Education Officer with UNICEF

Mission and objectives

UNICEF has a long-term commitment to Iraq’s children and young people, with the first formal cooperation agreement signed with the Government in 1963. UNICEF works in close partnership with the Federal through established Cooperation Agreements. UNICEF has a broad geographic presence in the country with four offices located in Basra, Baghdad, Erbil and Dohuk. UNICEF collaborates with UN agencies, international and national NGO partners to meet the humanitarian and development needs of most vulnerable children and young people. In recent years, UNICEF’s work to support the unique needs of young people has gained momentum, as the challenges facing them have come more sharply into view. UNICEF is committed to deliver for all children and young people through its overall impact goal of ‘realizing the rights of every child, especially the most disadvantaged. The UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2018−2021 recognizes the whole spectrum of young people, including young adults or youth over 18, and includes in its Change Strategies “supporting young people and children as agents of change.” Taking its cue from the strategic plan, the Global Communication and Advocacy Strategy 2019−2021 (GCAS) asserts the important role that young people can play in the successful realization of UNICEF’s mandate, and outlines the need to listen to, co-create and collaborate with young people and create meaningful engagement opportunities for them to make a difference. Being important drivers of change, children and young people are essential partners and contributors to both the development and implementation of UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2022 2025. With a new and ambitious SP, UNICEF intends to be deliberate and committed in fully involving children and young people in creating the solutions to accelerate the realization of the SDGs and driving change forward.

Context

Within the UNICEF Country Programme 2025 – 2029 and under the supervision of the Education Specialist P3, the Education Officer mainly provides professional technical, operational and administrative assistance for the ITALEEM Programme funded by the EU (75%) and implemented jointly with UNESCO. Furthermore, the Education Officer supports the Life Skills programmes funded by Canada (25%), for the reintegration of conflict-affected children returning from Northeast Syria (NES). Overall responsibility includes a variety of technical and administrative tasks to facilitate programme development, implementation, progress monitoring, evaluation, and reporting for these programmes. Technically, the position focuses on supporting the General Directorates of Education (GDoEs) and more widely the Ministry of Education (MoE) on three components: system building and strengthening the governance of the education system; expanding equitable access to quality learning opportunities through formal, non-formal and early childhood education; and improvement of learning, learning outcomes, and skills development. Geographically, the position focuses on (but is not limited to) the following governorates: Baghdad, Babil, Wasit, Karbala, Najaf, Diyala, Salah-A-Din, and Anbar.

Task description

Under the direct supervision of the Education Specialist P3, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: 1. Support to programme development and planning (ITALEEM & Canada) • Contribute to the preparation and updating of the situation analysis for the development, design and management of education-related interventions. 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 objectives and strategies and results-based planning through research, collection, analysis and reporting of education and other related information. • Provide technical and administrative support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing and administering a variety of technical programme transactions, preparing materials and documentation, and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support programme planning, results-based planning (RBM) and monitoring and evaluation of results. • Whenever relevant, contribute to the following programmatic components: Support humanitarian preparation and response; work at the intersection of the humanitarian-development-peace nexus; and coordinate organizational efforts to address climate change and environmental degradation, including through disaster risk reduction (DRR). Contribute to UNICEF’s engagement in peacebuilding and social cohesion and ensure mainstreaming of conflict sensitivity, peacebuilding and shock responsiveness, including responsiveness to internal migration and displacement. 2. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results (ITALEEM & Canada) • Work closely and collaboratively with internal colleagues and partners to collect, analyse and share information on implementation issues. • Facilitate communication with school-level stakeholders for programmatic activities and monitoring. • Provide close technical assistance to key stakeholders at the GDoEs for the development and implementation of the Governorate Education Sector Plans (GESPs) while mainstreaming the Iraq National Education Strategy (INES) into the technical discussions. • Coordinate the introduction and implementation of new or ongoing initiatives (public financing for children, roll-out of harmonized school governance model, climate education, national learning assessments, mental health and psycho-social support, school-based ECE etc.) between UNICEF CO and sub-national level stakeholders. • Coordinate with local government and GDoEs supporting the returnee children to access quality education in areas of origin and monitor the implementation of reintegration programmes for children returning from NES. • Suggest solutions for routine programme implementation and submit reports to alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and/or decisions. Keep a record of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalise 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 (ITALEEM & Canada) • Ensure smooth operations for all activities to be implemented with the GDoEs and schools at the sub-national level, including but not limited to the school-level roll-out of the Education Management Information System (EMIS), governorate-level sector coordination mechanism, school-based management, GDoE capacity development initiatives, and the development and monitoring of the GESPs, and implementation of reintegration programmes for NES returnees. • 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, CSO 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 (ITALEEM) • Build and sustain effective close working partnerships and facilitate daily communication with government counterparts and national stakeholders, especially partners at the sub-national level (GDoEs, Governorate Offices, schools, etc.), through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate programme implementation and build the capacity of stakeholders to achieve and sustain results on education programmes. • Support effective partnerships with the Government, civil society and local leaders, the private sector, academia, and other UN agencies to support sustained and proactive commitment to the Convention of the Rights of the Child and to achieve global UN agendas such as the Sustainable Development Goals. • Draft communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships and alliances, and support fundraising for education programmes. 5. Innovation, knowledge management, data, and capacity building (ITALEEM) • Contribute to identifying, capturing, synthesizing, and sharing lessons learned for knowledge development and capacity development of stakeholders. • Improve quality data collection and utilisation on child rights, vulnerabilities, and system strengthening, to inform policies and the drive to scale. • 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.

Eligibility criteria

Age

18 – 80

Required experience

3 years

Nationality

Candidate must be a national or legal resident of the country of assignment.

Assignment requirements

Relevant experience

3 years

Languages

English, Level: Fluent, Required Arabic, Level: Fluent, Required

Required education level

Bachelor degree or equivalent in Education, Psychology, Sociology

Competencies and values

• Accountability • Adaptability and flexibility • Creativity • Judgement and decision-making • Planning and organising • Professionalism • Self-management

Skills and experience

Programme planning, management, monitoring, coordination, and/or research in education. Relevant experience at the sub-national and school levels and in a UN system agency or UNICEF • The UNV is required to submit regular written reports to his/her supervisor to record planned, ongoing and completed tasks. The detailed arrangements for these regular reports will be discussed with his/her supervisor.

Area(s) of expertise

Education

Other information

Living conditions and remarks

As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. National UN Volunteers receive a volunteer living allowance to sustain a basic, adequate and safe lifestyle. This allowance varies from one location to another depending on local living costs, but all national UN Volunteers in the same location receive the same allowance. Below is a summary of the Conditions of Service. Allowances The purpose of allowances for national UN Volunteers is to enable the national UN Volunteers to sustain a modest and secure standard of living at the duty station. The allowances are in no way to be understood as compensation, reward or salary in exchange for the volunteer work. Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA): All national UN Volunteers are entitled to a monthly volunteer living allowance of USD 1,989.54 The purpose of this allowance is to cover the basic living costs of the national UN Volunteer, and her or his family when applicable. The allowance is to ensure that the volunteer can sustain a basic, adequate and safe lifestyle. The monthly allowance rate is a fixed rate for the duty station as established by UNV headquarters. Resettlement allowance: Eligible national UN Volunteers are entitled to receive a resettlement allowance upon satisfactory completion of the assignment. The allowance assists the volunteer to reintegrate into society both professionally and personally upon completion of their UN Volunteer service. UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for UN Volunteers with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process and afterwards in your assignment.

Inclusivity statement

United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme that welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, care protected characteristics. As part of their adherence to the values of UNV, all UN Volunteers commit themselves to combat any form of discrimination, and to promoting respect for human rights and individual dignity, without distinction of a person’s race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.