Education Officer– Digital Learning

Details

Mission and objectives

UNICEF works in the world’s toughest places to reach the most disadvantaged children and adolescents – and to protect the rights of every child, everywhere.

Context

Under the guidance and general supervision of the Education Specialist (Level 3) at UNICEF Maldives Country Office and the oversight of the Deputy Representative of MCO, the Education Officer supports the design, implementation and monitoring of end-to-end digital learning solutions in the Maldives, including the digital learning initiative developed and piloted in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Google and UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia.
As such, the Officer provides quality technical support and guidance in developing digital learning initiatives that help improve learning outcomes and support continuation of learning, particularly for the most vulnerable children. This includes providing technical assistance in assessing country office requirements, localizing technology, curating/producing content and ensuring that it is contextualized and can be effectively used.
The Officer contributes to the 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.

Task description

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of Education Specialist (Level 3) or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UN Volunteer Education Officer will:
• Provide technical assistance and advice to colleagues in the section on all aspects of programming and implementation to enable them to achieve performance objectives in the context of the implementation and scale up of digital learning solutions.
• Work closely and collaboratively with internal and external colleagues and partners to discuss strategies and methodologies and to determine national priorities/competencies to ensure the achievement of concrete and sustainable results.
• Aid in the development of country-level program implementation plans and activities, leveraging best practices and leading technical approaches, in coordination with Country Office teams, partners, and governments.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, program reviews and annual reviews with government and other counterparts to assess progress and to determine required action/interventions to achieve results. Provide guidance on programmatic and technical data.
• Plan and collaborate with internal colleagues, Google, and external partners to establish monitoring benchmarks, performance indicators and other UNICEF/UN system indicators to assess/strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results for digital learning, including exploring synergies with the digital learning agenda supported by the Global Partnership for Education.
• Arrange/coordinate availability of technical experts with Regional Office/HQ/Google to ensure timely/appropriate support throughout the programming/projects process.
• Participate in education program meetings including program development and contingency planning to provide technical and operational information, advice and support.
• Draft policy papers, briefs and other strategic program materials for management use, information and/or consideration.
• Help troubleshoot technical, hardware and software issues in coordination with the Google team.
• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with relevant counterparts and global partners/allies/donors/academia through active networking, advocacy and effective communication to build capacity, exchange knowledge/expertise and to reinforce cooperation to achieve sustainable and broad results on education programs.
• Prepare communication and information materials for CO program advocacy to promote awareness, establish relevant partnership/alliances and support fund raising for education programs.
• 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 program results
• Keep abreast, research, benchmark, and implement best practices in education management. Assess, institutionalize and share best practices and knowledge learned.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of policies and procedures to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programs and projects.
• Organize and implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders to promote sustainable results on education and related programs/projects.
Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers program mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities:
• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day);
• Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;
• Provide annual and end of assignment self- reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities.
• Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;
• Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers;
• Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.
Results/expected outputs
As an active UNICEF team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to UNICEF and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including:
• Improved learning outcomes and universal access to quality, equitable and inclusive education.
• Delivery of successful education programs and projects in the area of digital learning.
• Strengthened partnerships with Government and the private sector in the area of digital learning.
• A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed