Associate Education Officer

Our primary purpose at UNHCR is to safeguard the rights and well-being of people who have been forced to flee. Together with partners and communities, we work to ensure that everybody has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another country. We also strive to secure lasting solutions.

For over half a century, UNHCR has helped millions of people to restart their lives. They include refugees, returnees, stateless people, the internally displaced and asylum-seekers. Our protection, shelter, health and education has been crucial, healing broken pasts and building brighter futures.

The Associate Education Officer will support the roll-out of Refugee Education 2030, the 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. 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 Country Office(s) and partners to advocate for and implement the objectives of Refugee Education 2030:

1. Promote equitable and sustainable inclusion in national education systems for refugees, asylum seekers, returnees, stateless and internally displaced persons
2. Foster safe enabling environments that support learning
3. 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 normally works under the direct supervision of the Education Officer or Protection Officer and overall supervision of the Deputy Representative (Protection), depending on the office context. Under the general direction of the supervising officer(s), the incumbent will support the implementation of global level policies, including the UNHCR Education Strategy.

The Associate Education Officer (Expert) may assist in liaising with the Ministry of Education 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 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.

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of Senior Protection Officer or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UN Volunteer Associate Education Officer will:

• Stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on access to and quality of education.
• Actively pursue opportunities to promote refugee inclusion into national education systems.
• Coordinate with relevant partners to support access to education for refugees and also 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 Refugee Education 2030 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; assist in liaising with competent authorities to ensure the issuance and recognition of education relevant documentation.
• Assess needs for services of PoC, as related to education, and coordinate partners’ responses if required.
• Systematically promote and comply with the Age, Gender and Diversity policy and other priorities such as the guidelines on HIV/AIDS.
• Assist in advocating 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Identify and support 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.
• 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.
• Support the Sport for Protection strategy
• Support the DAFI program
• Perform other related duties as required.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities:

• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day);
• Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;
• Provide annual and end of assignment self- reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities;
• Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;
• Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers;
• Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

Results/expected outputs:
As an active UNHCR team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to UNHCR and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including:
• Country level education strategy is promoted and developed;
• UNHCR is represented at key educational fora such as the Local Education Group;
• UNHCR develops strategic partnerships promoting inclusion for refugees at the country level (e.g. MoEs, World Bank, donors, UNICEF, UNESCO etc;
• Community-based education initiatives are supported;
• Cooperation with national education institutions, including universities is developed;
• DAFI scholarships implemented;
• Sport for Protection activities implemented and coordinated with national and local authorities and schools;
• Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment;
• A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed.