The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in 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.
Job organizational context: The Education Officer GJP is to be used in a Country Office (CO) where the Education Program is a major or key component of the Country Program (or UNDAF). The Education Officer reports to the Chief, Education Section or Education Specialist who is at Level 5/4/3.

Purpose for the job:
Under the supervision of the Chief, Education Section,the Officer provides professional technical, operational and administrative assistance throughout the programming process for education programs/projects within the Country Program from development planning to delivery of results, preparing, executing, managing and implementing a variety of technical and administrative program tasks to facilitate p
rogram development, implementation, program progress monitoring, evaluating and reporting.
Key function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:
1. Support to program development and planning
2. Program management, monitoring and delivery of results
3. Technical and operational support to program implementation
4. Networking and partnership building
5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
1. Support to program development and planning
 Contribute to the preparation/update of situation analysis for the program sector/s for development, design and management of education related programs/projects. Research and report on development trends and (economic, social, health etc) data for use in program development, management, monitoring, evaluation and delivery of results.
 Contribute to the development/establishment of sectoral program goals, objectives and strategies and results-based planning through research, collection, analysis and reporting of education and other related information for development planning and priority and goal setting.
 Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing/administering a variety of technical, program, operational and administrative transactions, preparing related materials/documentations and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support program planning, results based planning (RBM) and monitoring and evaluating results.

2. Program management, monitoring and delivery of results.
 Work closely and collaboratively with internal and external colleagues and partners to discuss operational and implementation issues, provide solutions, recommendations and/or alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and/or decision. Keep record of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
 Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, program reviews and annual reviews with government and other counterparts to assess programs/projects and to report on required action/interventions at the higher level of program management.
 Monitor and report on the use of sectoral program resources (financial, administrative and other assets), verify compliance with approved allocation/goals, organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity. Report on critical issues/findings to ensure timely resolution by management/stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.
 Draft regular/mandated sectoral program/project reports for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of program progress.

3. Technical and operational support to program implementation
 Conduct regular program field visits and surveys and/or exchange information with partners/stakeholders to assess progress and provide technical support, take appropriate action to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for resolution. 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 and related issues to support program implementation, operations and delivery of results.

4. 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 program implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve and sustain results on education programs.