Associate Project Officer

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) is a Category I Institute of UNESCO and is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Institute works to meet the goals and targets of the 2030 SDGs by supporting Member States with their education policies, teacher professional development, and the capacity of education institutions in Africa. UNESCO-IICBA has been actively engaged in capacity-building interventions in areas of research and knowledge, policy and advocacy, and capacity enhancement.

With its commitment to empowering teachers for all learners to thrive, the Institute supports education institutions including in emergency settings. Given the increasing needs, UNESCO IICBA advances its efforts in the area of education for peace and teacher support with a particular focus on mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), as well as safe and inclusive learning environments, in emergency settings.

Under the overall authority of the Assistant Director-General for Education (ADG/ED), with the functional authority from the Director of the International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), and under the direct supervision of the IICBA Senior Project Coordinator, the incumbent will be responsible for the planning and implementation of the two Japan-funded projects (Grand-in-Aid and Supplementary Budget projects) focusing on information and knowledge management, coordination, monitoring, reporting, and communication.

The incumbent will be expected to provide technical expertise to African member states within the strategic areas of UNESCO and the specific mandate of IICBA for teachers. S/he will specifically perform the following duties:

Project Coordination and Knowledge Management

• Support the implementation of Japan-funded projects through planning, coordination, and information and knowledge management.
• Coordinate interventions to generate evidence and lessons learned for the two Japan-funded projects to inform decision-makers for better planning, supervision, and monitoring, as well as scale-up.
• Coordinate the timely and quality development, production, and dissemination of communications materials and contents to support the goals and priorities of the projects including UNESCO IICBA’s other projects.
• Write and edit stories, press releases, speeches, brochures, factsheets, etc. for different platforms, including the UNESCO websites and donor’s platform.
• Support the project in developing communication materials both offline and online, ensuring high-quality standards.
• Collect and analyze data to identify trends or patterns of issues and provide insights through graphs, charts, tables, and reports, using data visualization to enable data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation, and reporting.
• Plan and facilitate strategic advocacy and program activities in coordination with partners including the African Union, Donors, and other relevant agencies about the projects.
• Support the IICBA team in the production of training material, brochures, and virtual campus development.

Networking and Partnership Building

• Act as the focal point for communication with the project donor and contribute to donor relations, as well as resource mobilization.
• Establish and sustain effective and close working partnerships with relevant government counterparts, and national stakeholders such as Ministries of Education, Teacher Training Colleges/ Institutions, Universities, Teacher Unions, and academic institutions.
• Support target countries and colleagues in identifying success and narrative stories from their work and ensure they are featured in relevant publications and platforms (e.g., website, social media, annual reports, and external media).
• Support the planning and organization of advocacy events, ensuring the coordination with partners, authorities, media representatives, members of the academia, and other relevant stakeholders for high visibility and impact.

Resource Mobilization

• Identify and develop opportunities to mobilize extra-budgetary resources for the institute by developing concept notes and project proposals based on situational analysis and needs assessments, following the Institute’s programme results framework, priorities, and strategic approaches.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in Education, Social Sciences, Development Studies, or related area.

Work Experience

• Minimum two (2) years of experience in project coordination, knowledge and information management, and communications in education and related areas.
• Experience working in Africa and familiarity with the Africa Union Agenda 2030, SDG-Education 2030 Agenda, and related agendas.
• Experience in working on projects related to peace education, the prevention of violent extremism (PVE), education in emergencies, and refugee education.

Skills and Competencies

• High degree of independence in the execution of daily and programmatic activities and responsibilities
• Ability to provide inputs and recommendations to programme monitoring, communication, and knowledge management.
• Ability to create positive collaboration and partnerships and maintain partnerships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to work in a team and to maintain effective working relationships in a multi-cultural environment with high political sensitivity; ability to manage, supervise, and motivate staff and teams.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including interacting with various actors and working in diverse environments.
• Ability to collect evidence, synthesize, and analyze information or data from various sources for informed decision-making purposes.
• Good computing skills with excellent writing skills
• Excellent editorial and analytical skills.
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize and deliver to deadline, as well as work under pressure.

Language

• Excellent knowledge (written and spoken) of English.

Source: https://careers.unesco.org/job/Addis-Ababa-ASSOCIATE-PROJECT-OFFICER/790835802/