UNICEF Education Officer Jobs in Kenya

UNICEF Education Officer Jobs in Kenya



UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

The Government of Kenya has allocated a significant budget to education, to implement reforms such as the Competency-Based Curriculum and 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary school.

However, issues such as poor-quality teaching and large class sizes still affect the quality of children's learning. The pupil-to-teacher ratio remains very high in some counties, such as 77 to 1 in Turkana.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, nationwide enrollment in primary education stood at 93 per cent, but at the secondary level was only 53 per cent. Kenya has made gains in reaching remote areas and disadvantaged communities at the primary and pre-primary levels.

In pastoral communities, high dropout rates reflect a perceived lack of value in schooling, long distances to schools and high rates of child marriage. In 2020, school closures interrupted learning for over 17 million children, who missed more than six months of formal education. They also faced increased risks of violence, child labour and their mental well-being.

How can you make a difference?

The Education Officer provides professional technical, operational and administrative assistance throughout the programming process for education programmes/projects within the Country Programme from development planning to delivery of results, preparing, executing, managing and implementing a variety of technical and administrative programme tasks to facilitate programme development, implementation, programme progress monitoring, evaluating and reporting.

Support to programme development and planning

  • Contribute to the preparation and updating of the situation analysis for the development, design and management of education related development and emergency programmes/projects. This includes emergency preparedness and response programmes. Programmes to enhance the resilience of individuals, communities and system. Research and report on development trends (economic, social, health etc.) and data for use in programme development, management, monitoring, evaluation and delivery of results.

  • Contribute to the development and establishment of sectoral programme goals, objectives and strategies and results-based planning through research, collection, analysis and reporting of education and other related information for development planning 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.

    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.

  • 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, education in emergency needs assessments, 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.

  • Provision of Education inputs for emergency related program/projects and reports (Situational reports, HAC, donor reports, etc).

  • Prepare draft inputs for programme/donor reporting.

    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 on education related issues to support programme implementation, operations and delivery of results.

  • Technical support to the government to strengthen the Education in emergency working groups, development/review and monitoring of the implementation of disaster risk reduction “County child sensitive preparedness and response plans”

    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 the capacity of stakeholders to achieve and sustain results on education programmes.

  • Draft communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships and alliances, and support fundraising for education programmes.

  • Participate in appropriate inter-agency (UNCT) meetings and events on programming to collaborate with inter-agency partners on UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (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 fundraising and partnership development purposes.

    Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

  • Contribute to identifying, capturing, synthesizing, and sharing lessons learned for knowledge development and capacity development of stakeholders.

  • Apply innovative approaches and promote good practice to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.

  • Research 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/stakeholders.

    To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

  • A university degree in one of the following fields is required: education, psychology, sociology or another relevant technical field.

  • A minimum of two years of professional experience in programme planning, management, and/or research in education is required. Experience in emergency contexts is also required.

  • Experience working in a developing country is considered an asset.

  • Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered an asset.

  • Fluency in English and Kiswahili is required. Knowledge of another official UN language is an asset.

    How to Apply

    For more information and job application details, see; UNICEF Education Officer Jobs in Kenya

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