RE-ADVERTISEMENT: National Project Officer (SB-5 MIN)

Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)

Duty Station: Tajikistan, Dushanbe

Classification of duty station: [[filter12]]

Standard Duration of Assignement : [[filter13]]

Job Family: Education

Type of contract : Non Staff

Level : Level 5

Duration of contract : From 7 to 11 months

Recruitment open to : External candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 20-OCT-2022

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

(Only candidates who are entitled to work in Tajikistan may apply to this position)

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

The international community has set an ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It calls for an integrated approach to development. Education and training are central to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. The vision of the Incheon Declaration about Education 2030 is fully captured by Sustainable Development Goal 4 “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”; it is widely accepted building on the commitments in the Incheon Declaration and of the Education 2030: Framework for Action that this fully includes education for refugees.

The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan continues to remain challenging. More than half of the population is currently dependent on life-saving and essential humanitarian assistance. This includes many internally displaced people, who often live in makeshift settlements under difficult conditions. The prices of food and fuel have also significantly risen due to the war in Ukraine, compounding existing humanitarian challenges. UNHCR reports that 174,460 Afghan refugees have arrived in neighbouring countries since 1 January 2021 and are in need of international protection; this includes the 5,710 new arrivals that have approached UNHCR and Partners in Tajikistan. The majority of those who were interviewed report leaving Afghanistan for security-related reasons (UNHCR, 2022).

UNESCO is mobilizing efforts to design a response to support the ministries in Tajikistan in providing access to education, improving the quality of education, and increasing learning opportunities for the Afghanistan refugees in Tajikistan. This support will be provided within the framework of the Multicountry Preparedness Response Plan (MCPRP) and is in response to specific requests communicated (by the Ministry of Education and Science of Tajikistan (MoES) and the Ministry of Labor, Migration and Employment of the Republic of Tajikistan (MoLME)) with regard to the education needs of the newly-arrived Afghan population in the country.

The incumbent will act as coordinator for programme activities for Afghan refugees in Tajikistan, specifically the TVET subsector in Tajikistan. This position is under the overall authority of the Assistant Director‐General for Education and the authority of the Director of the UNESCO Almaty Cluster office, and will be under the immediate supervision of the Education Specialist in the UNESCO Almaty Cluster office. The incumbent will work in close collaboration with the Project Coordinator for the EU/UNESCO TVET project in Tajikistan. The specific duties will be to lead the overall planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting, evaluation and documentation of the initiatives and efforts to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for refugee children in Tajikistan in line with its commitments to SDG4.

Specifically, the incumbent will undertake the following tasks and responsibilities:

1. Contribute to planning, organizing and participate in regular meetings, events and missions related to the Education Programme implementation of UNESCO Almaty Office in Tajikistan:

• Contribute to identifying key internal and external stakeholders, develop and maintain professional collaboration and partnerships at national level on education issues and activities jointly organized with networks and partners;
• Support in developing joint programmes and projects with other UN agencies and ensure UNESCO’s participation in the Common Country Assessment (CCA), the UN Sustainable Development Country Strategic Framework (UNSDCF) and all other join UN programmatic exercises as an active member of the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Tajikistan;
• Support representing UNESCO by participating, presenting and providing technical input in different education and key meetings of other sectors in Tajikistan, based on consultation, study and learning about UNESCO’s programmes and activities.
• Contribute to conducting situational analysis and research, compile data and inputs to concept notes, publications, briefings.
• Contribute to public information and outreach tasks, writing, inputting to social media, hosting information points, facilitating exchanges/ meetings
• Contribute to mobilization of extra-budgetary resources by drafting concept notes, project proposals and cooperation frameworks with government partners in Tajikistan and donor agencies and by engaging in fundraising activities;
• Coordinate the Tajikistan part of the Peace Building Fund (PBF) proposal/project in close collaboration with the project coordinators in the Sughd (Tajikistan) and Batken (Kyrgyzstan) districts.

2. Ensure UNESCO’s active participation in refugee response coordination mechanisms with the main purpose of highlighting UNESCO’s priority areas for intervention, added value and comparative advantage under education sector response plan. For this purpose the incumbent would work closely with the Almaty cluster office, EME Section at HQs and BKK regional bureau to:

• Ensure UNESCO’s representation in all coordination, partnership and planning forums at local level related to the situation of the Afghanistan refugees in Tajikistan;
• Mobilise resources, establish strategic partnerships and write proposals aimed at expanding and enhancing the quality and inclusiveness of national education systems to facilitate access by refugee and host community children (both boys and girls), adolescents and youth to primary, secondary and tertiary education, in close collaboration with the partners organization, donors, and a local education group (UNODC, UNHCR, UNICEF, EU, KOIKA, GPE etc.) that are active in Tajikistan;
• Coordinate efforts with the UNESCO colleagues at regional and global levels in the area of education for refugees and resource mobilization;
• Provide inputs necessary to update the MCPRP and regular internal UNESCO briefings and communications;
• Promote the available UNESCO expertise in the following areas:

1) knowledge and learning assessment to distribute children in the appropriate level, as well as building the internal capacity of the Ministry staff, so the toolkit can be used anytime it’s necessary;
2) support to teachers working with Afghan refugees;
3) the setting up of catch-up classes necessary due to the script difference and to learning loss because of school closures;
4) support in terms of the development vocational skills for livelihoods of Afghan refugees.

