Programme Specialist (Education Technology), FT #115956, P-4, Education Section, Programme Division, NYHQ

Note: The Programme Group (PG) is currently undergoing organizational changes, therefore the exact location of the post is still under consideration.  As such, the selected candidate will be expected to move to New York and s/he would be expected to relocate to another location as the case may be, during the contractual period.    

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.

Under the guidance of the Education Specialist (Learning Passport Global Program Manager), and the Senior Advisor, Education (Education in Emergencies), this position is accountable for the leading global, regional and national implementations, and supporting engaged Country and Regional Offices of the Learning Passport within Education Programme Division, in accordance with the Workplan and reflecting UNICEF’s Priorities. The position also feeds into the Reimagine Education initiative, providing guidance around the deployment of Learning Passport to active offices.

For every child, education……

Supporting corporate education technology development and deployments, and in close collaboration with country and regional offices and cross functional teams in UNICEF, the Programme specialist role will be critical to successful scale up of UNICEF’s Learning Passport portfolio. Central aspects of the role include leading all Learning Passport deployments, encompassing all technical elements of the process and all training and deployment activities, including troubleshooting. In addition, the role will provide central product management leadership of the Learning Passport, representing a global user base to technology partners in order to deliver the most optimum functionality sets for implementing country teams, governments and the users they represent.

The role will also lead efforts on documenting tactical country implementation, training, and support guidance, as well as global best practice. Representing UNICEF’s Learning Passport portfolio to external parties and governments, as well as providing inputs to reports to contributors to the Learning Passport and to UNICEF are additional key elements of the portfolio. As the global community of Learning Passport deployment professionals is growing in UNICEF, it is expected that a larger scope of management and leadership activities will become part of the position.

How can you make a difference?

Tasks will include the following:

• Provide Technical Leadership and Support the Development, Scale up and Roll out of the Learning Passport:
  • Coordinates implementation activities in all Learning Passport countries
  • Provides guidance and resources to ensure successful roll out activities
  • Represents Learning Passport user base to Microsoft counterparts in the prioritization and development of functionalities.
  • Manages consultants and other Learning passport deployment team members
  • Provides support to Country Office implementation teams
  • Provides development and constant updating of deployment guidance, based on lessons learned.
  • Feeds into and represents user groups in UNICEF’s requested feature enhancements, bug fixes, functionality improvements, and maintenance and support of Learning Passport platform
  • Perform the duties of the Global Programme Manager in his/her absence
• Support Learning Passport communities
  • Guide and maintain Learning Passport user, administrator, and project management communities
  • In collaboration with ROs and ICTD teams, scope product requirements and toolset integrations that meet articulated needs of Learning Passport communities.
  • Feed in user perspectives and successes to support dialogue with donor agencies and developing funding proposals in support of the Learning Passport work.
  • Represent Learning Passport communities in the promotion of the Learning Passport at various fora as required
• Manage Learning Passport deployment staff
  • Perform regular and ad hoc supervision activities of global Learning Passport deployment team, ensuring high quality technical outputs of team member activities and tasks
  • Serve as a line manager and technical manager of implementing countries, either through in-person or remote support
  • Provide global leadership to the growing community of LP deployment professionals in UNICEF.
• Situation analysis and strengthening of education information systems
  • Support COs to integrate Learning Passport perspectives and opportunities into education situation analysis based on available information.
  • Advise on what additional related information is needed through data collection or strengthening of available education information systems to guide the Learning Passport programme approach(es)
  • Undertake field visits to field locations to assess Learning Passport programme progress, to identify major problems and constraints and to propose solutions and actions.
• Strategy and capacity development
  • Collaborate with CO, RO and HQ in providing technical guidance, analyzing and advising representatives and country teams on the development of appropriate education policies, strategies and implementation frameworks to deliver a comprehensive package of education services, relevant to the educational needs, national policies and overall Learning Passport portfolio and strategy. These strategies will also consider existing country programmes and long-term national priorities.
  • Advise and support definition and setting up monitoring mechanisms.
  • Identify capacity needs for UNICEF staff and agencies engaged in the Learning Passport programming and support appropriate capacity development activities and resources.
  • Coordinate and direct organizational Learning Passport contributions to Education Clusters or other emergency mechanisms to ensure effective response to emergencies, where relevant.
  • Participate in the development of joint education technology policies and technical guidelines for appropriate provision of education response in emergencies, in coordination with other UN agencies, relevant NGOs and institutions, sector/cluster coordination mechanisms, via UN Country Teams.

To qualify as a champion for every child, the candidate must have…

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: education, economics, business, technology, statistics, communication, international development, social policy, or another relevant field.
• Eight (8) years of professional work experience at international and national levels in Technology for Development (T4D) and/or information system development, including mobile and web-based applications, with manifested capacity to manage programmes involving many stakeholders.
• Specific experience on ICT for learning or digital learning is a requirement. Education technology.  Knowledge of technology trends, educational technology, and other related field is required.
• Experience in enterprise technology deployments an advantage. Technology deployment experience in emergency contexts an advantage.
• Experience working with various stakeholders in a global organisation as well as ministerial counterparts is an advantage.
• Experience at country-level leading education technology deployments is an advantage.
• 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.

For more information on remuneration and benefits, please visit UNICEF’s Entitlements’ page.  If you would like to find estimates for entitlements, you may use the online Salary Estimate Calculator

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

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, race, sexual orientation, nationality, culture, appearance, socio-economic status, ability, age, religious, and ethnic backgrounds, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

“UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/”