duties responsibly, effectively and efficiently.

Programme development and planning

  • Lead the planning and updating of the situation analysis to ensure that current and comprehensive evidence based data are available to guide UNICEF’s strategic policy advocacy, intervention and development efforts on education programmes and to set programme priorities, strategies, and implementation plans.
  • Keep abreast of national, regional and international development priorities on education to leverage UNICEF’s position and competencies with donors, national governments, communities and constituents to advocate and promote education initiatives and policies.
  • Lead, coordinate and supervise the development of education programmes/projects (as a full component of the CO and/or UNDAF programmes). Establish plans of action, programme goals and results, using results-based planning methodology and terminology (RBM).
  • Oversee the timely preparation of programme recommendation and related documentation for inclusion in the Country Office Programme recommendation, ensuring alignment with UNICEF’s overall Strategic Plans, regional strategies and national priorities, plans and competencies.

Programme management, monitoring and quality control of results

  • Plan and collaborate on monitoring and evaluation initiatives to establish benchmarks, performance indicators and other UNICEF/UN system indicators, to assess and strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results on education programmes.
  • Participate in major monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual reviews with government and other counterparts to assess progress and to engage stakeholders to take required action and interventions to achieve results.
  • Prepare and assess monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths, and/or weaknesses in programme and management; identify lessons learned and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely intervention to achieve goals.
  • Monitor programmes and projects to assess progress, identify bottlenecks and potential problems and take timely decisions to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for timely resolution.
  • Plan, approve, monitor, certify, and control the use of programme resources (financial, human, administrative and other assets) certifying & verifying compliance with organizational rules, regulations and procedures, donor commitments and standards of accountability and integrity. Ensure timely reporting and liquidation of resources.
  • Prepare and submit programme and project reports to donors and other partners to keep them informed on programme progress and critical issues.

Advisory services and technical support

  • Provide technical advice to key government officials, NGO, UN system and other country office partners on strategies and best practices to influence approaches and policies, and to support social, economic, political, and legal development planning, implementation and delivery of results on education programmes and related issues.
  • Coordinate and ensure the availability of technical experts (with Regional Office/HQ) to ensure timely support throughout all stages of programming and project implementation.
  • Participate in strategic discussions to influence policy and agenda setting for combating all forms of discrimination against children by advising on and advocating strategies and approaches to promote universal access to equitable and inclusive education for children in the country.

Advocacy, networking and partnership building

  • Build and strengthen strategic partnerships through networking and advocacy with local and national governments, UN system agency partners, donors, internationally recognized institutions, NGOs, funding organizations, research institutes and private sector to reinforce cooperation and/or pursue opportunities, leverage funds, to promote goals and achieve sustainable and broad results on education programmes.
  • Participate and/or represent UNICEF in inter-agency (UNCT) discussions and planning on education and related issues to ensure organizational position, interests and priorities are fully considered and integrated in the UNDAF development planning and agenda setting process. Collaborate with inter-agency partners and colleagues on the UNDAF planning and preparation of programmes/projects including emergency preparedness.
  • Design communication strategies, implementation plans and activities for maximum communication impact and outreach to promote awareness, establish partnerships for sustainable results, and to support fund raising for UNICEF and Country Office programmes on education.

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

  • Promote critical thinking, innovative approaches and good practices for sustainable education programming initiatives through advocacy and technical advisory services.
  • Keep abreast, research, benchmark, introduce and implement best and cutting edge practices on education and management. Institutionalize and disseminate best practices and knowledge learned.
  • Lead the development of policies and procedures, and introduce innovation and best practices to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programmes and projects.
  • Lead, plan and implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of stakeholders to promote sustainable results on education and related programmes/projects.

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

  • Education:  An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: education, economics, psychology, sociology or another relevant technical field.
  • Work Experience: A minimum of ten years of professional experience in programme planning, management, and/or research in education at the international level is required. Experience working in a developing country is considered as an asset. Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset. Familiarity/ background with emergency is considered as an asset.
  • Language Proficiency: Fluency in English is required.  Knowledge of another official UN language or local language of the duty station is considered as an asset.

 

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The technical competencies required for this post are….

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

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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.

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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.

This vacancy is now closed.
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