Education Specialist, Temporary Appointment (364 days). P-3, Odesa, Ukraine, #134767

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

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For every child, the right to hope

 UNICEF Ukraine

How can you make a difference? 

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, 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.

Education and skills development in Ukraine have faced repeated disruption—first from the COVID-19 pandemic, and since 2022, the full-scale war. Displacement, school closures, damaged infrastructure, limited digital access, and prolonged stress have caused widespread learning loss and rising mental health concerns among children and young people. The impacts in this sector are disproportionately affecting girls, students from the poorest families, and those living in rural areas. An uneven accumulation of learning losses since the start of the pandemic in 2020 and since February 2022 is putting Ukraine’s reconstruction in jeopardy, as human capital is expected to be a key driver of the country’s recovery.

Job organizational context: The Education Specialist GJP is to be used in a Country Office (CO) where the Education Programme is a component of the Country Programme (or UNDAF). The Specialist reports to the Chief of Field office with a dotted line to the Education Chief.  

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Support to programme development and planning
2. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results
3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation
4. Networking and partnership building
5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

1. Support to programme development and planning

• Support the preparation, design and updating of the situation analysis for the education & skills programme to ensure that current and comprehensive data on education issues is available to guide UNICEF’s strategic policy, advocacy, intervention and humanitarian efforts on education programmes.
• Assist in defining priorities, strategies, design and implementation plans for their respective field office and as aligned with the country programme strategy. Keep abreast of humanitarian and development trends to enhance programme management, efficiency and delivery.
• Support in designing humanitarian response plans based on identified needs and priorities, and in alignment with the HNRP and HAC.
• Participate in strategic programme discussions on the planning of humanitarian and recovery results within the education & skills programme. Formulate, design and prepare programme proposals for the sector, ensuring alignment with UNICEF’s Strategic Plans and Country Programme and coherence/integration wi