Senior Project Officer (Regional Health Education and Wellbeing Advisor, West and Central Africa)

Numéro du poste : 6SNED 0048PA

Classe : P-4

Secteur de tutelle : Field Office

Type de contrat : Engagements au titre d’un projet

Durée du contrat : 1 année

Recrutement ouvert à : Candidats internes et externes

Clôture des candidatures (minuit heure de Paris) : 15/12/2024

Valeurs fondamentales de l’UNESCO : Engagement envers l’Organisation, intégrité, respect de la diversité, professionnalisme

OVERVIEW OF THE POST

Under the overall authority of the Assistant Director-General for Education (ADG/ED), the functional authority of the Director of the UNESCO Multi-sectoral Regional Office in Dakar, and the direct supervision of the Chief of Education Section, the incumbent provides support to the strengthening and national scale-up of education sector responses to health education and wellbeing in West and Central Africa (WCA). He/she manages and supervises the Education for Health and Wellbeing cluster and team of the Education sector, and he/she is responsible for the coordination of the Our Lives, Our Rights, Our Future programme (O3) and other Health Education and Wellbeing programmes in WCA including its delivery.

Strategy and policy development

• Identifying opportunities for UNESCO engagement in policy development, standard setting and programming for health education and wellbeing
• Facilitating strategic planning within UNESCO for engagement in response to these opportunities in WCA

Programme Management and Technical Support

• Managing and supporting health education and wellbeing activities in WCA, including the O3 programme, ensuring high quality programme delivery, budget oversight, monitoring and reporting,
• Coordinating closely with the Programme Manager in Eastern & Southern Africa region for O3 activities and with the Section of Health and Education at HQ for overall programme coherence and management
• Coordinating regional reporting to HQ and donors
• Building relationships with Ministries of Education, the Regional Economic Communities, the Union African Commission, and providing technical guidance and guidelines for further development of their capacities and activities

Liaison

• Liaising with UNESCO structures, including other education clusters at the Dakar Office, health education and wellbeing staff in WCA, the Section of Health and Education at HQ, the Regional Health Education Advisor for East and Southern Africa and relevant UNESCO institutes
   

Representation and partner relations

• Developing and maintaining partner relations in WCA with regional bodies and development partners, including civil society organizations
• Advocating for the role of health education in education sector
• Collaborating with others United Nations Agencies in WCA (eg. UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF, etc.) and participating in appropriate regional forums, such as the Joint UN Programmes and the Technical Working Group of the WCA Commitment
• Liaising with civil society, youth commitments associations and NGO which intervenes in the domain of health education and wellbeing in WCA

Resource mobilization

• Identifying potential for resource mobilization and leading on, or supporting, proposal development
• Providing technical support for countries in accessing funding for the education sector response to health education and wellbeing
• Participating in working groups on financing and joint UN missions
   

Leadership and supervision

• Supervising a small team of professionals, consultants and interns, ensuring leadership on annual project planning (workplan, budget and monitoring)
• Ensuring human resources needs for the work are planned and met

COMPETENCIES

A successful candidate will be required to demonstrate the following competencies:

Core Competencies

Accountability

Communication

Teamwork

Innovation

Results focus

Planning and organizing

Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement

Managerial Competencies

Driving and managing change

Strategic thinking

Making quality decisions

Building partnerships

Leading and empowering others

Managing performance

COMPETENCIES

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in education, social sciences, public health, or related field.

Work Experience

• A minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible professional experience in the field of education and health, of which preferably 3 years acquired at international level. 

Skills and competencies

• Excellent coordination and interpersonal skills, and ability to manage staff and teams in a multicultural environment.
• Extensive professional knowledge in education for health and wellbeing or in one or more of the following themes as they relate to adolescents and young people: SRH, GBV, HIV, school health, gender equality in education

• Skills in programme development and management, technical support, resource mobilization and programme and budget monitoring
• Proven understanding of the context of delivering health and education programmes in sub-Saharan Africa
• Familiarity with, and good convening power of, UN agencies, bilateral and multilateral agencies, and NGO which intervene on health education and wellbeing
• Analytical skills and ability to collect, synthesize and analyze information from various sources.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to prepare, present and discuss findings and recommendations clearly and concisely.
• Ability to coordinate and negotiate with partners, network and different stakeholders
• Very good IT skills

Languages

• Excellent knowledge (written and spoken) of English or French, and good knowledge of the other language.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Advanced university degree (PhD or equivalent) in in education, social sciences, public health, or related field.

Work Experience

• Proven experience in fundraising
• Practical experience in policy support and capacity development in health education and wellbeing
• Demonstrated experience in design, management and coordination of health education and wellbeing strategies
• Experience in research pertaining to health education and wellbeing
• Experience in data management and support to national monitoring systems and data collection
• Experience in budget management

Skills and competencies

• Familiarity with the work and functioning of the UN System including key mechanisms such as the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), UN Country Team (UNCT), Delivering as One (DaO) and other joint UN Programming and UN inter-agency initiatives.

Languages

• Good knowledge of Portuguese.

BENEFITS AND ENTITLEMENTS

UNESCO’s salaries are calculated in US dollars. They consist of a basic salary and a post adjustment, which reflects the cost of living in a particular duty station, as well as exchange rates. Other benefits include: 30 days annual leave, family allowance, home travel, education grant for dependent children, pension plan and medical insurance.  The approximate annual starting salary for this post is 111,813 USD. More details can be found on the ICSC Website.

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the UNESCO careers website. No modifications can be made to the application submitted.

The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as a competency-based interview. 

UNESCO uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates.

Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided.

UNESCO recalls that paramount consideration in the appointment of staff members shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, technical competence and integrity. UNESCO applies a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of harassment. UNESCO is committed to achieving and sustaining equitable and diverse geographical distribution, as well as gender parity among its staff members in all categories and at all grades. Furthermore, UNESCO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Candidates from non- and under-represented Member States (last update here) are particularly welcome and strongly encouraged to apply. Individuals from minority groups and indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the highest level of confidentiality. Worldwide mobility is required for staff members appointed to international posts.

UNESCO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.

Please note that UNESCO is a non-smoking Organization.