Expert in educational policy planning and analysis of educational institutions

Organizational Setting 

 

Pôle de Dakar is the International Institute for Educational Planning’s (IIEP) Africa-based office located in Dakar, Senegal. IIEP is a UNESCO specialized institute with a mandate to strengthen Member States’ capacity to plan and manage their education systems. IIEP Pôle de Dakar, is renowned for its cutting edge educational sector analyses and supports African countries in developing realistic and credible education sector analyses and plans in support of the Education 2030 agenda, an essential part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  

 

Through a capacity development approach, IIEP Pôle de Dakar contributes to the creation of diagnostic analyses, sector plans and pedagogical tools. In concert, these contribute to more relevant and sustainable educational policies across Africa. IIEP Pole de Dakar is also actively involved in applied research and tool development in educational policy, planning and management in Africa.        

In addition to an attractive salary and benefits package, IIEP continuously seeks creative ways to motivate, energize and grow its people by providing meaningful work and learning opportunities.

 

Overview of the functions of the post

 

Under the overall authority of the Head of the Pôle de Dakar and direct supervision of the Program Manager and Senior Expert in Quality Management and within the framework of IIEP's Medium-Term Strategy the incumbent will contribute to regional activities related to national capacity development in the management of quality and the implementation of other activities related to the analysis, planning and management of education. This involves participating in activities conducted in selected countries together with other members of IIEP-Pôle de Dakar team and may require acting as team leader and, in such cases, as supervisor of team members assigned to those countries. The work produced will be subject to an internal validation process under the responsibility of the Head of Pôle de Dakar.

 

More particularly, the incumbent will:

 

1. Support African countries in the analysis, development, implementation and monitoring of their educational policies:

 

a. Contribute to the institutional and organisational analysis of educational institutions at central and/or decentralised level, especially in the field of quality management.

b. Translate the analyses into evidence-based educational policy decisions and into budgeted, financially sustainable actions.

c. Contribute to the educational policy planning process such as the elaboration or updating of education sector plans (ESP) and the development of action plans, etc.

d. Contribute to policy dialogue with different ministries and with the highest national authorities.

e. Contribute to dialogue, exchange and coordination with the countries’ development partners.

 

2. Support the international Education 2030 agenda in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), especially SDG 4:

 

a. Produce knowledge on the state of education in Africa.

b. Design tools related to the analysis, planning, management and monitoring of education.

c. Produce training and/or outreach tools.

 

3. Contribute to the distance training in education sector analysis developed by IIEP-Pôle de Dakar in coordination with the University Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, targeted at educational community actors such as national technical executives and technical and financial partners.

 

4. Contribute to designing and implementing short training courses for African countries relating to the analysis, planning, and management and monitoring of education.

 

5. Contribute to seminars for the sharing of information and good practices in educational policy.

 

6. Contribute to the production, capitalisation and dissemination of information on the education sector:

 

a. Participate in the drafting of methodological, thematic and country notes.

b. Participate in updating Pôle de Dakar’s website www.poledakar.iiep.unesco.org and its interactive space for documentation and exchange around educational analysis, planning and management (digital bibliography, statistical data, policy documents, sector review aide-mémoire, etc.).

 

7. Take on responsibilities within the team as defined and agreed with the Head of Pôle de Dakar.

 

8. Perform any other duties as may be assigned by the Head of Pôle de Dakar.

 

 

Competencies 

 

The successful candidate will be required to demonstrate the following competencies:

 

Core competencies

• Accountability 

• Communication 

• Teamwork

• Innovation

• Results focus

• Planning and organizing

• Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement 

 

Required Qualifications

 

Education

 

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in the field of education, public policies, economy, statistics or social sciences. 

 

Work experience

 

• Minimum four (4) years of experience in the fields of institutional analysis and planning, monitoring and management of education systems, of which preferably two (2) acquired at the international level.

• Experience in institutional and organisational analysis of educational institutions.

• Experience with the Ministries of African countries and development partners.

 

Skills and competencies

 

• Demonstrated knowledge of institutional and organisational diagnostic tools in the field of education.

• Demonstrated knowledge of African education systems and their institutions.

• Good understanding of the issues relating to the quality of education in the context of developing and, more specifically, African countries.

• Ability to carry out regular missions, especially in diverse and challenging contexts. 

• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.  Ability to work under pressure and pay attention to details and quality of work.

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (written and oral).

• Ability to work within multicultural teams.

• Excellent knowledge of MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.).    

 

Languages

 

• Excellent knowledge of French or English and good knowledge of the other language.     

 

Desirable Qualifications

 

Skills and competencies 

 

• Good knowledge of statistical software such as SPSS, SAS, STATA.

 

Languages

 

• Knowledge of Portuguese. 

 

 

Assessment 

 

A written assessment exercise followed by a competency-based interview may be used to evaluate qualified candidates.

 

Benefits and entitlements 

 

UNESCO’s salaries are calculated in US dollars. They consist of a basic salary and a post adjustment, which reflects the cost of living in a particular duty station, as well as exchange rates. Other benefits include: 30 days annual leave, family allowance, home travel, education grant for dependent children, pension plan and medical insurance.  More details can be found on the ICSC Website

 

                                        Please note that UNESCO is a no-smoking Organization.

 

 

UNESCO is committed to promoting geographical distribution and gender equality within its Secretariat. Therefore, women candidates are strongly encouraged to apply, as are nationals from non- and under-represented Member States. Persons with disabilities equally are encouraged to apply.

UNESCO applies a zero tolerance policy against all forms of harassment.

 

                         UNESCO DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCES