Fixed Term: Chief Education, P5, Islamabad, Pakistan, #9093 [Re-advertised]

UNICEF Pakistan is looking for a seasoned Chief of Education to join the dynamic team in Islamabad. As Head of Section, s/he leads a group of professional and support staff to develop and manage the education programme in collaboration with other programme sectors, and with government and key development partners. S/he is accountable for the overall quality of the programme design and for ensuring that it is effectively and efficiently managed and monitored.

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

How can you make a difference?

Pakistan was the sixth country in the world to sign and ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child, less than one year after it was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989. However, children and adolescents living in Pakistan still face acute challenges.

UNICEF supports the Government of Pakistan to accelerate progress for children, work to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and help children realize their rights under the Convention on the Rights of Children. This will be made through, among other things, strong partnerships with provincial authorities, teachers and health professionals, frontline workers and social mobilisers, communities and families, and of course the children and adolescents themselves. 

In particular, UNICEF will work so that:

• Every child survives and thrives — being in good health, immunized, protected from polio and accessing nutritious food.
• Every child learns.
• Every child is protected from violence and exploitation and registered at birth.
• Every child lives in a safe and clean environment, with access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

To learn more about UNICEF work in Pakistan, please visit the country website www.unicef.org/pakistan and videos on YouTube and Vimeo

The Chief Education (Level 5) reports to the Deputy Representative is accountable for the development, design, planning, implementation, and management of the Education programme within the country programme. As Head of Section, s/he leads a group of professional and support staff to develop and manage the education programme in collaboration with other programme sectors, and with government and key development partners. S/he is accountable for the overall quality of the programme design and for ensuring that it is effectively and efficiently managed and monitored.

The Chief is responsible for managing and leading all stages of education programmes/projects from strategic planning and formulation to delivery of results on strengthening national education systems to improve learning outcomes, universal access to equitable and inclusive primary/early childhood education, and renewing involvement in secondary education, especially for children who are marginalized, disadvantaged and excluded in society.

The Chief is responsible for leading, managing and establishing the plans of action to ensure the achievement of concrete and sustainable programme/project results, according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM) and UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework.

To make a difference, the incumbent shall be responsible for following key strategic functions, accountabilities and related duties/ tasks;

Managerial leadership 

• Establish the section’s annual work plan with the education team, and set priorities and targets. Monitor work progress and ensure results are achieved according to schedule and performance standards.
• Establish clear individual performance objectives, goals and timelines; and provide timely guidance to enable the team to perform their duties responsibly and efficiently. Plan and ensure timely performance management and assessment of the team.

Programme development and planning

• Lead the planning and updating of the situation analysis to ensure that current and comprehensive data is available to guide UNICEF’s strategic policy advocacy, intervention and development efforts on education programmes and to set programme priorities, strategies, and implementation plans.
• Keep abreast of national, regional and international development priorities on education to leverage UNICEF’s position and competencies with donors, national governments, communities and constituents to advocate and promote education initiatives and policies.
• Lead, coordinate and supervise the development of education programmes/projects (as a full component of the CO and/or UNDAF programmes). Establish plans of action, programme goals and results, using results-based planning methodology and terminology (RBM).
• Oversee the timely preparation of programme recommendation and related documentation for inclusion in the Country Office Programme recommendation, ensuring alignment with UNICEF’s overall Strategic Plans, regional strategies and national priorities, plans and competencies.
• Collaborate with colleagues and partners to develop partnership frameworks to address specific needs and to leverage resources for enhancing education programmes/projects. Ensure synergy, integration, coherence, and harmonization of programmes and projects with UNICEF Strategic Plans and priorities, donors’ development strategies and policies, national priorities, and UN System development interventions and initiatives.

Programme management, monitoring and quality control of results 

• Plan and collaborate on monitoring and evaluation initiatives to establish benchmarks, performance indicators and other UNICEF/UN system indicators, to assess and strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results on education programmes.
• Participate in major monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual reviews with government and other counterparts to assess progress and to engage stakeholders to take required action and interventions to achieve results.
• Prepare and assess monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths, and/or weaknesses in programme and management; identify lessons learned and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely intervention to achieve goals.
• Monitor programmes and projects to assess progress, identify bottlenecks and potential problems and take timely decisions to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for timely resolution.
• Plan, approve, monitor, certify, and control the use of programme resources (financial, human, administrative and other assets) certifying & verifying compliance with organizational rules, regulations and procedures, donor commitments and standards of accountability and integrity. Ensure timely reporting and liquidation of resources.
• Prepare and submit programme and project reports to donors and other partners to keep them informed on programme progress and critical issues.

Advisory services and technical support

• Provide technical advice to key government officials, NGO, UN system and other country office partners on strategies and best practices to influence approaches and policies, and to support social, economic, political, and legal development planning, implementation and delivery of results on education programmes and related issues.
• Coordinate and ensure the availability of technical experts (with Regional Office/HQ) to ensure timely support throughout all stages of programming and project implementation.
• Participate in strategic discussions to influence policy and agenda setting for combating all forms of discrimination against children by advising on and advocating strategies and approaches to promote universal access to equitable and inclusive education for children in the country

Advocacy, networking and partnership building 

• Build and strengthen strategic partnerships through networking and advocacy with local and national governments, UN system agency partners, donors, internationally recognized institutions, NGOs, funding organizations, research institutes and private sector to reinforce cooperation and/or pursue opportunities, leverage funds, to promote goals and achieve sustainable and broad results on education programmes.
• Design communication strategies, implementation plans and activities for maximum communication impact and outreach to promote awareness, establish partnerships for sustainable results, and to support fund raising for UNICEF and Country Office programmes on education.
• Participate and/or represent UNICEF in inter-agency (UNCT) discussions and planning on education and related issues to ensure organizational position, interests and priorities are fully considered and integrated in the UNDAF development planning and agenda setting process. Collaborate with inter-agency partners and colleagues on the UNDAF planning and preparation of programmes/projects including emergency preparedness.

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Promote critical thinking, innovative approaches and good practices for sustainable education programming initiatives through advocacy and technical advisory services.
• Keep abreast, research, benchmark, introduce and implement best and cutting edge practices on education and management. Institutionalize and disseminate best practices and knowledge learned.
• Lead the development of policies and procedures, and introduce innovation and best practices to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programmes and projects.
• Lead, plan and implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of stakeholders to promote sustainable results on education and related programmes/projects.

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

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: education, economics, psychology, sociology or another relevant technical field.
• *A first University Degree (Bachelor’s) in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
• A minimum of ten years of professional experience in programme planning, management, and/or research in education at the international level is required.
• Experience working in a developing country is considered as an asset.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Familiarity/ background with emergency is considered as an asset.
• Fluency in English 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, 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…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness(3)Drive to achieve results for impact(4)Innovates and embraces change(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity(6)Thinks and acts strategically(7)Works collaboratively with others (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people.

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:

This position is open to Non-Pakistani Nationals only. 

This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is a role with direct contact with children, works directly with children, is a safeguarding response role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) applies.

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

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service. 

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. 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.

Eligible UNICEF International Professional (IP) Staff Members on fixed-term, continuing or permanent contracts applying to a Temporary Appointment, which is dedicated to L3 (or L2) Response, may be able to retain a lien and their fixed-term entitlements. The conditions of the temporary assignment will vary depending on the status of their post and their current tour of duty, and relocation entitlements may be limited as per the relevant policies.