UNICEF Congo CO is looking for a motivated expert to lead the strategic and effective advocacy, planning and formulation of education, protection and adolescent development programmes/projects and the achievement of sustainable results, and thus contribute to improve outcomes on quality education, protection, and adolescent development and participation in the Republic of Congo.

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, opportunity…

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?

Purpose for the job:

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, nutrition and WASH related interventions (in collaboration with the CSD section) and cross-cutting approaches. The education component will be responsible for Early Childhood Education interventions, especially access to pre-primary education and would lead the Adolescent programming, especially for adolescent girls.

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; convenor 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 additional resources to fund the EPAD programme, including the OR posts; The post would contribute to the recruitment of 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 and accountabilities

1. Managerial leadership

2. Country Programme planning and development

3. Programme management, monitoring and quality control of results

4. Advisory services and technical support

5. Advocacy, networking, and partnership building

6. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

To qualify as a champion for every child you will have…

• 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.
• 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. 

• Fluency in both French and English is required. Knowledge of a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

Technical competencies

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.

Core Values

• Care
• Respect
• Integrity
• Trust
• Accountability

Core Competencies

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (1)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drives to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Functional Competencies

• Leading and supervising (1)
• Formulating strategies/concepts (2)
• Analyzing (3)
• Relating and networking (2)
• Deciding and initiating action (2)
• Applying Technical Expertise (3) 

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework.

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: 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. All selected candidates will, therefore, 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.

Remarks:

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

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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

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 may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). 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.