Programme Manager, Education Can't Wait (ECW), P4, East Jerusalem, State of Palestine #110644

The Education Manager is responsible for establishing the plans of action and overseeing work progress to ensure the achievement of concrete and sustainable programme results, according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM), as well as established standards of performance and accountability framework.

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.

For every child, an 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 and 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 fulfil 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.

The strategic and effective advocacy, planning and formulation of education programmes/projects and the achievement of sustainable results, contributes to the achievement of goals and objectives to improve learning outcomes and universal access to equitable and inclusive education in the country. Achievements in education programmes, particularly the MultiYear Resilience Programme in turn contribute to maintaining and enhancing the credibility and ability of UNICEF to manage Education in Emergencies and Resilience programmes for children that promotes greater social equality and cohesion in the country.

How can you make a difference?

Under the overall guidance of the Deputy Representative and in close collaboration with the Education Section, the ECW Programme Manager is responsible for managing and supervising all stages of the Palestine Education Cannot Wait Programme. Provide strategic planning, monitoring oversight, technical support, quality assurance, knowledge sharing and management services to all the recipients of ECW investments in the implementation of the Multi-Year Resilience Plan for Palestine. Share emerging evidence in education; strengthening knowledge sharing; facilitating discussion and agreement on the use of common standards and tools among ECW implementing partners; ensuring to the extent possible, that partners use common standards and tools for information collection/sharing and data management, including in needs assessments and monitoring; ensuring integration, coherence and harmonization of ECW programs/projects with other UNICEF sectors and achievement of results as planned. Lead a group of professional and support staff through the Programme Management Unit to roll-out and manage the ECW programme in the country.

The Education Cannot Wait (ECW) Programme Manager for the Multi-Year Resilience Programme for Palestine is based in the UNICEF Palestine Office, in East Jerusalem. The ECW Programme Manager is responsible for the Programme Management Unit which administers the ECW investment for Palestine (US$11 million over 2 years) which involves the participation of UNDP, UNRWA, UNESCO and Save the Children. The Programme Manager reports to the Deputy Representative in UNICEF.

The Education Manager is responsible for establishing the plans of action and overseeing work progress to ensure the achievement of concrete and sustainable programme results, according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM), as well as established standards of performance and accountability framework.

Key function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

1. Managerial leadership

• Position the MYRP effectively within the Education Sector infrastructure, ensuring alignment between different frameworks and actors working in Education notably, Education Sector Working Group, Education in Emergencies Working Group, Education Cluster, ECW governance structure and the UNICEF Education Programme.
• Maintain effective relations with sub-grantees/recipients of ECW investments to ensure smooth implementation and management of activities.
• Establish clear individual performance objectives, goals and timelines; and provide timely guidance to enable the ECW/MYRP Programme Management Unit to perform its 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.
• Communicate progress, bottlenecks and issues arising with the implementation of the ECW in a timely manner to UNICEF senior management.

2. Programme development and planning

• Establish the ECW annual work plans with the recipients of ECW funding, and set priorities and targets in line with the overall MYRP, ensuring consistency with the Education Sector Strategy and the Humanitarian Response Plan;
• Provide technical guidance and operational support to ensure that current comprehensive and evidence-based data are available to guide MYRP's strategic policy advocacy, strategies and interventions whilst establishing programme priorities, strategies, and implementation plans.
• Ensure synergy, integration, coherence, and harmonization of annual plans and projects with sector strategies and priorities, donors development strategies and policies, national priorities, and UN System development interventions and initiatives.
• Keep abreast of national, regional and international development priorities on education to leverage the MYRP with donors, the national government, civil society partners and communities to advocate and promote MYRP initiatives.

