Associate Education Officer

Organizational Context

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) leads and coordinates international action to protect refugees and resolve their problems worldwide. Its mandate is to safeguard their rights and well-being, ensuring they can exercise their right to seek asylum and find safe refuge. The Associate Education Officer will support the implementation of the Refugee Education 2030 strategy, aligning with the Global Compact on Refugees and the Sustainable Development Goals, to enhance the quality and inclusiveness of national education systems for refugee and host community children.

Job Purpose

The Associate Education Officer will serve as a focal point for education within their area of responsibility, supporting UNHCR's educational programs and advocacy efforts. This role involves implementing global policies and the UNHCR Education Strategy, with a focus on promoting equitable and sustainable inclusion of refugees in national education systems. The officer will foster safe learning environments and ensure education contributes to sustainable futures for learners. They will collaborate with the Ministry of Education and education networks to improve refugee education quality, assess contexts, develop implementation plans, monitor programs, and liaise with partners for joint support, developing innovative approaches for emerging needs and facilitating inter-sectoral linkages.

Responsibilities

The Associate Education Officer will monitor political, social, and economic developments impacting education access and quality, actively promoting refugee inclusion in national education systems and coordinating with partners to support access for refugees and host communities. Responsibilities include conducting needs assessments, monitoring partner performance, and collaborating on infrastructure standards. The role involves commenting on education-related legislation, coordinating the implementation of the Refugee Education Strategy, and ensuring coherent annual planning with partners, including joint monitoring and program adjustments. Providing technical advice, liaising with authorities for documentation, and assessing needs for Persons of Concern (PoC) are key. The officer will promote Age, Gender, and Diversity policies, advocate for the right to education, and coordinate with education networks to integrate refugee interests into policies. Participation in humanitarian and development sector working groups, elaborating strategies for education access and quality with UN agencies and stakeholders, and engaging in direct dialogue on program implementation aligned with SDG4 are expected. Inter-sectoral linkages with child protection, SGBV, gender, community services, livelihoods, and health will be fostered. The role includes supporting Global Refugee Forum pledges, planning UNHCR's education role, representing UNHCR in consultations, and ensuring information exchange and best practice dissemination. The officer will join assessment missions, draft education inputs for reports, support education information management, and identify initiatives to build community capacity for asserting their right to education. Management of the Digital Learning Center and advocating for additional centers are also required, alongside promoting initiatives to capacitate national authorities and NGOs for refugee education access.

Work Experience

Requires 3 years of progressively responsible experience in education, including field experience in program implementation and coordination in humanitarian or development contexts. Experience working with governments and Ministries of Education is essential, along with strong interpersonal, collaboration, coordination, analytical, drafting, communication, and presentation skills. Desirable experience includes data collation, analysis, and use for planning, monitoring, and reporting, as well as knowledge of international education frameworks and policies.

Skills

Professionalism, integrity, teamwork, respect for diversity, commitment to continuous learning, planning and organizing, communication, and flexibility are essential. Specific skills include understanding UNHCR operations, discretion, political sensitivity, diplomacy, good judgment, ability to liaise and coordinate with diverse actors, resourcefulness, initiative, objective information management, client orientation, ethical conduct, building partnerships in multicultural environments, adaptability, effective problem-solving, managing workload under pressure, clear and concise reporting, effective communication and empathy with diverse groups, and genuine commitment to voluntary engagement principles and UNHCR's mission.

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