Education Specialist (Digital Learning), NOC, Temporary Appointment (364 days), ROSA, Kathmandu, Nepal (Open for Nepalese Nationals only) #00127853

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, education

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, advocacy, and operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop, and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias, or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic, and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education, and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

How can you make a difference?

Under the guidance and general supervision of the Education Specialist (Level 4) and the oversight of the global Learning Passport team, the Education Specialist (Digital Learning) supports the digital learning portfolio in the South Asia region, with a focus on the implementation of the Learning Passport and plays a key role in bringing innovation to the development, implementation, and monitoring of digital learning programmes.

As such, the Education Specialist provides quality technical support and guidance to advance Country Offices in the region in developing digital learning programmes that improve learning outcomes and support the continuation of learning, particularly for the most vulnerable children and in contexts of limited ICT infrastructure and Internet connectivity. This includes providing technical assistance in assessing country office requirements, localizing the technology, curating content, and ensuring that it is contextualized and can be effectively used in respective country offices.

The Education 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.

Key functions, accountabilities, and related duties/tasks

1. Support to programme development and planning

• Provide technical assistance and advice to colleagues in the section on all aspects of programming and implementation to enable them to achieve performance objectives, in the context of Learning Passport deployment and scale-up.
• Work closely and collaboratively with internal and external colleagues and partners to discuss strategies and methodologies and to determine national priorities/competencies to ensure the achievement of concrete and sustainable results.
• Aid in the development of country-level programme implementation plans and activities, leveraging best practices and leading technical approaches, in coordination with Country Office teams, partners, and governments.
• Help supervisor set priorities, strategies, design, and implementation plans. Keep abreast of development trends to enhance programme management, efficiency, and delivery.
• Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes and ensure integration, coherence, and harmonization of programmes/projects with other UNICEF sectors and achievement of results as planned and allocated.

2. Programme management, monitoring, and delivery of results

• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, program reviews, and annual reviews with government and other counterparts to assess progress and to determine required action/interventions to achieve results. Provide guidance on programmatic and technical data.
• Prepare/assess monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths/weaknesses in program and management, identify lessons learned, and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely interventions.
• Plan and collaborate with internal colleagues and external partners to establish monitoring benchmarks, performance indicators, and other UNICEF/UN system indicators to assess/strengthen performance accountability, coherence, and delivery of concrete and sustainable results for the assigned sector of education programmes.

3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation

• Provide technical guidance and operational support to country office partners/donors on interpretation, application, and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes best practices, and approaches to education and related issues to support program management, implementation, and delivery of results.
• Arrange/coordinate availability of technical experts with Regional Office/HQ to ensure timely/appropriate support throughout the programming/projects process, particularly in the context of Learning Passport deployment and scale-up.
• Participate in education program meetings including program development and contingency planning to provide technical and operational information, advice, and support.
• Draft policy papers, briefs, and other strategic program materials for management use, information, and/or consideration.
• Support the ongoing rollout of Learning Passport platforms in SAR within the contexts of Education, Adolescents and Development, and Generation Unlimited (GenU) and participate in regular calls with the global Learning Passport team.
• Troubleshoot technical, platform-level hardware, and software issues with country teams and in coordination with the global Learning Passport team and engineering resources.

4. Networking and partnership-building 

• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with relevant counterparts and global partners/allies/donors/academia through active networking, advocacy, and effective communication to build capacity, exchange knowledge/expertise, and reinforce cooperation to achieve sustainable and broad results on education programs.
• Prepare communication and information materials for CO program advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships/alliances, and support fundraising for education programs.

5. Innovation, knowledge management, and capacity building

• Apply and introduce innovative approaches and good practices to build the capacity of partners and stakeholders and to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.
• Keep abreast, research, benchmark, and implement best practices in education management. Assess, institutionalize, and share best practices and knowledge learned.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of policies and procedures to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programmes and projects.
• Organize and implement capacity-building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders to promote sustainable results in education 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, information technology, engineering, social sciences, or another relevant field.

Experience:

• A minimum of five years of professional experience in Technology for Development (T4D) and/or information system development, including mobile and web-based applications, with the manifested capacity to manage programmes involving many stakeholders.
• Experience in digital learning design.
• Experience managing user-driven design processes for UX/UI.
• Proven training and capacity-building skills for a range of stakeholders.
• Good technical understanding and familiarity with information management systems.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Experience in teaching with technology/blended learning is considered an asset.
• Experience in digital content creation is considered an asset.
• Experience working in a developing country is considered an asset.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
• Works Collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

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

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.
We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF 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. 

Remarks:

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply.

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 are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be cancelled.

All selected candidates will 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.

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.

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