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Under the supervision of the Education Specialist, the Education Officer provides professional technical, operational and administrative assistance throughout the programming process for safe schools and other tasks within the education Programme. The officer is expected to contribute to the delivery of results, preparing, executing, managing and implementing a variety of technical and administrative Programme tasks to facilitate Programme development, implementation, Programme progress monitoring, evaluating and reporting in the area of safe schools.

Key responsibilities:

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

• Support to Programme development and planning
• Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results
• Technical and operational support to Programme implementation
• Networking and partnership building
• Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

Support to Programme development and planning

• Contribute to the preparation and updating of the situation analysis for the development, design and management of education-related programmes/projects.
• Contribute to the development and establishment of sectoral Programme goals, objectives and strategies and results-based planning through research, collection, analysis and reporting of education and other related information for development planning and goal setting.
• Provide technical and administrative support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing and administering a variety of technical Programme transactions, preparing materials and documentations, and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support Programme planning, results-based planning (RBM) and monitoring and evaluation of results.

Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results.

• Work closely and collaboratively with internal colleagues and partners to collect, analyze and share information on implementation issues.
• Suggest solutions on routine Programme implementation and submit reports to alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and/or decisions. Keep record of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, Programme reviews and annual sectoral reviews with government and other counterparts and prepare minutes/reports on results for follow up action by higher management and other stakeholders.
• Monitor and report on the use of sectoral Programme resources (financial, administrative and other assets), verify compliance with approved allocation, organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity. Report on issues identified to ensure timely resolution by management/stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.
• Prepare draft inputs for Programme/donor reporting.

Technical and operational support to Programme implementation

• Undertake field visits and surveys and share information with stakeholders to assess progress and refer to relevant officials. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks and potential problems for timely action to achieve results.
• Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners/donors on the application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes and best practices on education-related issues to support Programme implementation, operations and delivery of results.

Networking and partnership building

• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate Programme implementation and build the capacity of stakeholders to achieve and sustain results on education programmes.
• Draft communication and information materials for Programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships and alliances, and support fundraising for education programmes.
• Participate in appropriate inter-agency meetings and events on programming to collaborate with inter-agency partners on operational planning and preparation of education programmes/projects and to integrate and harmonize UNICEF’s position and strategies with the UNDAF development and planning process.

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Contribute to identifying, capturing, synthesizing, and sharing lessons learned for knowledge development and capacity development of stakeholders.
• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practice to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable Programme results.
• Research and report on best and cutting-edge practices for development planning of knowledge products and systems.
• Participate as a resource person in capacity-building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders.

To qualify as an advocate for every child, you will haveƒ

Education:

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

Experience:

• A minimum of two years of professional experience in Education related Programme planning, management, and/or education delivery.
• Experience in safe school programming is required
• Working in an emergency/crisis or high-risk setting is considered as an asset.

Technical skills:

• Support the operationalization of the Safe Schools Declaration
• Facilitate and coordinate monitoring and reporting on safe school implementation
• Facilitate coordination of key partnerships and inter-sectoral collaboration on Safe Schools

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English (verbal and written). Fluency in Hausa language is an added advantage