Education Specialist, P4, Fixed Term, #91862, Damascus – Syria, MENA

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.

UNICEF promotes the rights and welfare of all children and adolescents in everything we do. Together with our allies, we work to transform this commitment into practical actions that benefit all children, especially focusing our efforts on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded, worldwide.

For every child, education.

UNICEF Syria was established in 1970 and has been working with partners to help empower children to fully claim and enjoy their rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

UNICEF works with partners across Syria to deliver supplies, services, and expertise in areas of Child Protection, Education, Health, Nutrition, Water, Hygiene and Sanitation for every child. UNICEF also provides humanitarian assistance when needed.

Syria continues to face one of the most complex emergencies in the world. Unprecedented humanitarian needs are compounded by displacement inside the country and across its borders, extensive destruction of civilian and social services infrastructure, devastating impacts on the economy, and most importantly, the breakdown of the social fabric that stitched the country together for decades.

Today, 90% of people in Syria live in poverty, most are unable to make ends meet or bring food to the table. Families have had their resources depleted, with limited employment opportunities, skyrocketing prices, and shortage of basic supplies. For most people, the current socio-economic challenges represent some of the harshest and most challenging circumstances they have faced since the beginning of the crisis 11 years ago.

In 2023, 15.1 million people need humanitarian assistance. This is the highest number of people in need ever recorded in Syria since 2011. The number of children in need – more than 6.5 million – has increased by seven per cent in the past year alone. This is largely due the ongoing conflict, continued displacements, the unprecedented economic crisis, deepening poverty, and unemployment. The COVID-19 pandemic, the hike in price of commodities triggered by the overall global economic situation and the impact of sanctions are further compounding the dire situation.

Find out how UNICEF programmes drive change for children and young people every day in Syria by visiting: www.unicef.org/syria

How can you make a difference?

Under the overall guidance and direction of the Chief of Education, you will support the Chief in managing the section, playing a key role in bringing innovation to the development and preparation of education programs. You will provide authoritative technical guidance and operational support throughout all stages of programming to facilitate the management and delivery of results on strengthening national education systems to improve learning outcomes and to promote universal access to quality, equitable and inclusive primary/early childhood education, especially for children who are marginalized, disadvantaged, and excluded in society.

You will be contributing to the achievement of concrete and sustainable results according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM), as well as UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Management and advisory support to the Chief.
2. Programme development and planning.
3. Programme management, monitoring and quality control of results.
4. Advisory services and technical support.
5. Advocacy, networking, and partnership building.
6. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building.

To view the Generic Job Profile and the complete Key Functions, accountabilities, and related duties/ tasks, please click here  JD – Education Specialist P4 25032024.doc

To qualify as a champion for every child you will have the below requirement:

Education:

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: education, economics, psychology, sociology, or another relevant technical field.

Work Experience:

• A minimum of eight years of professional experience in programme planning and management.
• 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.
• Good knowledge and understanding of supporting teachers’ professional development initiatives.
• Good ability to support development of relevant teaching and learning materials.

Language Proficiency:

Fluency in English and Arabic is required.

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 Here

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

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

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: Here

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. A diverse and inclusive workforce is part of UNICEF’s DNA

UNICEF Careers, irrespective of their raceethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a Compensation, benefits and wellbeing UNICEF Careers including parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation for job candidates and personnel with disabilities UNICEF Careers, UNCIEF 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. All selected candidates will, therefore, 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.”.

Remarks:

Only non-Syrian Nationals can apply for this post.

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.

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

“This VA is open to internal UNICEF staff only i.e., UNICEF staff holding permanent, continuing, and fixed term appointments, including JPOs”

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 may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). 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.

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.

This is required for all posts requiring a higher education degree. “UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/”