UNICEF, guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, works together with partners in 190 countries and territories to promote and advocate for the protection of the rights of every child.

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.

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

For every child, a chance. 

In Nigeria, UNICEF works in a complex humanitarian and development setting to fulfill and protect children's rights in partnership with the government, civil society, children, and families.  UNICEF Nigeria is one of the largest UNICEF Country Offices globally - click the link to learn more about UNICEF in Nigeria: https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/

Background:

Nigeria has striven to provide quality education, learning and skills development opportunities to the increasing number of children, but it has fallen short of the goal. Although basic education is free and compulsory, 10.2 million children of primary school age and 8.1 million children of junior secondary school age remain out of school.3 Due to the limited access to schooling and poor quality of education, about 75 per cent of children aged 7–14 do not develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills4, which are building blocks for continued learning and acquisition of advanced skills.

In Benue state, 12.8 per cent of children of primary school age and 6.7 per cent of junior secondary school age are out of school, and about 76 per cent of children aged 7–14 do not develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills.5 There are multiple bottlenecks. Supply-side factors include inadequate domestic funding and government planning capacity, whereas demand-side barriers include poverty and social/gender norms. Humanitarian crises, driven by recurrent farmer-herder conflicts and armed violence, affected the provision and access to quality education in the state. According to IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) Round 46 (2024), over 400,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) were recorded in Benue. Displaced families are scattered across 15 formal IDP camps in 5 LGAs of Logo, Guma, Makurdi, Kwande, & Gwer West , informal settlements, and overstretched host communities, often surviving with limited or no access to education and learning.

How can you make a difference? 

Scope of work

1. Completion of a needs assessment report for Benue, including visits to the state to meet with state officials

and humanitarian actors, in conjunction with the UNICEF Enugu education specialist

2. Completion of a needs assessment report for Sokoto including visits to the state to meet with state officials and humanitarian actors, in conjunction with the UNICEF Sokoto education team.

Work Assignment Overview

Task/Work Area:

Component 1: Rapid education needs assessment in Benue state

1.Develop a draft work plan including data collection tools for both needs assessments in conjunction with

the UNICEF teams at state and country office level

Deliverables/Output:

Draft work plan for needs assessment in Benue and Sokoto submitted

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: TOR_Benue and Sokoto Needs Assessment Abuja.pdf

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

• Advanced university degree in education, international development, social sciences or other relevant fields.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in education. research, including quantitative and qualitative methods, in development and/or humanitarian contexts.
• Experiencing in leading and/or coordinating a research team.
• Experience in training
• Experience in mapping data against key policy and international priorities.
• Experience in developing and publishing research reports and policy briefs with policy recommendations.

Attached is the All-Inclusive Financial Proposal All-Inclusive Financial Proposal Form UNICEF.docx

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, Sustainability (CRITAS), and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

UNICEF is also proud of a diverse workforce who are profoundly committed to supporting the full realization of children’s rights, and in uplifting a rights-based approach in all that we do.

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  

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

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.

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 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 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.

Remarks:  

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.