Education Officer

UNICEF has been working for the realization of the rights of children and women of Moldova since 1995. Partnerships with the government, parliamentarians, civil society, media, business and others have resulted in advances in the realization of children’s rights in a number of areas and the increased commitment of duty bearers to the fulfillment of their obligations as per the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). UNICEF’s work addresses issues of all children in the country to improve their health, education, development, and protection.

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.

The purpose of the assignment is to support UNICEF Moldova in advancing its Education Programme, with a particular focus on the inclusion of refugee and crisis-affected children in the national education system. The assignment will also directly contribute to the effective coordination of the Inter-Agency Refugee Education Working Group, strengthen planning and implementation, and enhance evidence generation, reporting, and resource mobilization efforts. Through technical and operational support, the assignment will help ensure that UNICEF’s education interventions are timely, equity-focused, and aligned with national strategies and inter-agency commitments, thereby contributing to the realization of children’s right to access quality and inclusive education in the Republic of Moldova.

The Education Officer will provide technical, operational, and coordination support to the development, implementation, and monitoring of UNICEF’s Education Programme in Moldova, with a specific focus on Education in Emergencies (EiE) and in supporting the Inter-Agency Refugee Education Working Group, strengthening education sector planning, facilitating evidence-based programming, resource mobilization, and stakeholder engagement to ensure inclusive, quality, and sustainable education outcomes for refugee and vulnerable children. The Education Officer will report to the Education Specialist/NOC for close guidance and supervision.

1. Support to the Education programme development and planning – with a focus on EiE:

• Provide technical and administrative support to the Inter-Agency Refugee Education Working Group functions at the National Level, as well as support data collection, reporting, information management, and sharing with the Education Working Group partners.
• Research and analyze regional and national education, political, health, social and economic development trends. Collect, analyze, verify, and synthesize information to facilitate the EiE programme development, design and preparation.
• Support preparation of technical reports and provide inputs for programme preparation and documentation ensuring accuracy, timeliness and relevancy of information.
• Contribute to the development/establishment of education sectoral programme goals, objectives, strategies, and results-based planning through research, collection, analysis and reporting of education and other related information for development planning and priority and goal setting.
• Provide technical and administrative support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing and administering a variety of technical programme transactions, preparing materials and documentations, and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support programme planning, results-based planning (RBM) and monitoring and evaluation of results.
• Prepare required documentations and materials to facilitate the programme review and approval process.

2. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results:

• Work closely and collaboratively with internal colleagues and partners to collect, analyze and share information on implementation issues both technically and financially.
• Suggest solutions on routine programme implementation and submit reports to alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and/or decisions. Keep record of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual sectoral reviews with government and other counterparts and prepare minutes/reports on results for follow up action by higher management and other stakeholders.
• Monitor and report on the use of sectoral programme resources (financial, administrative and other assets), verify compliance with approved allocation, organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity. Report on issues identified to ensure timely resolution by management/stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.
• Prepare draft inputs for programme/donor reporting.

3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation:

• Undertake field visits and surveys and share information with stakeholders to assess progress and refer to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks and potential problems for timely action to achieve results.
• Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners/donors on the application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes and best practices in education to support programme implementation, operations and delivery of results.

4. Networking and partnership building:

• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate programme implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve and sustain results on education programmes. Support drafting communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to
promote awareness, establish partnerships and alliances, and support fund raising for education programmes.
• Participate in appropriate inter-agency (UNCT) meetings and events on programming to collaborate with inter-agency partners on UNSDCF operational planning and preparation of education programmes/projects and to integrate and harmonize UNICEF’s position and strategies with the UNSDCF development and planning process.
• Research information on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs for fund raising and partnership development purposes.

5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building:

• Provide support in identifying, capturing, synthesizing, and sharing lessons learned for knowledge development and capacity development of stakeholders.
• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practices to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.
• Research, benchmark and report on best and cutting-edge practices for development planning of knowledge products and systems.
• Participate as a resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients and stakeholders.