Senior Adviser Education, P-5, PD, NYHQ #53215
Senior Adviser Education, P-5, PD, NYHQ #53215
Job no: 498543
Work type: Fixed Term Staff
Location: United States of America
Categories: Education, P-5
Pay Grade: P-5
Purpose of the Position
The Senior Adviser Education reports to the Associate Director, Education and provides technical leadership on improving learning outcomes for children in programme countries, with a focus on reducing inequities, in line with UNICEF's Strategic Plan and Education Strategy. This is achieved through conceptualizing, directing, coordinating and supervising initiatives, monitoring developments, influencing the global development agenda, generating evidence-based policy and programming guidance, and scaling up strategies that contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal on education (SDG4).
Key Expected Results
Provides overall technical leadership on equitable education and improving learning outcomes, in line with UNICEF's Strategic Plan and Education Strategy.
Core Values
Work type: Fixed Term Staff
Location: United States of America
Categories: Education, P-5
Pay Grade: P-5
Purpose of the Position
The Senior Adviser Education reports to the Associate Director, Education and provides technical leadership on improving learning outcomes for children in programme countries, with a focus on reducing inequities, in line with UNICEF's Strategic Plan and Education Strategy. This is achieved through conceptualizing, directing, coordinating and supervising initiatives, monitoring developments, influencing the global development agenda, generating evidence-based policy and programming guidance, and scaling up strategies that contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal on education (SDG4).
Key Expected Results
Provides overall technical leadership on equitable education and improving learning outcomes, in line with UNICEF's Strategic Plan and Education Strategy.
- Contributes to the development, implementation and monitoring of UNICEF's Strategic Plan, Education Strategy and associated technical guidance with a focus on scaling up evidence based strategies for improving learning outcomes, including through quality standards such as the child friendly schools model, and approaches to strengthening the capacity of teachers. Support the capacity strengthening of teachers to improve learning outcomes.
- Stays up to date with emerging evidence, best practice and country office approaches. Reviews, analyses and synthesizes as needed quantitative and qualitative evidence from studies, evaluations or reviews relating to national education policies, plans and priorities supported by UNICEF and partners engaged in promoting equity and quality education. Facilitates and supports the sharing of lessons using existing knowledge management platforms.
- Working with colleagues, identifies and leads education section's engagement in priority issues that contribute to measureable results in education, including engaging in relevant cross cutting areas of work.
Supports regional and country programmes to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate education programmes.
- Provides and facilitates the provision of technical assistance to Regional Offices and Country Offices on strategies for promoting equitable quality education, as per the compacts between Programme Division and Regional Offices. This includes field visits, support to regional and global workshops and network meetings, reviewing programme documentation and the provision of advice as required.
- Oversees the development and testing of technical guidance to enhance programme quality and the monitoring and achievement of measurable results in priority areas, including life skills education, school health, learning assessment, early learning.
- Support project work on school related gender based violence in at least 5 countries, with a view to generating and sharing evidence.
Influences global education policy dialogue in line with UNICEF's Strategic Plan and Education Strategy, through representation and support for UNICEF's membership of priority programme partnerships.
- With, or on behalf of the Associate Director, represents UNICEF with a wide range of partners, NGO's, UN and bilateral agencies as required, including the Education 2030 Steering Committee and the board of the Global Education Monitoring report.
- With the Associate Director Education, oversees UNICEF's engagement with the Global Programme for Education (GPE).
- As required, supports the Office of the Executive Director's engagement in education events, including through the provision and quality assurance of briefing notes.
Supports efforts to mobilise resources for education, and monitor education results.
- Contributes to the development of the Annual Results Report, including data collection, assurance and analysis.
- Supports efforts to strengthen results based management.
- Supports engagement with key donors and partners.
- Leads or supports the development of new funding proposals, for the education section, and for UNICEF education's overall portfolio.
Contributes to the management of Education Section.
- Supports the overall management of the education section, as a member of the management team.
- Leads the programme and partnerships hub, ensuring the work is prioritised, adequately resourced and key work plan milestones are achieved. Oversees the budget for the hub.
- Supervises staff within the Programmes and Partnerships hub in line with UNICEF guidelines.
- Contributes to the efficient coordination and support of work across Education Section to deliver results in the section's work plan, including seeking inputs from other hubs, and providing support to other hubs.
- Plans and coordinates periodic assessments and evaluations of progress of UNICEF's education work towards the education Sustainable Development Goal (SDG4) in collaboration with Evaluation Office and DRP.
- Contributes to Education Section products such as the Annual Work Plan, the Annual Results Report and the Executive Director's Annual Report.
- Contributes to preparation and submission of timely progress and status reports for management and Board meetings.
- Advanced university degree in Education, Social/Behavioural Sciences or a related technical field.
- Minimum of ten years' progressively responsible relevant work experience at the national or international levels in education programme planning, management or research, and with proven experience of working in an advisory capacity.
- Experience working in the UN or other international organisation is an asset.
- Fluency in English is required. Good working knowledge of another UN language (i.e. Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) is an asset.
Core Values
- Commitment
- Diversity and Inclusion
- Integrity
- Communication – Level III
- Working with People – Level III
- Drive for Results – Level III
- Leading and Supervising – Level III
- Formulating Strategies and Concepts – Level III
- Relating and Networking – Level III
- Persuading and Influencing – Level III
- Applying Technical Expertise – Level III
- In depth understanding of the overall global development context, including issues such as: poverty, conflict, and the impact of these factors on education and vice-versa; and inter-sectoral approaches to address such issues in collaboration with other sectors (including Social Policy,Child Protection, Nutrition, WASH, Health and Communications within UNICEF).
- Extensive knowledge of global developments in education and international engagement strategies, including the application of the equity lens and human rights perspectives to programming, and how to access, critically appraise and apply global research and evidence in education to policy, advocacy and programming .
- Strong ability to support policy dialogue: translation of analytical findings and evidence into development programmes and policy discussions around equity and learning with partners, including government, development partners, CSOs and academia in the following areas: child development, curriculum, assessment, pedagogy, supplies, quality assurance, etc.
- Strong education sector planning knowledge/ability, including the range of modalities for delivering education, linkages between different sub-sectors (e.g. ECD, Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Inclusive Education), cost-effectiveness and efficiency issues, key institutional structures, components and processes, as well as governance issues.
- Strong education and policy sector analysis capacity, including understanding of the core education data sets, indicators, tools for analysis of equity, determinants of student access and learning, budget, cost and financing, education system management, political economy and application to education policy and strategic planning.
- Rigorous programme management in education, including programme design, costing, monitoring and evaluation (including areas like classroom assessment, standardized learning assessment, examinations, impact evaluation) and reporting.
- Strong ability to support engagement with partners (e.g. Sector Wide Approaches, Global Partnership for Education, Education in Emergency Clusters, Education Provider Forums, Delivering as One, Inter-sectoral partnerships such as in ECD), as well as networking with other key partners.
- Strong understanding of gender and inequity issues in relation to education and development and the application of gender / equity analysis to policy and planning in education.
- Strong working knowledge of Excel and of a statistical package software.