3. Programme and grant management, monitoring and quality control of results

• Plan and collaborate on monitoring and evaluation initiatives to establish benchmarks, performance indicators and other UN system indicators, to assess and strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results on the MYRP.
• Ensures timely preparation and submission of deliverables to donor, including progress and financial reports.
• Maintains complete grant documentation and provides information as required. Designs and produces a summary of all open commitments and actionable items with timelines.
• Plan, approve, monitor, certify and control the use of program resources (financial, human, administrative and other assets) certifying/verifying compliance with organizational rules, regulations and procedures, including the Harmonised Approach to Cash Transfers (HACT), donor commitments and standards of accountability and integrity. Ensure timely reporting and liquidation of resources.
• 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.
• Prepare and submit programme and project reports to donors and other partners to keep them informed on programme progress and critical issues.

4. Technical and coordination support

• Coordinates with all Technical Focal Points to ensure day-to-day management and coordination of the MYRP across the five recipient organisations.
• Supports the capacity building activities for sub-grantees and implementing partners.
• Pursues additional funding opportunities to further expand the ECW programming.
• Coordinates the ECW /MYR dialogue meetings and discussions with the Steering Committee, Grantees Group and Technical Team
• Coordinate and ensure the availability of technical experts with the ECW Secretariat 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.

5. Advocacy, networking and partnership building

• Prepare communication strategies, implementation plans and activities for maximum communication impact and outreach to promote awareness, establish partnerships for sustainable results.
• Participate in inter-agency discussions and planning on education and EiE related issues to ensure programme plans, positions, interests and priorities are fully considered and integrated in the UNDAF and HRP development and humanitarian planning and agenda setting processes.
• Collaborate with inter-agency partners and colleagues on the UNDAF and HRP planning and preparation of programmes/projects including emergency preparedness.

6. 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 management and information systems. Institutionalize and disseminate best practices and knowledge learned.
• Contribute to the development of policies and procedures and introduce innovation and best practices to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programmes and projects.
• Organize, 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: 

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: education, economics, psychology, sociology or another relevant technical field.
• A minimum of eight years of professional experience in programme planning, management, and/or research in education at the international level is required.
• A minimum of 4 years in grant management and donor reporting 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.
• 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 competencies required for this post are

Functional Competencies:

• Leading and supervising (II)
• Formulating strategies/concepts (II)
• Analyzing (III)
• Relating and networking (II)
• Deciding and initiating action (II)
• Applying Technical Expertise (III)

Technical competencies must be demonstrated in the following areas:

• Good technical skills in grant management and donor reporting; knowledge of contributions management and partnership mechanisms, notably the use of memorandum of understanding, programme cooperation agreements, and knowledge of donor reporting guidelines.
• Good understanding of the overall global development context, including issues such as: poverty, conflict, and the impact of these factors on education and vice-versa; and inter-sectoral approaches to address such issues in collaboration with other sectors (including Social Policy, Child Protection, Nutrition, WASH, Health and Communications within UNICEF).
• Good knowledge of global developments in education and international engagement strategies, including the application of the equity lens and human rights perspectives to programming.
• Good ability to support policy dialogue: translation of analytical findings and evidence into development programme and policy discussions around equity and learning with partners, including government, development partners, CSOs and academia in relevant areas.
• Good education sector planning knowledge/ability, including the range of modalities for delivering education, linkages between different sub-sectors (e.g. ECD, Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Inclusive Education), cost-effectiveness and efficiency issues, key institutional structures, components and processes, as well as governance issues.
• Good education and policy sector analysis capacity, including understanding of the core education data sets and indicators; tools for analysis of equity; determinants of student access and learning; budget, costing, and financial management in education systems; political economy; and education policy and strategic planning.
• Good ability to support engagement with partners e.g. Sector Wide Approaches, Global Partnership for Education, Education in Emergency Clusters, Education Provider Forums, Delivering as One, Inter-sectoral partnerships such as in ECD, as well as networking with other key partners.
• Good understanding of gender and inequity issues in relation to education and development and the application of gender / equity analysis to policy and planning in education.
• Good understanding of policies and strategies to address issues related to resilience: risk analysis and risk management, education in conflict situations, natural disasters, and recovery for CO and RO based post and where relevant.

View our competency framework at

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

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.

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.