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Organizational Setting and Work Relationships:
The Associate Education Officer will support the roll-out of Refugee Education 2030, the global and Pakistan Refugee Education Strategy, in line with the Global Compact on Refugees, 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 2030 Agenda’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the Associate Education Officer will ensure UNHCR’s programming is in line with the SDGs.
Leveraging the growing global momentum, UNHCR is working to translate the objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees (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, the Associate Education Officer, in collaboration with the Education Section in the Division of Resilience and Solutions (DRS), will provide technical support to UNHCR Pakistan Country Office(s) and the sub offices in Peshawar, Quetta and Karachi and partners to advocate for and implement the objectives of Refugee Education 2030:
- Promote equitable and sustainable inclusion in national education systems for refugees, asylum seekers, returnees and stateless persons
- Foster safe enabling environments that support learning
- Enable learners to use their education toward sustainable futures
The incumbent will act as a focal point for education in the area of responsibility (AoR) and, under the leadership of the supervising officer(s), support UNHCR’s work regarding education and advocacy on all issues related to UNHCR education programmes and strategic directions. S/he will work under the direct supervision of the Senior Programme Officer and overall supervision of the Deputy Representative. Under the general direction of the supervising officer(s), the incumbent will support the implementation of global level policies, including the UNHCR Pakistan Education Strategy 2020-2022.
The Associate Education Officer may liaise with the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training and with education coordination networks at national, provincial and district levels to improve the quality of refugee education. S/he will liaise with partners to assess the education context, to develop an implementation plan and to monitor the programme and assess impact. The incumbent will work in collaboration with the UNHCR sub offices in Peshawar and Quetta, Chief Commissioner of Afghan Refugees (CCAR) and Commissionerate of Afghan Refugees (CAR) Punjab and in-country education partners to improve access to, and quality of, refugee education at all levels, both formal and non-formal and may liaise with partners for joint support for education access for refugee and host community children. The Associate Education Officer will develop innovative education approaches for emerging needs in refugee education, including attention to special needs, minorities, girls, pre-school education and non-formal activities. S/he will facilitate inter-sectoral linkages with programmatic areas including child protection, SGBV, gender, community services, livelihoods/economic inclusion and health, among others.
All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR’s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.
Duties:
- Stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on access to and quality of education and assist with the development of the education strategy.
- Actively pursue opportunities to implement UNHCR’s urban policy and support mainstreaming refugees within national education systems. Coordinate with relevant partners to support access to education for refugees and host communities.
- Assist in providing comments on existing and draft legislation related to education for persons of concern (PoC).
- Coordinate with partners and other actors in education to adapt the Education Strategy to the local context and ensure ownership.
- Collaborate closely with partners to ensure coherent annual planning based on a longer-term strategy, and jointly monitor and assess implementation, providing advice on programme reorientation where necessary.
- Provide technical advice and guidance on education issues to PoC; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance and recognition of education relevant documentation.
- Implement education programmes in line with Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) standards and the child protection systems approach.
- Facilitate inter-sectoral linkages with child protection, SGBV, gender, community services, livelihoods/economic inclusion, environment, shelter and health, among others.
- Provide inputs for the development of global/regional international education policies and standards.
- Intervene in cases of denial of access to education with government and other relevant parties.
- Identify and promote education activities that support durable solutions through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement.
- Assess needs for services of PoC, as related to education, and coordinate partners’ responses.
- Systematically promote and comply with the Age, Gender and Diversity policy and other priorities such as the guidelines on HIV/AIDS.
- Advocate with authorities for respect of the right of PoC to an education and for their access to education services.
- Coordinate with education networks and ensure that refugee education interests are understood and included in relevant policies and initiatives.
- Participate in humanitarian and development sector working groups to support and ensure all refugee education support programming at country level is extended, amplified and reported against sector development goals. Humanitarian partners and funding serve system strengthening.