3. Ensure technical support and facilitate coordination for the Ministry of Labor, Migration and Employment of the Republic of Tajikistan (MoLME) and Ministry of Education and Science (MoES) the area of vocational and technical training, to serve both Afghanistan refugees in Tajikistan and the host population, specifically:

• Assist the MoLME and MoES to facilitate the coordination of partner/donor organisations in the area of technical and vocational education (TVET) and skills development and organizing regular meetings devoted to TVET reform in Tajikistan;
• Assist the MoLME in conducting a mapping exercise of the various partners and donors working in TVET in Tajikistan, with a specific focus on identifying the gaps in education for Afghanistan refugees;
• Produce a strategic analysis of the various partners active in TVET to advise UNESCO’s strategic positioning in the sub-sector;
• Convene periodic meetings with MoLME and MoES and other partners, and ensure the results of the meetings are recorded in minutes and action plans;
• Prepare regular reports and briefs for UNESCO, donors and partners;
• Contribute substantively to the project’s implementation and outcomes in ways that will be useful for the efforts of UNESCO's public information services to increase the visibility of UNESCO;
• Foster the exchanges of information, experience, identifying new strategies of action to promote education for the Afghanistan refugees and host population;

4. Liaise with government, national stakeholders and international stakeholders in the area of education for the Afghanistan refugees by:

• Identifying the relevant institutions and ensuring their engagement;
• Furthering the capacity development of national stakeholders in all activities at individual, organizational and system levels;
• Participating in joint UN programming planning and implementation, as well as in other joint collaboration with development partners and stakeholders, through identifying and/or concretizing joint programming opportunities;
• Mobilising the technical support of UNESCO entities in support of the Government reforms including UNESCO-HQ (the Section for Migration, Displacement, Emergencies and Education), UNESCO institutes and programmes (Capacity Development for Education Programme (CapED);
• Sharing international experiences and facilitating access to information, knowledge and good practices;
• Maintaining regular relations with national counterparts and key stakeholders (Ministries, regional and local authorities, etc.).

5. Ensure communication and visibility by:

• Preparing the project visibility plans and technical briefs/status updates, web stories etc. on the project for wider dissemination;

6. Carry out any other task that may be required for the success of UNESCO’s engagement in the field of education, as requested by the Director or the Education Programme Specialist of the UNESCO Almaty Office.

Accountability (C)

Communication (C)

Innovation (C)

Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement (C)

Planning and organizing (C)

Results focus (C)

Teamwork (C)

Making quality decisions (M)

Strategic thinking (M)

Building partnerships (M)

Managing performance (M)

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For detailed information, please consult the UNESCO Competency Framework.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• Advanced university degree (Masters or equivalent) in Education, Social Sciences, Development Studies or related areas. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of 4 years of relevant work experience in education sector;
• Proven experience and understanding the issues related to education in refugee settings;
• Capacity building for education and working with the education sector both at national and district level;
• Experience in fundraising and resource mobilisation;
• Previous experience with UN agencies and understanding of the UN system, including its administrative procedures and DAO process.

SKILLS/COMPETENCIES

• Experience in management of education programmes;
• Experience in working with Government partners;
• Experience in coordinating education sub-sector donor/partner groups;
• Excellent writing skills in English within UN system;
• Good computer and other IT skills. Excellent skills in MS Office;
• Strong strategic and analytical skills;
• Ability to interact with a wide range of high–level partners;
• Ability to work in result-oriented teams;

LANGUAGES

• Excellent knowledge of English and Tajik (reading, writing, oral expression, and understanding).

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

​​​​​​EDUCATION

• A PhD in education, social sciences, development studies or related field is an advantage.

SKILLS/COMPETENCIES

• Strong knowledge and experience of working with the Afghanistan refugees in the Tajikistan context;
• Experience of working in the projects related to vocational and technical education and training, lifelong learning.

LANGUAGES

• Knowledge of Russian

BENEFITS AND ENTITLEMENTS

• Salary: USD 2658.42 monthly gross (*base USD 2311.67, plus 5% for medical insurance USD 115.58 and 10% for pension plan USD 231.17; *base of UNDP Tajikistan SC salary scale, *subject to change in case of changes in local UNDP SC salary scale);
• UNESCO's salaries are paid in the currency established by the local UN System (currently in US Dollars);
• Other benefits include: 2.5 days annual leave for each completed month of service, 5% for medical insurance and 10% for pension plan are included into the monthly salary.

Please note that UNESCO is a non-smoking Organization.

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the UNESCO careers website. No modifications can be made to the application submitted.

The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as a competency-based interview.

UNESCO uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates.

Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided.

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