Country: Congo
Closing date: 03 Feb 2020
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.
For every child, a childhood
Organizational Context
UNICEF is a leading humanitarian and development agency working globally for the rights of every child. Child rights begin with safe shelter, nutrition, protection from disaster and conflict and traverse the life cycle: pre-natal care for healthy births, clean water and sanitation, health care and education. UNICEF has spent nearly 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. Working with and for children through adolescence and into adulthood requires a global presence whose goal is to produce results and monitor their effects. UNICEF also lobbies and partners with leaders, thinkers and policy makers to help all children realize their rights -especially the most disadvantaged.
Strategic office context:
The UNICEF Congo Brazzaville Country office is a small-medium UNICEF Country office. The 2020-2024 Country Programme, signed between UNICEF and the Government of Republic of Congo, aims to promote the delivery of an integrated package of quality services for children and promote the education and protection of adolescents, using the life-cycle approach and supporting the equity focus included in the 2030 Agenda, namely, to leave no child behind and help the most disadvantaged first, in the particular context of the Republic of Congo as a Low Middle Income Country.
To meet Programme strategies and results, the office will need committed and creative professionals who want to make a lasting difference for Congolese children.
How can you make a difference?
Job Purpose
Under the overall guidance of the Deputy Representative, the Chief of Education, Protection and Adolescent Development will be accountable for results for children in the second decade of life, with a particular focus on the education and protection components of the programme as well as the integration of health related interventions and cross-cutting approaches. The education component will be responsible for Early Childhood Development interventions, including access to pre-primary education.
The Chief will provide leadership to the education and protection team in planning, development, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of the programme.
The Chief will be responsible for the overall functioning and management of the programme.
The Chief with her/his team will ensure that knowledge generation, policy dialogue, evidence-based advocacy and critical materials and information relating to the education and protection programmes are accurate and reflect the key issues of concern and opportunities for the realization of equity-based quality education and protection from all forms of violence against children in the Republic of Congo.
The Chief will ensure that the Education and Protection Programme is designed to provide greater attention to effective advocacy: bringing together normative (upstream) advice, knowledge management on children's rights and equity and the operational (downstream) technical assistance.
The post is required to provide high level technical leadership to influence policy dialogue and strengthen the overall governance and accountability system of the government accordingly. The post will be the negotiator; convener and coordinator of the education and protection sector programmes and will maintain relationship and liaise with high level government counterparts, donors and development partners.
The post will be responsible for mobilizing funds for the OR posts and recruit high calibre staff for the delivery of the education and protection programme. Coordination among programme sectors on education and protection related areas in the first decade will also be led by the post.
The post will also contribute to the overall governance issues of the office as member of the Country Management Team.
Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks
1.Managerial leadership
Establish the section's annual work plan with the team and set priorities and targets. Monitor work progress and ensure results are achieved according to schedule and performance standards.
Establish clear individual performance objectives, goals and timelines; and provide timely guidance to enable the team to perform their duties responsibly and efficiently. Plan and ensure timely performance management and assessment of the team.
Supervise team members by providing them with clear objectives, goals, direction, and guidance to enable them to perform their duties responsibly, effectively and efficiently.
2.Country Programme planning and development
Design and update the situation analysis and conduct assessments to establish age and sex disaggregated evidence-based data for UNICEF advocacy and development of policies, frameworks and programmes to promote Quality Education; Protection and adolescent development and participation in the country.
Assess national/regional/international development priorities to identify opportunities and strategies and courses of action to enhance the delivery of services and achievement of objectives on quality education, protection and adolescent development and participation. Work in coordination with C4D, Gender, Communication, Education, HIV/AIDS, Health, Nutrition, Social policy, WASH, Planning, Emergency and Monitoring & Evaluation to support development of a strategic framework for children and adolescents quality education, protection and development, across all sectors.
Participate in CO programme formulation, planning and preparation to provide input, advice and operational support on the integration of cross sectoral policies and frameworks that promote quality education, protection and adolescent development and participation. This includes the processes of SMR and CPD formulation. Ensure alignment of adolescent policies, frameworks and interventions with the UNICEF’s Strategic Plans and coherence/integration with the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), regional strategies and national priorities, plans and competencies.
Establish specific goals, objectives, strategies and implementation plans for quality education, protection, and adolescent development and participation programmes/projects across all sectors using results-based planning terminology and methodology (RBM). Prepare relevant documentation for programme review and approval.
Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners and stakeholders to discuss strategies and methodologies that enhance the realization of adolescent rights across all sectors and to promote partnerships and alliances on quality education, protection and adolescent development and participation including partnerships with adolescents.
Ensure that the voices of adolescents and children are systematically taken into consideration in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the programme cycle.
Collaborate with colleagues and partners to develop partnership frameworks to address specific needs and to leverage resources for enhancing education, protection and adolescents development programmes/projects. Ensure synergy, integration, coherence, and harmonization of programmes and projects with UNICEF Strategic Plans and priorities, donors development strategies and policies, national priorities, and UN System development interventions and initiatives.