- Assist the Country Office(s) to elaborate and implement strategies to address issues related to education access, quality and data, in cooperation with other UN agencies (UNICEF, UNESCO, WFP, etc.) and other key education stakeholders.
- Undertake direct dialogue with Country Office(s) on the implementation of education programmes in line with strategic directions, integrated with SDG4 and Education Sector Plans, including with Ministries of Education/Higher Education, education partners and coordination networks (Global Partnership for Education, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and Local Education Groups, etc.).
- Foster and ensure inter-sectoral linkages and coordination with child protection, SGBV, gender, community services, livelihoods/economic inclusion and health, among others, and provide specialist advice for other sectors, to ensure that they fully integrate education related concerns in their planning.
- Support and monitor the implementation of Global Refugee Forum pledges within the AoR.
- Assist in the planning and coordination of UNHCR’s role concerning education, representation of UNHCR at national consultations, representation of UNHCR’s education strategy and policy to other UN bodies, NGOs, interlocutors, institutions and organisations within the AoR.
- Identify training needs and train UNHCR staff, sister UN agency staff, NGOs, and Ministry of Education officials on refugee education priorities and identified topics.
- Ensure active exchange of information and that best practices are identified, documented and disseminated both within the AoR and beyond.
- Join joint assessment missions in emergencies to minimise the time refugee children and youth spend out of education (ideally a maximum of three months after arrival).
- Prepare the drafting of education input in key internal and external documents and reports.
- Identify gaps in education service provision and advocate with relevant authorities for service provision.
- Ensure that best practices are identified, documented and widely disseminated.
- Support the country education information management strategy through the collection of disaggregated data on PoC and ensure the collection and dissemination of education information and best practices to enhance education delivery.
- Undertake initiatives to build the capacity of communities and PoC to assert their right to education and access to quality education.
- Promote and participate in initiatives to capacitate national authorities, relevant institutions and NGOs to strengthen access to quality, certified education for refugees.
- Contribute to a communications strategy that generates external support for UNHCR’s education activities and the education rights of PoC.
- Intervene with authorities on education issues.
- Negotiate locally on behalf of UNHCR.
- Make recommendations on individual education related cases.
- Enforce compliance of staff and implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of education services.
- Approve individual payments to individual cases.
- Perform other related duties as required.
Required Competencies:
Core Competencies:-
- Accountability
- Communication
- Organizational Awareness
- Teamwork & Collaboration
- Commitment to Continuous Learning
- Client & Result Orientation
Managerial Competencies:
- Empowering and Building Trust
- Judgement and Decision Making
- Managing Resources
- Managing Performance
Cross-Functional Competencies:
- Analytical Thinking
- Innovation and Creativity
- Planning and Organizing
Essential Minimum Qualifications and Experience:
Years of Experience / Degree Level:
3 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 1 year relevant experience with Doctorate degree
Field(s) of Education:
Education; Social Sciences; or other relevant field.
Relevant Job Experience:
Essential:
Work experience in progressively responsible functions in education. Demonstrated work experience in education programmes. Field experience in education programme implementation and coordination in humanitarian and/or development contexts. Experience working with Governments, Ministry of Education and other line Ministries. Strong inter-personal skills in collaboration and coordination. Excellent analytical skills and drafting skills. Strong communications/presentations skills. Demonstrated capacity to work with minimum supervision.
Desirable:
Demonstrated work experience in refugee education programmes. Knowledge and experience of UNHCR policies and standards. Experience in the area of child protection. Experience with educational research, teaching or education administration.
Functional Skills:
- PR-Community Services-Communication/Development/Organization
- PR-Community Services-Social Surveys/Assessment
- PR-Community Services-Social Work/Counsellin
- PR-Education Administration/Programme/Coordination/Techniques
- PR-INEE (International Network for Education in Emergencies) standards and implementation
- PR-Refugee Education programmes
- PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework
- MS-Research
- TR-Training/Coaching/Facilitation
- MG-Team Building
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)
Language Requirements:
Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
