Senior Advisor (Education)

Senior Advisor (Education)

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

UNHCR promotes a rights and community-based approach in all areas of its work, including education. Inclusion of persons of concern within national services and systems is UNHCR's overarching strategic direction on access to education. The position is responsible for disseminating this direction for education and providing operational support and guidance in full collaboration with all DIP teams and other relevant Divisions in UNHCR. Of particular importance is capacitating staff in the field to advance operational objectives in education as part of the broader protection and solutions goals. This includes providing education specific guidance during emergencies, consider medium and longer term education needs of refuges and the implications for education services in the host country and hosting population. It requires close contact with country offices regarding overall education plans, on the adaptation of UNHCR global education policy to country contexts, on monitoring impact, and liaising with partners.

Education is situated in the Division of International Protection (DIP)  and works in full collaboration with DIP teams, particularly child protection, with Regional Bureaux and Divisions of Programme Support and Management and External Relations. The emphasis on inclusion of all persons of concern within national education systems supports sustainable provision of education, and provides a protective environment for refugee children and youth. It also provides them a quality education and certification. The focus will be on finding sustainable solutions with partners, especially at the local level, to cater for the education needs of a growing number of forcibly displaced children and youth over a long period of time.

The post provides protection and operational experience-based education planning advice to operations and partners for effective advocacy on access to national education services. The post calls for strong collaboration with education networks and education focussed organisations such as UNICEF, UNESCO, the Global Partnership for Education. The incumbent will provide quality, timely inputs into internal and external documents related to education programmes and be required to speak on behalf of UNHCR on education, all with a strong understanding of the protection and solutions  mandate of UNHCR. 
The post is supervised by the Deputy Director in DIP with whom  policy and strategy discussions are held.

FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT

In  close coordination within DIP, with other Divisions, the Bureau and UNHCR country offices, the position is  responsible for:

Accountability
- Protection and solutions oriented approaches to education programming within al UNHCR programmes are promoted.
- Effective collaboration and communication with field operations, relevant units within DIP, the Bureaux and other Divisions at Headquarters is ensured.
- Progress on the policy framework ¿ the Core Actions for Refugee Youth (¿Core Actions¿) ¿ resulting from UNHCR's first Global Refugee Youth Consultations in 2016 to help guide UNHCR and other humanitarian actors in their work with and for refugee youth globally is advanced.
- Linkages with refugee youth groups and communities to advance their meaningful engagement is strengthened.
- Implementation of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), Letters of Understanding (LoU) and other agreements with UN agencies (UNICEF, UNESCO and WFP), with the Global Partnership for Education and NGOs for appropriate and collaborative interventions is monitored.
- Education elements of global and field needs assessments, planning and budget allocation are assessed.

Responsibility
- Ensure inclusion in national education services is advanced by prioritising this direction in all capacity building efforts, advocacy and ensuring this is part of overall planning at country level.
- Develop in collaboration with other teams education components of UNHCR's broader protection and solutions strategies.
- Support country-level education programmes based on contextualisation of global and regional protection strategies, with a particular emphasis on increasing access and retention of girls and women of concern in education programmes.
- Monitor education programme implementation in all countries and provide guidance on programme orientation.
- Develop, review and update user-friendly education guidance and ensure effective dissemination to UNHCR staff and partners.
- Support UNHCR's operations capacity to work with education partners, including government ministries of education on inclusion of people of concern in education services from primary through to tertiary, formal and non-formal levels, ensuring a community-based, non-discriminatory and protection focussed response.
- Assess and review education programming at country level and provide technical advice/support on strategic directions as well as specific issues.
- Undertake missions to country offices for guidance, training and programme implementation support.
- Identify capacity gaps, develop training programmes, and collaborate with the Global Learning Centre (GLC) to provide training as relevant for UNHCR staff and partners.
- Develop and disseminate relevant tools to support UNHCR staff and partners in country offices.
- Ensure timely and quality drafting of reports, inputs to relevant documents such as appeals, HQ reports and planning, in addition to external publications, where relevant.
- Ensure rigorous monitoring of inclusion of persons of concern to UNHCR in national education services, maintaining an effective mainstreamed system for field data collection and management, in line with UNHCR¿s data management systems.
- Ensure that knowledge management is supported, including the identification, documentation and dissemination of best practices, both within the region and beyond.

Authority
- Represent UNHCR's strategic direction on education access at partner meetings, including the Global Partnership for Education, networks such as INEE and the Education Cluster.
- Management and supervision of the Education team in DIP.
- Initiate and promote appropriate interventions for identified challenges and gaps in UNHCR education programmes.
- Assess the education content of country plans and make recommendations on strategy, resource allocation.

ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
- Advanced university degree in Social Sciences (Social Anthropology, Sociology or related), Public Policy, International Law/International Humanitarian Law or other related field.
- 15 years (17 years with university degree) of previous work experience relevant to the function, with 10 years in international capacity.
- Experience working in the field of humanitarian aid or development including experience in public policy, development or humanitarian settings.
- Good understanding of UNHCR's protection and solutions mandate.
- Knowledge of the UN and UNHCR¿s mandate generally, and policies and procedures related to education.
- Excellent written and spoken English.
- Proficiency in a second UN language.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES
- Practical experience of forced displacement related education challenges.
- Previous working experience in emergency education with UN or NGOs.
- Excellent writing skills and oral presentations.
- Efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results.
- Demonstrated inter-personal and team building skills.
- Ability to build trust and develop and maintain effective work relationships with sensitivity and respect for diversity and inclusive participation.