Associate Education Planning Specialist

 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. The Pôle de Dakar, is renowned for its cutting edge educational sector analyses and supports African countries in developing realistic and credible education system development plans in support of the Education 2030 agenda, an essential part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Through a well-crafted and targeted capacity development approach, 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. Pole de Dakar is also actively involved in knowledge creation for the education sector in Africa. 

 

Overview of the functions of the post

 

Under the overall authority of the Director of IIEP, the Head of the Pôle de Dakar, and the direct supervision of program managers, the incumbent contributes to activities related to the analysis, planning, implementation, management, and monitoring of education and training policies in selected African countries. The overarching goal is to ensure quality and equal education for all with a focus on lifelong learning opportunities in the formal and informal sectors. In collaboration with other Pôle de Dakar staff, the incumbent will participate in research activities in selected countries, and whose subsequent outputs will be subject to internal validation procedures, under the responsibility of the Head.

 

More specifically, the incumbent will be assigned the following tasks:

 

1. Assist selected African countries in developing, implementing and monitoring policies that provide quality and equal education and are focused on lifelong learning opportunities in the formal and informal sectors:

 

a. Support the development and thematic diagnosis of education and training sector and sub-sectors;

b. Support operational planning of educational policies (i.e. education policy orientation documentation, simulation models, education sector plans, expenditure medium term financial frameworks, budgeted action plans, etc.);

c. Support the strengthening of dialogue between ministries of education and training and ministries of finance;

d. Support and advise on the implementation of education policies;

e. Support monitoring and evaluation in the implementation of education policies. 

 

2. Participate in a portfolio of activities in selected countries :

 

a. Assist with developing and sustaining political and education policy management and planning dialogue with the highest authorities of target countries;

b. Assist to dialogue, exchange and coordination with development partners in countries.

 

3. Support international initiatives for the Education 2030 Agenda:

 

a. Knowledge creation on the state of education and training in Africa;

b. Design tools for analysis, planning, implementation, management, monitoring and evaluation of education and training policies in Africa;

c. Create training materials and/or outreach strategies that meet the needs of targeted audiences.

 

4. Contribute to the professional development of officials in charge of education planning, management and training in Africa.

 

5. Contribute to implementation of training initiatives developed by the Pôle de Dakar in collaboration with its partners.

 

6. Contribute to the creating, use and dissemination of relevant information in the education and training sector in Africa:

 

a. Participate in drafting substantive and high quality methodological notes, thematic notes and country notes;

b. Contribute to updating the website www.poledakar.iiep.unesco.org and portal webs such as www.pefop.iiep.unesco.org and interactive spaces for documentation and exchanges around education and training policies in Africa (digital bibliography, statistics, policy documents, etc.).

 

7. Assume other responsibilities within the team as defined by the Head.

 

COMPETENCIES (Core) 

Communication (C)

Innovation (C)

Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement (C)

Planning and organizing (C)

Results focus (C)

Teamwork (C)

 

Required Qualifications

 

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in economics, management or social sciences.

 

Work Experience

• Minimum two (2) years of relevant working experience in the fields of planning and management of education systems of which preferably one (1) year acquired at international level.

 

Skills and competencies

• Demonstrable knowledge of African education systems and of the problems of education.

• Demonstrable knowledge of techniques to develop an education and training development plan (including budgeted action plans).

• Knowledge of the education sector processes in developing countries, in particular the functioning of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).

• Expertise in the qualitative analysis of educational policies and qualitative research techniques.

• Ability to carry out missions in diverse and challenging environments and to meet deadlines.

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

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

 

Languages

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

 

Desirable qualifications

 

Education

• Specialized training in educational planning and/or management.

 

Skills and competencies

• Knowledge of statistical techniques and familiarity with statistical software (SPSS, Stata, SAS, etc.).

 

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 PROCESS.