Education Officer (Policy, Standards and Protection), (NO-2), Beijing, China #127511 [Temp Appointment of 364 days] (open to Chinese nationals only)

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

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action.

In China, UNICEF Education program works with the Government of China and other partners, communities and parents to provide the country’s most disadvantaged children with quality learning opportunities. We also support government to strengthen the education system so that it addresses the needs of all children, including those with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and rural and urban poor, while ensuring that girls and boys have the same opportunities. This includes supporting children develop into well-rounded individuals and creating nurturing environments that meet their physical, cognitive, creative, social and emotional needs.

The 2015-2025 education programme embraces key strategic shifts and will have a renewed focus on upstream engagement and policy work. It will also strengthen research and evidence generation, policy analysis, advocacy for children’s rights and adaptation of international evidence to China’s context. The program also aim to scale up the adolescent programme and support further development of a rights-based child-friendly education system under four key pillars, namely

• Equality and inclusion
• Safety, health, protection
• Effective teaching and learning
• Participation and Harmony

How can you make a difference?

The Education Officer will manage the development and implementation of Education Programmes in designated thematic areas. S/he will provide technical, operational and administrative input throughout to ensure the programmes deliver intended results for children, are in compliance with UNICEF values and programme management standards.

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

1. Support to programme development and planning
• Contribute to the preparation and updating of the situation analysis for the development, design and management of education related programmes/projects. Research and report on development trends (economic, social, health etc.) and data for use in programme development, management, monitoring, evaluation and delivery of results.
• Contribute to the development and establishment of sectoral programme goals, objectives and strategies and results-based planning through research, collection, analysis and reporting of education and other related information for development planning and goal setting.
• Provide technical and administrative support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing and administering a variety of technical programme transactions, preparing materials and documentations, and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support programme planning, results based planning (RBM) and monitoring and evaluation of results.

2. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results.
• Work closely and collaboratively with internal colleagues and partners to collect, analyze and share information on implementation issues.
• Suggest solutions on routine programme implementation and submit reports to alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and/or decisions. Keep record of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual sectoral reviews with government and other counterparts and prepare minutes/reports on results for follow up action by higher management and other stakeholders.
• Monitor and report on the use of sectoral programme resources (financial, administrative and other assets), verify compliance with approved allocation, organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity. Report on issues identified to ensure timely resolution by management/stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.
• Prepare draft inputs for programme/donor reporting.

3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation
• Undertake field visits and surveys and share information with stakeholders to assess progress and refer to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks and potential problems for timely action to achieve results.
• Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners/donors on the application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes and best practices on education related issues to support programme implementation, operations and delivery of results.

4. Networking and partnership building
• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate programme implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve and sustain results on education programmes.
• Draft communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships and alliances, and support fund raising for education programmes.
• Participate in appropriate inter-agency (UNCT) meetings and events on programming to collaborate with inter-agency partners on UNDAF operational planning and preparation of education programmes/projects and to integrate and harmonize UNICEF’s position and strategies with the UNDAF development and planning process.
• Research information on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs for fund raising and partnership development purposes.

5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
• Contribute to identifying, capturing, synthesizing, and sharing lessons learned for knowledge development and capacity development of stakeholders.
• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practice to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.
• Research and report on best and cutting edge practices for development planning of knowledge products and systems.
• Participate as a resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders.

More specifically, under supervision of the Education Specialist, the Education Officer will

• Support development and formulation of education programmes to advance education policy and standards in areas that are crucially to the developing needs of Chinese children and closely link to UNICEF programme areas. This will involve working with key education policy department and inspection office at national and provincial level to identify policy gaps and entry points, exert influence on policy and standards formulation, and strengthen government capacity to monitor, evaluate and make evidence informed policy decisions through policy research and evaluation, international engagement and capacity building activities.
• Manage programme implementation in the field of school-based child protection, aim to significantly improve child protection effectiveness in the education system, minimise safety risks and violence against children including but not limited to bullying (online and offline) and sexual harassment. This will involve working with key education policy makers, regulators, researchers and practitioners to establish national standards, formulate operational manuals, develop practical tools and learning materials, support capacity building efforts and conduct technical evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the programme interventions. It will also involve working with wider stakeholders such as the judicial system, community services, social workers and research community to provide integral support to children.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• A university degree in one of the following fields: education, development, law, psychology, sociology or a highly relevant technical field.
• A minimum of two years of professional experience in education policy engagement, programme planning, management and/or research.
• Track record in senior stakeholder relationship management and proven success in delivering policy outcomes.
• Familiar with Chinese policy and legal system, and technical expertise in school-based child protection.
• Substantial experience and capacity to engage at policy level, with proven track record in achieving policy impact.
• Strong capacity to articulate complex policy objectives and formulate roadmap to achieve the objectives.
• Professional confidence to manage senior stakeholder relationships and negotiate with high level personnel in governmental institutions, external agencies and/or private sector executive.
• Demonstrable technical expertise in the field of child protection, in and out of the education system, with direct experience managing complex and large-scale programme interventions, preferably with a strong legal education or training background.
• Excellent programme planning and management skills, with demonstratable monitoring, evaluation and research skills.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills, writing ability and administrative skills, with ability to work in multi-disciplinary and cross-sectoral teams.
• Fluency in English and Chinese is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
• Works Collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.
We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.
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 promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. 

Remarks:

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be cancelled.

All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will 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.

Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

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