Senior Education Officer - Head of Unit

<p></p><p><b>Hardship Level</b></p>H (no hardship)<p></p><p><b>Family Type</b></p>Family<p></p><p><b>Family Type</b></p>Family<p></p><p><b>Residential location (if applicable)</b></p><p></p><p></p><p><b>Grade</b></p>PR4<p></p><p><b>Staff Member / Affiliate Type</b></p>Professional<p></p><p><b>Reason</b></p>Regular &gt; Regular Assignment<p></p><p><b>Target Start Date</b></p>2025-10-01<p></p><p><b>Deadline for Applications</b></p>July 11, 2025<p></p><p><b>Standard Job Description</b></p><p>Senior Education Officer<br/><br/>Organizational Setting and Work Relationships<br/>The Senior Education Officer will support and oversee, the roll-out of Refugee Education 2030, the Refugee Education Strategy. This will be done in line with the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), which calls on States and relevant Stakeholders to contribute resources and expertise to expand and enhance the quality and inclusiveness of national education systems to facilitate access by refugee and host community children and youth to primary, secondary and tertiary education. Providing inclusive and equitable quality education is central to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the Senior Education Officer will ensure UNHCR's programming is in line with the SDGs, particularly SDG4.<br/>Leveraging the growing global momentum, UNHCR is working to translate the objectives of the GCR into impactful results, including through follow-up on pledges made through the 2019 Global Refugee Forum. Contributing to this global roll-out of the GCR, Education Officers, collaborating across Country Offices, Regional Bureaux and the Education Unit in the Sustainable Responses Service (SRS), will provide technical support to relevant UNHCR Country Office(s) and partners to advocate for and implement the objectives of Refugee Education 2030:<br/><br/>1. Promote equitable and sustainable inclusion in national education systems for refugees, asylum seekers, returnees, stateless and internally displaced persons.<br/>2. Foster safe enabling environments that support learning.<br/>3. Enable learners to use their education toward sustainable futures.<br/><br/>The incumbent will provide leadership and technical support for UNHCR regarding education and advocate on all issues related to education programmes and strategic directions. S/he will maintain close contact with Country Office(s) on the overall education policy direction of UNHCR and on the adaptation of Refugee Education 2030 to individual country contexts, as well as providing technical support (on early childhood, learning achievement, primary education, accelerated education, secondary education, non-formal education, scholarships and tertiary education, education in emergencies etc.) to all staff, including senior management, as well as to those representing education issues on behalf of UNHCR.<br/>Depending on the location, this will require maintaining close contact with HQ, Regional Bureaux and Country Office(s) plus Services, particularly the SRS, on the overall education policy direction of UNHCR, on monitoring and assessing impact, on provision of external technical assistance, and on liaising with partner agencies. In exercising these responsibilities, the Senior Education Officer oversees the development of guidance and strategies to address particular situations arising from different contexts in the field. The incumbent is normally supervised by the Senior Protection Officer, Senior Programme Officer, or Deputy Representative, depending on the office context.<br/>The incumbent will ensure that consistent and technically sound <span>advice/recommendations</span> are given in the Area of Responsibility (AoR), including through drafting of guidelines and specialised training of staff. He/she will also ensure active exchange of information and best practices within the AoR. The incumbent must be an authority on technical issues relating to education and will also provide specialist advice for other sectors such as child protection, livelihoods/economic inclusion, shelter and water and sanitation as relates to the Education sector. The Senior Education Officer acts as focal <span>point/coordinator/advisor</span> for staff at all levels in Country Office(s), including senior management, as well as Policy and Development staff.<br/>In emergency contexts the Senior Education Officer will be required to play a leadership role in the coordination of the early phases of the education sector response, ensuring that education needs are reflected in intersectoral response plans, collaboratively developing a response strategy that will support inclusion in national systems and supporting monitoring and reporting on the response.<br/>Externally, the Senior Education Officer will help promote the inclusion of refugees and other forcibly displaced and stateless persons into national education systems through effective partnerships and advocacy with relevant government line ministries, devel