BACKGROUND

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with approximately 213 million people. Half of the population is below 18 years of age. The country has strived to provide quality inclusive education for all children under the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4), by increasing access to education and closing gender gaps, particularly in primary education. However, signficant inequalities persist in all levels of the education system.

Nigeria accounts for the largest global share of out of school children (15 per cent). Approximately 10.2 million children at primary school age and 8.1 million children at junior secondary school age are still out of school, although basic education became compulsory in 2004. Learning outcomes are also poor due to a shortage of qualified teachers and insufficient teaching and learning materials. For instance, in 2021, about 70 per cent of students in grade 5 did not have foundational literacy and numeracy skills. These educational challenges are not equally distributed across the country, with children from poor families, rural areas, and northern areas with a higher security risk more likely to be excluded from proper education and learning opportunities.

The lack of access to quality education has a significant impact on the future of children and the country. Children who do not complete basic education and acquire foundational skills are less likely to find a job in an increasingly knowledge-based economy. These children are also less likely to be actively engaged citizens and to nurture healthy and prosperous families. This in turn limits the opportunities for the country to advance its economy, reduce poverty and build a more inclusive and democratic society.

PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

This stretch assignment provides a professional development opportunity for those UNICEF staff interested in deepening their experience working in an education and emergency response context.

Under the guidance and supervision of the Education Manager, the Specialist supports the development and preparation of education programming and is responsible for managing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating and reporting the progress of education programmes/projects within the country programme. Particularly, the Specialist provides technical guidance and management support throughout the programming processes to facilitate the administration and achievement of results related to improving equitable access to quality and inclusive education, especially for children who are affected by conflict, marginalized, disadvantaged and excluded in society.

The Specialist contributes to the achievement of 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.

Duration
This stretch assignment will be for a period of three (3) months.

Key expected results

1. Staff management and leadership

• Directly line manage one Education Specialist (NOC) and one Education Officer (NOB), using opportunities to regularly discuss performance, provide constructive feedback, identify learning goals for team members and ensuring a supportive environment for development.
• Dedicate time and energy to the wellbeing of staff.
• Maintain a workplace environment in line with UNICEF core values.

2. Support to programme development and planning

• Provide guidance and support in ensuring adherence to the annual work plan.
• Participate in strategic programme discussions on the planning of education programmes.
• Help supervisor set priorities, strategies and plans including on scaling of models on OOSC, developing models on transition and completion and accrediting alternate learning pathways.
• Coordinate the preparation of project proposals in alignment with priorities determined by UNICEF, the Government and Education in Emergencies Working Group (EiEWG).
• Contribute to the development of investment cases and project fact sheets to approach donors.

3. Programme management, monitoring and quality control of education results

• Plan and collaborate with internal colleagues and external partners to establish monitoring benchmarks, performance indicators and other system indicators to assess/strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results for improving access to quality education in an emergency context.

• Regularly monitor work plan implementation to ensure quality results are achieved in a timely fashion in line with set indicators and targets.
• Organize coordination meetings with members of other UNICEF sections and with external partners in support of achieving work plan targets.
• Provide guidance in managing grants, including HACT and DCTs through regular funds utilization review. Support the timely closure of open commitments and the disbursement/liquidation of DCTs to/by Partners.
• Conduct field monitoring visits to assess the quality of activity implementation.
• Support the preparation of high-quality review of donor reports for timely submission.

4. Technical leadership, advisory and guidance

• Provide technical guidance, coordination and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and country office partners and donors on UNICEF approaches on education and related issues to support programme management, implementation and delivery of results.
• Apply innovative approaches and good practices to build the capacity of partners and stakeholders and support the implementation and delivery of sustainable programme results.

• Ensure planning, implementation and monitoring of pilot/scale-up interventions on thematic areas such as multigrade teaching, remote learning and school grant management.
• Participate in strategic discussions on preparedness, programming, and contingency planning.

• As needed, draft papers, briefs and other strategic programme materials for management use.

5. Effective networking and partnership building

• Strengthen strategic partnerships through networking and advocacy with all Ministries providing Education in the Northeast, UN Agencies, NGOs and INGOs and other relevant stakeholders.
• Participate and/or represent UNICEF in inter-agency discussions and planning on education in emergencies to ensure organizational positions are integrated in the Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeal, North East Multi Year Strategy, Country Programme Document (CPD), and United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) processes.

6.    Tangible and Measurable Outputs/Deliverables of Work Assignment:

• Provide technical and operational guidance for activities outlined in the annual work plan.
• Direct the implementation of activities in the costed work plan for the launch of education activities supported through the Global Partnership for Education fund.
• Work with the Sector Coordinator on activities for the Education in Emergencies Working Group.
• Provide management support to document activities related to the rollout of the Safe Schools Declaration at the Local Government Area and school level, school grants and cash transfers.
• Provide technical support for the conclusion of the Education Cannot Wait and the KfW 1 and 2 grants, including guidance on the final evaluation of these projects.
• Engage with the Borno and Yobe State Ministries of Education and the UNICEF Country Office on the development of education finance profiles for each state.

 Education

Required qualification.

• An Advanced University Degree in education or any of the following: economics, psychology, sociology or other social science field is required.

Experiences

Required experience.

• Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible relevant work experience in programme planning, implementation, management, and/or research in education at the international level.
• Strong communication skills (verbal and written).

Desired experience

• Experience in and familiarity with emergency response is a strong asset.
• Experience in engaging education programme management in developing countries, preferably in Western Africa, is an asset.
• Experience working in the UN system agency or UN organisation is an asset.

 Language

Required competencies

• Fluency in English (verbal and written).
• Strong interpersonal skills

Funding and DSA

This is a temporary development opportunity and there will be no changes to the staff member’s status (position number, level, etc.).

HOW TO APPLY

If interested, please discuss the assignment with your supervisor and obtain your supervisor’s agreement for your application to be submitted. Upon receipt of supervisor’s agreement, please send an application via the TMS link no later than 3 April 2024, with the following documents:

• A Cover Letter and your up-to-date P-11 or e-recruitment profile
• Your two latest PERs
• An approval from your supervisor

Interested UNICEF staff should discuss this opportunity with their supervisor and seek the approval of their management before applying.

Staff members selected for this stretch assignment will continue to receive salary and emoluments from the releasing office during the assignment based on the parent duty station location. UNICEF Maiduguri Field Office will pay for round trip economy class travel and 100% DSA for the first two weeks and 50% for the remainder of the assignment period. Candidates considered potentially well-matched for the stretch assignment will be contacted for an informal interview. Supervisors may also be contacted for references.