Education Specialist- Knowledge Management (P-3), Education Section – PD, New York HQ, # 0063804

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Senior Education Advisor, you will be the part of the Systems, Innovation, Data and Evidence for Results (SIDER) Team. You will also manage all of Education Section’s knowledge management initiatives in collaboration with the Section’s other teams and Regional Offices.

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.

UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child. 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.

For every child, good education…

Under the 2018-2021 Office Management Plan, the Education Section is structured in 6 programme areas: 1) Equity in education; 2) Learning and Skills; 3) Education in Emergencies; 4) System strengthening, Innovation and RBM; 5) Gender Equality in Education; 6) Management, Partnerships and Advocacy.  The key focus of the Education Section is on learning opportunities and outcomes for children and adolescents, education systems strengthening, and skills development. All this is done through an equity lens with special focus on marginalized groups through disability, gender, poverty, and geographic location.

How can you make a difference?

You will be the part of the Systems, Innovation, Data and Evidence for Results (SIDER) team and works under the guidance and direct supervision of the Senior Education Advisor who leads the SIDER team. You will also manage all of Education Section’s knowledge management initiatives in collaboration with the Section’s other teams and with Regional Offices.

In addition, the incumbent will provide following support:

Knowledge Management effectiveness:

• Provide technical inputs for the on-going definition and support of the knowledge management requirements of the Education Section/Global Education Team consistent and in support of Programme Division. Proactively seek new ways to share and broker knowledge and best practice internally and externally, including south-south learning.  Design, develop, continually refine and maintain products/instruments to efficiently and effectively identify, generate, sort, retrieve, validate, share and disseminate information.  Regularly update and maintain intranet Education Teams Site and internet webpages and support the updates of the unicef.org education webpages.

Support to Programme Division Knowledge management work:

• Represent the Education Section and contribute to the outputs and activities of Programme Division’s Knowledge Management work. Engage in division-wide roll out of corporate initiatives such as the Enterprise Content Management (ECM) platform and Digital Workplace (DWP).

Technical work on Knowledge and Information Dissemination:

• Keep abreast of emerging evidence and innovations being tested within the education portfolio and seek opportunities to promote these with partners.
• Maintain a comprehensive database of reports, good practices, lessons, policy and programme innovations for internal dissemination.  Maintain a knowledge bank of informational assets around education and equity including strategy documents from partners and donors, and facilitate the dissemination of information using various channels for use by a variety of audiences that will inform programming, policy and advocacy work. Ensure research findings are communicated to UNICEF and other development partners, so as to strengthen the evidence-based programming. 

Support to programming work:

• Support the review of key documents from HQ, Regional Offices (ROs) and Country Offices (COs); respond to non-specific technical requests/inquiries from ROs/COs; provide technical support for selected global, regional and country initiatives and key strategic moments; support the development, updating and dissemination of Strategic Plan Education profiles and maps; and support the knowledge generation and dissemination plan of Data Must Speak initiative.

Education section support:

• Under the guidance of the Senior Education Advisor and Associate Director of Education, support the overall work of the Education Section. Provide high quality briefings; represent UNICEF at relevant internal and external meetings; provide inputs into the work of others; and ensure that priority messages on education are effectively and consistently communicated. Support the effective running of the Section and its teams by attending and contributing to internal management meetings and education professional development events on a regular basis.

To qualify as a champion for every child you will have…

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Knowledge/Information Management, Education, Monitoring and Evaluation, Economics, Social Sciences, or a field relevant to international development assistance or other relevant field(s) is required.
• A minimum of five (5) years of progressively professional experience at the national and international levels in education, knowledge management and or information management or a related field is required.
• Experience in education sector planning, analysis, monitoring and evaluation will be considered an asset.
• Relevant experience in program/project development and management in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.
• Fluency in English (written & verbal) is required. Knowledge of an additional UN Language (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish) is considered an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

Our core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. To view our competency framework, please click here.

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

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.