The Education specialist will support the education section as a whole and support the implementation of the Education in Emergencies (EiE) component of the Afghanistan country programme. the Specialist supports the development and preparation of the Education (or a sector of) programmes and is responsible for managing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating and reporting the progress of education programmes/projects within the country programme. The Specialist provides technical guidance and management support throughout the programming processes to facilitate the administration and achievement of results on education programmes/projects to improve learning outcomes and equitable and inclusive education, especially for children who are marginalized, disadvantaged and excluded in society.

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, Education

To learn more about working for UNICEF and our work in Afghanistan, please visit the following links:

Working for UNICEF: https://youtu.be/43aiG4w2q_M?t=2 

UNICEF in Afghanistan:  https://www.unicef.org/afghanistan/ 

How can you make a difference?

Under the supervision of the Education in Emergency Unit manager, the Education specialist will support the education section as a whole and support the implementation of the Education in Emergencies (EiE) component of the Afghanistan country programme. the Specialist supports the development and preparation of the Education (or a sector of) programmes and is responsible for managing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating and reporting the progress of education programmes/projects within the country programme. The Specialist provides technical guidance and management support throughout the programming processes to facilitate the administration and achievement of results on education programmes/projects to improve learning outcomes and equitable and inclusive education, especially for children who are marginalized, disadvantaged and excluded in society.

The Specialist contributes to achievement of results according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM), as well as UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance, and accountability framework.

Key function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

1. Provides Leadership and Technical Guidance for Programmes 

• Contributes to the development, implementation and monitoring of UNICEF's Strategic Plan, Education Strategy and associated technical guidance, with a focus on education in emergencies.
• Stays up to date with emerging evidence, best practice and country office approaches and facilitates the sharing of lessons using existing knowledge management platforms.
• Provides leadership and operational technical guidance for programmes in collaboration with partners to national preparedness and response planning for EiE, strategy development, standard setting and advocacy in Afghanistan.
• Initiates new EiE related approaches and develops methodologies to best meet goals and objectives of education in emergencies.
• Contributes to the consolidation of position papers, guidance and other products for use in the development of UNICEF’s country programme policy on EiE within the context of UNICEF's overall equity focused education strategy.
• Liaises with other development activities e.g. Global Partnership for Education and Education Cannot Wait where relevant as well as activities related to Peacebuilding and Social Cohesion where applicable.

2. Coordinates UNICEF Engagement with EiE within and outside UNICEF 

• Co-ordinates and ensures integration with UNICEF sections and Clusters (particularly Child Protection, WASH, Nutrition as well as C4D, Supply & Logistics), UN sister agencies, Save the Children and other NGOs, to contribute to the restoration of education in emergencies in conflict and disaster affected/prone regions in the country.
• Liaises with the Interagency Network for Education in Emergencies (lNEE), Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) and other relevant EiE platforms and networks.
• Participates in national and regional/international meetings on EiE as relevant to the country’s preparedness and response planning; and, in internal structures and meetings including Emergency Team Meetings.
• Strengthens partnerships and collaborates with key humanitarian assistance agencies and development partners such as OCHA, UNHCR, WFP, UNESCO, and others.

3. Provides guidance in development and establishment of contingency plans, monitoring, tracking performance and reporting on results

• Provides overall guidance in development and establishment of contingency plans, monitoring, tracking performance and reporting on results.
• In coordination and collaboration with colleagues, establishes and develops effective information and reporting systems to monitor and evaluate the impact of EiE programmes, activities and achievement of targeted in humanitarian crises.
• Ensures organizational targets are fully met in terms of the Core Commitments for Children (CCCs).
• As needed undertakes missions (field visits) to support evaluation of programme effectiveness at national and decentralized levels, identify challenges and assist in instituting remedial measures.

4. Supports efforts to mobilize resources for education in emergencies and monitor results

• Supports efforts to mobilize resources for EiE, and monitor related results, including contributing to the development of the Rolling Workplan and other relevant country reports; this including relevant data collection, assurance and analysis.
• Supports efforts to strengthen results-based management. Supports engagement with key donors and partners and contributes to the development of new funding proposals related to EiE where applicable.
• Prepares and submits timely situation/progress/status reports for management, donors, budget reviews, programme monitoring and evaluation, annual reports, reports linked to Humanitarian Performance Monitoring (HPM) etc.

5. Supports human resource and capacity building needs for education in emergencies

• Identifies and follows up on human resource requirements, training and performance planning for UNICEF and within the Education sector as well as needs related to monitoring for emergency and post crisis interventions.

6. Ensures the development of effective communication materials and strategies to support advocacy and social mobilization efforts for EiE 

• Ensures the development of effective communication materials and strategies to support advocacy and social mobilisation efforts for EiE preparedness and response activities, especially in collaboration with C4D and Communication sections.

7. Contributes to the management of the education section and develops and manages Rolling Work Plans for the EiE component of the Afghanistan country programme. 

• Contributes to the management of the Education Section, as a key member of the team.
• Plans and coordinates periodic assessments and evaluations of progress of UNICEF's EiE work towards the education Sustainable Development Goal (SDG4).
• Contributes to Education Section products such as the Rolling Work Plan, the Annual Report, Donor Reports, Funding Proposals and other relevant documents.

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.

Experience: A minimum of five years of professional experience in programme planning, management, and/or research in education 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 Requirements: 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 values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The functional competencies required for this post are...

Functional Competencies:

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

Technical Competencies:

Technical competencies must be demonstrated in the following areas:

• Some 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).
• Some knowledge of global developments in education and international engagement strategies, including the application of the equity lens and human rights perspectives to programming.
• Some 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.
• Some 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.
• Some 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.
• Some programme management in education, including programme design, costing, monitoring and evaluation and reporting.
• Some 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.
• Some 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.
• For CO and RO based posts and where relevant, some understanding of policies and strategies to address issues related to resilience: risk analysis and risk management, education in conflict situations, natural disasters, and recovery.

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 be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service. The standard tour of duty for UNICEF in Afghanistan is two years.

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