Education Specialist (Multiple Position)

UNOPS helps its partners in the United Nations system meet the world’s needs for building peace, recovering from disaster, and creating sustainable development. UNOPS is known for its ability to implement complex projects in all types of environments around the globe. In an effort to promote organizational excellence, UNOPS seeks highly qualified individuals for the following position:

Vacancy Details

Vacancy Code    UNOPS/2011/SDOC/CSS/VA006

Post Title    Education Specialist (Multiple Position)

Post Level    IICA - Level 1 (International Individual Contractor Agreement)

Position status    Non-rotational

Project Title    Various Projects

Org Unit    AFO – SDOC

Duty Station    Juba and other states, SUDAN (non-family)

Duration    6 - 12 months

Background
The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) - Sudan Operations Center (SDOC) is based in Juba. Current SDOC operations are largely focused on assisting partners with the implementation of physical infrastructure projects including designing, constructing and rehabilitating roads and bridges, schools, clinics and Government and Ministry offices. SDOC also procures goods and services for a number of partners and provides logistics and operational support to institutions in Sudan with the overall objective to build peace and to promote the implementation of the CPA.
UNOPS – SDOC works with various United Nations partners including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), European Union (EU), Department for International Development (DFID) and the World Bank.
The SDOC Management team led by the Director, the Head of Programme and the Head of Support Services, supported by 143 national and 62 international personnel deliver over $40 million a year.
Duties and Responsibilities
The education specialist will work to improve the access to quality education, gender equity and community mobilization and will have demonstrated expertise on policies and actions related to awareness promotion on the importance of access to education, gender equity (promotion of girls rights and education, recruitment and training of female teachers or alterative role model persons), teachers training and community empowerment for effective contribution to primary school management.
The job would give the specialist the opportunity to work with policy makers from the public sector, international institutions and practitioners working directly in the field of education and community mobilization. It particularly requires co-operation with local education authorities at national and state level, coordination with other international organization supporting the education sector in Southern Sudan as well as monitoring and supervision of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) or Faith Based Organizations (FBOs) implementing project activities on the ground.
Reporting to the Project manager, the successful candidate will be responsible for contributing specific knowledge and expertise in the field of access to quality education, gender equity and community mobilization in one or more of the following functional areas:
 Consolidate, in close coordination with local education authorities, of the activities to be implemented in the field of community mobilization, awareness promotion, gender equality, teachers training, according to the Action Plan agreed by the project parties in November 2010. This would include: programming, identification, appraisal, monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment;
 Cooperate with education authorities at national and state level to select, monitor and supervise NGOs or FBOs involved in the implementation of project activities, thus contributing to build the capacities of local institution in the fields of promotion of quality education, gender equity and community mobilization;
 Provide support to local education authorities in the definition of school equipment, teaching and learning material to be purchased by the present project as well as in the supervision of effective delivery and proper utilization of the materials at school sites;
 Coordinate with other international organizations supporting the education sector in Southern Sudan and contribute to the sector policy dialogue through the exchange and dissemination of information, experience and good practice issued from the implementation of the present project;
The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.
Required Selection Criteria
Competencies
 Excellent organizational, inter-personal and general communication skills.
 Developed analysis, synthesis and problem solving skills;
 Capacity to integrate and work effectively in an international and multi-cultural environment;
 Good team working skills with a capacity to share knowledge effectively.
 Demonstrates commitment to UNOPS' mission, vision and values, including cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
 Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors.
 Ability to work under pressure and with clearly defined timeframes.
 Ability to deliver projects on time, within budget in a demanding cultural context with transitional government partners, under challenging physical conditions and poor national infrastructure.
 Highly motivated with a positive attitude and problem-solving approach.
d. Desirable Assets
 Post-graduate specialization in education, gender or development issues;
 Experience of working in education and training in developing countries or countries in post conflict transition;
 Knowledge in Project Cycle Management and/or Sector Wide Approach;
 Good knowledge of Arabic or Lakes and Eastern Equatoria states local languages.
Education/Experience/Language
 Bachelor’s degree in Science Education or related field.
 Minimum 5 years of professional experience preferably in East Africa or a similar context.
 Working experience in Southern Sudan in the education sector is highly desirable.
 Experience in developing/post-conflict countries is an advantage.
 Knowledge of UN/UNDP/UNOPS rules and regulations is an added advantage.
 Experience of working with UNOPS is desirable.
 Must be fluent in English, written and oral.
Submission of Applications
Qualified candidates may submit their application, including a letter of interest, complete Curriculum Vitae and an updated United Nations Personal History Form (P.11) (available on our website), via e-mail. The first lines of the email must state the following in this exact format:
First Name:
Last Name:
Years of relevant experience:
Degrees/Industry Certification:
UNOPS reserve the right to reject any application without the above format in the submission email.
Kindly indicate the vacancy number and the post title in the subject line when applying by email.
Additional Considerations
- Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
- Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
- Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
- UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a level below the advertised level of the post.
For more information on UNOPS, please visit the UNOPS website at www.unops.org