Guide and coordinate the timely preparation of programme recommendations and related documentation for inclusion in the Country Office Programme recommendation ensuring alignment with UNICEF's Strategic Plans, regional strategies and national priorities.
Keep abreast of national, regional and international development priorities on education, protection and Adolescent development to leverage UNICEF's position and competencies with donors, national governments, communities and constituents to advocate and promote education initiatives and policies.
Supervise the development of education, protection and adolescent development programmes/projects (as a full component of the CO and/or UNDAF programmes). Establish plans of action, programme goals and results, using results-based planning methodology and terminology (RBM).
3.Programme management, monitoring and quality control of results
Plan and collaborate on monitoring and evaluation initiatives to establish benchmarks, performance indicators and other UNICEF/UN system indicators, to assess and strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results on education, protection and adolescent development programmes.
Participate in major monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual reviews with government and other counterparts to assess progress and to engage stakeholders to take required action and interventions to achieve results.
Prepare and assess monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths, and/or weaknesses in programme and management; identify lessons learned and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely intervention to achieve goals.
Monitor programmes and projects to assess progress, identify bottlenecks and potential problems and take timely decisions to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for timely resolution.
Plan, approve, monitor, certify, and control the use of programme resources (financial, human, administrative and other assets) certifying & verifying compliance with organizational rules, regulations and procedures, donor commitments and standards of accountability and integrity. Ensure timely reporting and liquidation of resources.
Prepare and submit programme and project reports to donors and other partners to keep them informed on programme progress and critical issues.
4.Advisory services and technical support
Provide technical advice to key government officials, NGO, UN system and other country office partners on strategies and best practices to influence approaches and policies, and to support social, economic, political, and legal development planning, implementation and delivery of results on education, protection and Adolescent development programmes and related issues.
Coordinate and ensure the availability of technical experts (with Regional Office/HQ) to ensure timely support throughout all stages of programming and project implementation.
Participate in strategic discussions to influence policy and agenda setting for combating all forms of discrimination against children by advising on and advocating strategies and approaches to promote universal access to equitable and inclusive education for children in the country.
5.Advocacy, networking and partnership building
Lead advocacy drive for adolescent rights and programming within the country office, with other UN and government and non-government partners based on improved evidence and data.
Build and strengthen strategic partnerships through networking and advocacy with local and national governments, UN system agency partners, donors, internationally recognized institutions, NGOs, funding organizations, research institutes and private sector to reinforce cooperation and/or pursue opportunities, leverage funds, to promote goals and achieve sustainable and broad results on education, protection and adolescent development programmes.
Prepare communication strategies, implementation plans and activities for maximum communication impact and outreach to promote awareness, establish partnerships for sustainable results, and to support fund raising for UNICEF and Country Office programmes on education.
Participate and/or represent UNICEF in inter-agency (UNCT) discussions and planning on education, adolescent development and participation, and related issues to ensure organizational position, interests and priorities are fully considered and integrated in the UNDAF development planning and agenda setting process. Collaborate with inter-agency partners and colleagues on the UNDAF planning and preparation of programmes/projects including emergency preparedness.
6.Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
Promote critical thinking, innovative approaches and good practices for sustainable education programming initiatives through advocacy and technical advisory services.
Keep abreast, research, benchmark, introduce and implement best and cutting-edge practices on education and management. Institutionalize and disseminate best practices and knowledge learned.
Contribute to the development of policies and procedures and introduce innovation and best practices to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programmes and projects.
Organize, plan and implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of stakeholders to promote sustainable results on education, protection, adolescent development and participation and related programmes/projects.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have:
Education
An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: education, economics, psychology, sociology, law/legal studies, humanities, or another relevant technical field.
Work Experience and Requirements:
A minimum of eight years of professional experience in programme planning, management, and/or research in education at the international level 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.
Familiarity/background with emergency is considered as an asset.
Language Proficiency
Fluency in French and English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language or local language of the duty station is considered as an asset.
For every Child, you demonstrate commitment
UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.
The functional competencies required for this post are:
Core Values: Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability
Core competencies
Communication (II)
Working with people (II)
Drive for results (II)
Functional Competencies:
Leading and supervising (I)
Formulating strategies/concepts (II)
Analyzing (III)
Relating and networking (II)
Deciding and initiating action (II)
Applying Technical Expertise (III)
View our competency framework at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf
Technical competencies must be demonstrated in the following areas:
Good 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).
Good knowledge of global developments in education and international engagement strategies, including the application of the equity lens and human rights perspectives to programming.
Good ability to support policy dialogue: translation of analytical findings and evidence into development programme and policy discussions around equity and learning with partners, including government, development partners, CSOs and academia in relevant areas.
Good 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.
Good education and policy sector analysis capacity, including understanding of the core education data sets and indicators; tools for analysis of equity; determinants of student access and learning; budget, costing, and financial management in education systems; political economy; and education policy and strategic planning.
Good 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.
Good 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.
Good understanding of policies and strategies to address issues related to resilience: risk analysis and risk management, education in conflict situations, natural disasters, and recovery for CO and RO based post and where relevant.
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
Remarks:
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
How to apply:
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organization. To apply, click on the following link http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/?job=529248
