Programme Specialist

Under the leadership of the Programme Manager, the Programme Specialist is responsible for overseeing a portfolio of programs in EOF’s Program team. This may be a sectoral portfolio such as Early Childhood Care and Education, Basic Education, or Skills for Employment, or it may be a portfolio of programs at the same stage (for example, all programs in design, or all programs in implementation). Program design encompasses overseeing program scoping and program design, and implementation involves overseeing program implementation and yearly evaluations.

Key functions accountabilities and related duties tasks:

Lead the design and implementation of EOF’s programs in the assigned portfolio:

Duties:

• Oversee, within the assigned portfolio, the full program life cycle of EOF’s programs, including concept development, detailed design, contracting, contract management and evaluation.
• Oversee the work of programme staff and consultants to ensure high-quality program outputs such as program objectives, theory of change and finance mechanisms.
• Provide timely and effective expert advice, guidance and input into Outcomes Based Financing strategy, planning, implementation and evaluation.
• Responsible for certification of allocation and disbursement of funds, determining contracting and cash needs to ensure streamlined programme delivery.

Advocacy, networking and partnership building for the programs in their portfolio:

Duties:

• Support the Programme Manager (P4) with EOF’s engagement with senior stakeholders across governments, donors, impact investors, implementors and others to develop EOF’s program pipeline and lead program design and implementation.
• Develop proposals for governments, donors and investors together with EOF’s partnerships team about EOF’s programs to discuss the potential benefits of a program with an innovative finance mechanism.
• Advocate externally for the EOF approach to innovative financing and influence discussions in the education sector through public speaking engagements and external writing such as blogs and op-eds.

Organizational development:

Duties:

• As a senior member of EOF’s team, contribute to defining the vision and strategy for the organization and its annual goals and ensure accountability for the delivery of the annual goals.
• Support the Programme Manager (P4) to establish the section’s annual work plan. Set priorities and targets and monitor work progress to ensure results are achieved according to schedule and performance standards.

Management support:

Duties:

• Supervise Consultants (and potentially Staff positions in future), by providing them with clear objectives and goals, direction and guidance to enable them to perform their duties responsibly, effectively and efficiently.
• Support the Programme Manager (P4) to develop a growth plan for EOF’s program team, how the team are allocated across programs, recruitment needs and plans for the professional development of team members.
• Support the Programme Manager (P4) to develop a positive working environment and high performance of the program team through direct supervision of team members, chairing program team meetings and retreats as needed.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements:

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: economics, political science, finance, education, international development, international relations, or a related field.
• A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
• A minimum of five years of professional experience in project management, program design and implementation, education programming, international development or data analysis.
• Experience working in a developing country and with Governments is required.
• Experience with the design and implementation of Results-Based Financing programs is required.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish) is an asset, and knowledge of Portuguese is also an asset.

Source: https://jobs.unicef.org/cw/en-us/job/579887