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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 for as long as we are needed. 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 professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture., coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to learn

Background:

The Education & Skills programme focuses on ensuring that children and adolescents, in development and humanitarian contexts – especially the most vulnerable –benefit from equitable, inclusive and gender-transformative quality education, leading to improved learning outcomes, increased resilience and skills for life and work. UNICEF provides technical support for the development of quality assurance criteria in ECE and ECD, child-centred curricula and improved pedagogical practices. Through its 2022-2026 Country Programme, UNICEF is also engaging national partners in elaborating affordable, climate-smart and cost-effective solutions aimed at adjusting education policies and teaching methods in mainstream schools to accommodate the needs of children with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.

The project partnership between the Canada High Commission and UNICEF aims at promoting safe and healthy learning and living environment to migrant and host communities in Guyana’s hinterland: Supporting Early Childhood Development and adolescent programming. This presents many opportunities for responding to the survival and development needs of the young child and the adolescent and their parents as well as to amplify the cross-cutting issues necessary for all-round development in safe and protective spaces. The project is guided by 2 objectives to promote safe and healthy learning and living environments in migrant and host communities in Guyana’s hinterland and selected coastal areas in Guyana namely:

•Early Childhood Development (ECD) in safe, secure environments in Guyana’s hinterland and selected coastal locations to ensure that all girls/boys < 4 years and their parents have access to quality early childhood development programming

•Safe, secure, healthy learning environments for secondary school adolescent boys and girls living in dormitories in Guyana’s hinterland, through system strengthening and gender responsive programming for healthy lifestyles
All aspects of nurturing care positioned under the ECD components and strategies for Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition (CAHN) are addressed in this project.

The project’s objectives and planned results will address the equity gaps for safe and healthy learning and living environments most evident in migrant and host communities in the hinterland and selected coastal areas in Guyana. To date, the project has supported institutional strengthening and enhanced ECD services through the development of a national
integrated ECD Policy and Guidelines, capacity strengthening efforts for childcare practitioners, health care providers and parents as well as increased access to ECD resources and materials through childcare and health facilities. Additionally, adolescence programming was expanded through the developed standards for dormitory schools and strengthening of school health clubs to enhance the health and wellbeing of young people. This project demands critical and creative thinking, innovative strategies and sound technical support for conceptualizing, implementing and monitoring activities across the decentralized health and education systems in the country.

How can you make a difference? 

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  TOR Project Coordinator UNICEF Guyana.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

• A university degree in Education, Public Health, Administration and a minimum of ten (10) years of professional leadership experience in designing, implementing and supervising programmes. Proven experience in managing projects.
  • Program and or project management experience.
  • Knowledge of and experience in the social sectors in Guyana (education, health, social services).
  • Proven analytical skills and experiences lending to the ability to identify and evaluate best practices and innovative approaches to be utilized by the project.
  • Experience working with a Development Agency.
  • Knowledge of the workings of the decentralized system in Guyana.
  • Good communication and networking skills and ability to work with all partners with minimum supervision.
  • Strong organizational, writing and presentation skills.
  • Must be a Guyanese national living in the country.

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 

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

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:  

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 is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable [Insert candidates from targeted underrepresented groups] are encouraged to apply.

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.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

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.