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UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

For every child, peace

UNICEF Syria was established in 1970 and has been working with partners to help empower children to fully claim and enjoy their rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

UNICEF works with partners across Syria to deliver supplies, services, and expertise in areas of Child Protection, Education, Health, Nutrition, Water, Hygiene and Sanitation for every child. UNICEF also provides humanitarian assistance when needed.

Syria continues to face one of the most complex emergencies in the world. Unprecedented humanitarian needs are compounded by displacement inside the country and across its borders, extensive destruction of civilian and social services infrastructure, devastating impacts on the economy, and most importantly, the breakdown of the social fabric that stitched the country together for decades.

Today, 90% of people in Syria live in poverty, most are unable to make ends meet or bring food to the table. Families have had their resources depleted, with limited employment opportunities, skyrocketing prices, and shortage of basic supplies. For most people, the current socio-economic challenges represent some of the harshest and most challenging circumstances they have faced since the beginning of the crisis 11 years ago.

In 2024, 16.7 million people need humanitarian assistance. This is the highest number of people in need ever recorded in Syria since 2011. The education sector identifies 7.2 million children and education personnel in need of assistance. This is largely due the ongoing conflict, continued displacements, the unprecedented economic crisis and deepening poverty. The impact of the earthquakes in 2023 and the hike in price of commodities triggered by the overall global economic situation and the impact of sanctions are further compounding the dire situation.

For information of the work of our organization, please visit our website: UNICEF Syria  

How can you make a difference? 

Under the overall direction and guidance of the Chief Field Operations, you will provide leadership and representation of the Sector. you will facilitate the processes that will ensure a well-coordinated, strategic, adequate, coherent, and effective response by participants in the Sector that is accountable to those who are affected by the emergency. In their effort to provide an efficient and effective response to the humanitarian crisis, you are responsible for building relationships with stakeholders, for securing the overall coordination of sectoral responses and for ensuring inter-sectoral collaboration.

Summary of Key functions/ accountabilities and related duties and tasks

The Education Sector Coordinator is responsible for providing predictable, timely and strategic leadership and representation for the Sector to ensure a timely and effective Sector response at national and sub-national level. The Education Sector Coordinator is responsible for leading multiple stakeholders, beyond their immediate team of direct reports, to work collectively towards the realization of a shared goal based on evidence in a complex humanitarian environment.

The Education Sector Coordinator's main tasks and responsibilities will include but not be limited to:

1. Coordination, representation, and leadership
2. Needs assessment and analysis
3. Strategic response planning
4. Resource mobilization and advocacy
5. Implementation and monitoring
6. Operational peer review and evaluation
7. Accountability to affected populations
8. Strengthen national and local capacity

For more details on the Key functions, accountabilities and related tasks and duties of this post, go to this link:  GJD Education Cluster Coordinator P-4 Damascus #91853 for VA.pdf

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

The following minimum requirements:

• Education:  An Advanced University degree (Master’s or higher) in education, economics, pedagogy, psychology, sociology, international development, management, social sciences or another relevant technical field.
• Work Experience: 

A minimum of eight (8) years of professional experience, preferably at the international level, in education programme planning, coordination and management and/ or research is required

Understanding of development and humanitarian work is required.

Experience in humanitarian contexts is required.

• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

The following desirables:

• Education: Formal training in cluster coordination is an advantage.
• Experience:
  • Relevant experience in programme management in education within the UN/UNICEF is considered an asset.
  • Experience in development contexts is an added advantage.
  • A minimum of two years of experience of Education Cluster/ Sector/ Working Group coordination is desirable.
  • Experience of working in a senior management role or in cluster coordination within a complex country programme in an emergency response or protracted crisis, including experience in first phase emergency response, is strongly desirable.
  • Experience in effective leadership and management of teams to deliver results in high stress/ risk environments is desirable.
  • Supervisory experience is strongly desirable. 
• Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people.

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

This VA is open to internal and external candidates.

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates are encouraged to apply.

Higher education remark

This is required for all posts requiring a higher education degree. “UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/”

Shortlisted candidate remark:

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.