Education for Development Specialist

Education for Development Specialist
(Skills and Career Guidance), UNICEF, New Delhi



1. POSITION VACANT: Education for Development Specialist (Skills and Career Guidance), UNICEF, New Delhi

2. ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND

UNICEF is a United Nations agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. The organization works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfil their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

3. JOB DESCRIPTION/ RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under the supervision of Chief Yuwah, the Education for Development Specialist (EDS) shall be responsible for providing support for the development and preparation of the Education/ Skilling programmes (or a section thereof), apart from managing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating and reporting on the progress of education programmes/ projects and partnerships, within the country programme.

The EDS shall also be responsible for providing technical guidance and management support, for all programming processes, helping facilitate the administration and achievement of results on education and skilling programmes/ projects, improving learning outcomes and ensuring equitable and inclusive education, especially for children who are marginalized, disadvantaged and excluded in society.

The post-holder will provide overall expert technical advice and operational support to YuWaah at UNICEF, for the thematic area of “Skills for Life and Livelihood” and shall be primarily responsible for helping bring solutions/ innovations to scale, with partners.

S/he will also contribute to the achievement of results according to plans and allocations, following results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM), as well as UNICEF’s strategic plans, standards of performance, and accountability framework.

Key Responsibilities:

(A) Technical Guidance and Support
(1) Help the supervisor set priorities, strategies, and design and implement plans. Keep abreast of development trends to enhance programme management, efficiency and delivery;
(2) Provide support in the co-creation and validation of solutions with stakeholders and potential solution providers;
(3) Provide support for developing strategy and implementation plans in cooperation with key stakeholders such as the YuWaah Secretariat, UNICEF ICO teams, Government, and private, and CSO partners in accordance with YuWaah India Theory of Change;
(4) Prepare annual workplans and budgets for the thematic area “Skills for life and livelihood;”
(5) Provide technical guidance for identifying key partnership opportunities for “Skills for life and livelihood;”
(6) Draft policy papers, briefs and other strategic materials for YuWaah advocacy purposes;
(7) Contribute to the development and implementation of policies to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy;
(8) Operationalization of the taskforce and working group, including support for the finalization of membership and distribution of roles and responsibilities.

(B) Partnerships and Networking
(1) Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with relevant government counterparts, national stakeholders, global partners, donors, and academia, through active networking, advocacy and effective communication, to build capacity, exchange knowledge/ expertise and reinforce cooperation, to achieve sustainable and broad results on education and skilling programmes;
(2) Provide support in the development of programmatic and strategic relationships with existing and potential partners, including State Governments, private sector, NGOs/ CSOs, other partners and implementing contractors, optimizing their contribution to YuWaah;
(3) Provide support in enhancing relationships with existing and potential contributors for catalytic funding and with non-traditional donors, including on innovative financing modalities and leverage financing;
(4) Coordinate information exchange and synergies between flagship initiatives on career guidance and 21st century skills, with YuWaah partners;
(5) Actively monitor key partnerships through field visits, surveys and/or exchange of information with partners/ stakeholders to assess progress, identify bottlenecks and potential problems and take timely decisions to resolve issues and/or refer them to relevant team members for timely resolution;
(6) Prepare regular and mandated programme reports for management, donors and partners, to keep them informed about programme progress;
(7) Arrange/ coordinate availability of technical experts with Regional Office/ HQ, to ensure timely and appropriate support throughout the programming process;
(8) Participate in education programme meetings, including programme development and contingency planning, to provide technical and operational information, advice and support.

(C) Innovation and Capacity Building
(1) Apply/ introduce innovative approaches to enhance career guidance and promotion of 21st century skills for young people, for the delivery of concrete and sustainable results;
(2) Research and suggest best international practices, to be explored for possible adoption, in India;
(3) Draft policy papers, briefs and other strategic programme materials for management use;
(4) Apply and introduce innovative approaches and good practices to build the capacity of partners and stakeholders, and to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results;
(5) Keep abreast, research, benchmark, and implement best practices in education management. Assess, institutionalize and share best practices and knowledge learned.

(D) Advocacy and Communications and Knowledge Management:
(1) Provide support in drafting of public advocacy materials, human interest stories, and social media material, as applicable;
(2) Provide support in the development of lessons learned, reviewing of successful and unsuccessful experiences and sharing of observations/ findings, so that best practices benefit YuWaah’s implementation and strategy;
(3) Provide support to YuWaah India partners in perspective-building on “Skills for life and livelihood;”
(4) Contribute to the development and implementation of policies and procedures to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programmes and projects;
(5) Organize and implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/ stakeholders, to promote sustainable results on education and related programmes/ projects.

4. QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES:

(A) Qualification and Experience
(1) An Advanced University Degree in education, economics, psychology, sociology, or another relevant technical field, with a minimum five years of progressively responsible professional work experience, at national and/ or international levels, in programme/ project planning and implementation, with particular emphasis on education, skilling/ training and equity; OR
(2) University Degree in a relevant field with seven years of professional experience, as above, shall be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree;
(3) Experience of working in a developing country, will be an advantage;
(4) Relevant experience with a UN system agency, or organization, shall be considered to be an asset.

(B) Skills and Competencies
(1) Fluency in English and Hindi (both written and verbal) is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) will be an asset;
(2) Proven ability to conceptualize, plan, develop, implement, monitor, evaluate and report on programmes, in the areas indicated above, and to transfer knowledge and skills;
(3) Ability to develop partnerships and to network in the areas of education, skills, youth engagement and employment;
(4) Knowledge of the latest developments and technology in related fields;
(5) Excellent analytical, negotiating, communication, advocacy and writing skills;
(6) Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, and reporting skills;
(7) Accuracy and professionalism in document production and editing;
(8) Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development;
(9) Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment.

(C) Values
UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything they do and how they do it. Key elements of UNICEF’s Values Charter are reproduced below.

Competencies:
UNICEF competencies required for this post are:

(1) Build and Maintain Partnerships [ I ]
(2) Demonstrate Self and Ethical Awareness [ I ]
(3) Drive to Achieve Impactful Results [ I ]
(4) Innovate and Embrace Changes [ I ]
(5) Work Collaboratively with Others [ I ]
(6) Think and Acts Strategically [ I ]
(7) Manages Ambiguity and Complexity [ I ]



5. COMPENSATION OFFERED:

Gross compensation budgeted for the position is attractive. Please note that the offer made to the selected candidate shall be commensurate with qualifications, experience, and salary history.

6. LOCATION: New Delhi

7. ESTIMATED DURATION OF CONTRACT: This is a Temporary Appointment, and the selected applicant shall be awarded a 364-day Temporary Appointment contract. The contract may be extended, subject to performance and the availability of funding.

8. REFERENCE: EDS-UNICEF

9. CONTACT INFORMATION:

Team SAMS
Strategic Alliance Management Services P Ltd.
1/1B, Choudhary Hetram House, Bharat Nagar
New Friends Colony, New Delhi 110 025
Phone Nos.: 011- 4081 9900; 4165 3612

10. APPLICATION PROCESS:

Eligible candidates interested in the position are requested to apply using the link https://recruitment.samshrm.com/Jobs/UNICEF by or before April 12, 2023.

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 is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children.

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