Education Specialist

Under the guidance of the Chief of Education (Level 5), the Education Specialist for Learning plays a critical role in strengthening education systems by focusing on foundational learning to enhance learning outcomes. The Specialist leads the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of programs that integrate core learning competencies with relevant life skills and aiming to prepare children for a rapidly changing world. This includes foundational literacy, numeracy and social emotional skills–as well as digital skills, both in formal and non-formal contexts to create more resilient, future-ready learners.

With a commitment to inclusive and equitable education, the Specialist provides technical expertise in curriculum enhancement, teacher training, and the integration of skilling pathways within primary and secondary education. They manage partnerships and work closely with stakeholders to promote access to high-quality learning and skilling opportunities for all children, especially those from marginalized and disadvantaged backgrounds. The role also includes responsibility for tracking progress, reporting results, and ensuring that program strategies align with UNICEF’s goals for sustainable, quality education and lifelong learning. By embedding learning and skilling into system-level policies and practices, the Specialist contributes to building a more adaptable, skilled, and inclusive generation.

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.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

• Support to programme development and planning
• Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results
• Technical and operational support to programme implementation
• Networking and partnership building
• Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

Support to programme development and planning:

• Support the preparation, design and updating of the situation analysis for the education programmes to ensure that current and comprehensive data on education issues is available to guide UNICEF’s strategic policy, advocacy, intervention and development efforts on education programmes.
• Help supervisor set priorities, strategies, design and implementation plans, with focus on strategic planning and partnerships for system strengthening. Keep abreast of development trends to enhance programme management, efficiency and delivery.
• Participate in strategic programme discussions on the planning of education programmes. Formulate, design and prepare programme proposals for the sector, with focus on system strengthening, ensuring alignment with UNICEF’s Strategic Plans and Country Programme and coherence/integration with the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), regional strategies and national priorities, plans and competencies.
• Establish specific goals, objectives, strategies and implementation plans for system strengthening work in the sector using results-based planning terminology and methodology (RBM). Prepare required documentations for programme review and approval.
• Work closely and collaboratively with internal colleagues and partners to discuss strategies and methodologies, and to determine national priorities to ensure the achievement of concrete and sustainable results.
• Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes and to ensure integration, coherence and harmonization of programmes/projects with other UNICEF sectors and achievement of results as planned and allocated.

Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results:

• Plan and collaborate with internal colleagues 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 system strengthening components of education programmes.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual reviews with the government and other counterparts to assess progress and to determine required action/interventions to achieve results.
• Prepare and assess monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths and weaknesses in programme management.
• Identify lessons learned and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely intervention to achieve goals.
• Actively monitor programmes/projects through field visits and surveys, and exchange information with stakeholders to assess progress, identify bottlenecks and potential problems, and take timely decisions to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for timely resolution.
• Monitor and verify the optimum and appropriate use of sectoral programme resources (financial, administrative and other assets) confirming compliance with organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity, ensuring timely reporting and liquidation of resources.

Technical and operational support to programme implementation:

• Provide technical guidance and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and country office partners and donors on interpretation, application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes and best practices and approaches on strategic planning and system strengthening in education and related issues to support programme management, implementation and delivery of results.
• Arrange/coordinate availability of technical experts with Regional Office/HQ to ensure timely and appropriate support throughout the programming process.
• Participate in education programme meetings including programme development and contingency planning to provide technical and operational information, advice and support.
• Draft policy papers, briefs and other strategic programme materials for management use.

Networking and partnership building:

• 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 to reinforce cooperation to achieve sustainable and broad results on education programmes related to education system strengthening.
• Prepare communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships and support fund raising for education programmes.
• Participate and/or represent UNICEF in appropriate inter-agency (UNCT) discussions on education and related issues to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on One UN Program planning and preparation of programmes/projects ensuring organizational position, interests and priorities are fully considered and integrated in the One UN Programme process in development planning and agenda setting.

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building:

• 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 in education system strengthening.
• Keep abreast, research, benchmark, and implement best practices in education system strengthening. 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 programmes and projects.
• Organize and implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders to promote sustainable results on related programmes/projects

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: education, economics, psychology, sociology, or another relevant technical field
• Work Experience: A minimum of 5 years of relevant and professional work experience in Education programmes with the focus on foundational learning, planning, management, is required.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.

Source: https://jobs.unicef.org/cw/en-us/job/577219