Education Officer, NOB, Cotonou/Benin, #126587

UNICEF works in some of the worldâs toughest places, to reach the worldâs 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, [insert tagline]

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does â in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to childrenâs rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life â in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions â her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a societyâs most disadvantaged citizens â addressing inequity â not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

How can you make a difference?

Under the supervision of the Education Specialist, the Education Officer provides professional technical, operational and administrative assistance throughout the programming process for education programmes/projects within the Country Programme from development planning to delivery of results, preparing, executing, managing and implementing a variety of technical and administrative programme tasks to facilitate programme development, implementation, programme progress monitoring, evaluating and reporting.

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 including in emergency situations. Research and report on development trends on education sector and data for use in programme education 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. Contribute to the development of proposals for mobilizing financial resources by providing information related to area covered by the proposal. 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 implementing partners including NGO and local communities 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 UNICEFâs 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.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will haveâ¦

A university degree in one of the following fields is required: education, psychology, sociology or another relevant technical field. A minimum of two years of professional experience in programme planning, management, and/or research in education 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. Fluency in French is required. Knowledge of working English is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEFâs 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 areâ¦

(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.

[add the 8th competency (Nurtures, leads and manages people) for supervisory role]