United Nations Children’s Fund Education Specialist

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

Kenya Country Office

Education Specialist (Early Childhood Development & Education) - NOC  

Temporary Appointment

Date of Issue: 20 May 2013

Closing Date: 02 June 2013

Applications are hereby invited from suitably-qualified candidates who are Kenyan Nationals to fill the above position on Temporary Appointment in the Education Section of UNICEF Kenya Country Office.

Purpose of Post: 

Under the overall guidance of the Chief of Education and Young People (EYP) Section, and working with the Education Specialists, the incumbent will be particularly responsible for:

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

• Technically facilitate the Ministry of Education (MOE) to develop and implement an Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) strategy to guide the national and county level ECDE policy framework and implementation in Kenya, including a review of national and cross-sectoral policies related to ECDE, the County EDCE guidelines, and international interventions and policy frameworks on ECDE.
• Develop an ECDE knowledge base and a study on public finance related to ECDE at county level.
• Undertake national-level advocacy and engagement with policy makers for ECDE teacher recruitment, in line with the new constitution as well as the MOE prioritization and implementation of ECDE activities.
• Support the national Technical Working Groups for implementation of the ECDE policy and action plan including ECDE expenditure tracking and budget monitoring at MoE.
• Provide technical and coordination support to the Ministry counterparts and partners in mainstreaming the Kenya School Readiness Assessment Tool (KSRAT) and the ECD guidelines for County Governments. 
• Coordinate with KCO Field Offices (Kisumu, Turkana) and provide technical and budget management support to the ECDE programmes funded by the Conrad Hilton Foundation and the UN Human Security Trust Fund.
• Support the Kenya Institute of Education (KIE) to finalize and launch the ECDE transition manual to be used by tutors in primary teacher training college.
• Undertake results monitoring of ECDE activities and hold responsible for proposal development and reporting for ECDE (i.e. donor reports, section updates, briefing note, concept notes, proposals etc) in line with ECDE-related PCR/IR of the EYP Section.

Required Qualifications: 

Advanced university degree in one or more of the disciplines relevant to the following areas: Education; Primary Education, or a Social Sciences fields relevant to international development assistance.*

*A first level university degree with a relevant combination of academic qualifications and experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. 

Competencies:

• Communication
• Drive for  Results
• Formulating Strategies and Concepts
• Relating and Networking
• Applying Technical Expertise
• Working with People
• Leading and Supervising 

Experience: Five (5) years of relevant work experience at national and international levels in field programmes relevant to Education programmes. Experience working in the UN or other international development organization an asset. Experience in national level development assistance is an asset.

Language(s): Fluency in English and another UN working language required.  Knowledge of Kiswahili would be an asset.

Interested and suitable candidates should ensure that they forward their applications along with their curricula vitae and UN Personal History Form (P-11).  (Internal candidates should attach copies of their last two Performance Evaluation Reports), to:

The Human Resources Manager

UNICEF Kenya Country Office

Email address: kenyahrvacancies@unicef.org

Please indicate Reference No. “KCO/EDU/2013-010”in the email subject.

“Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply”

Zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse

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