National Project Officer Local Education Group Coordinator (Port Sudan) – UNESCO 

Job Description

Duty Station	Port Sudan, Position Requires travel within Sudan and abroad
Type of contract	Service Contract
Level	NO-B
Duration of contract	1 Year
Recruitment open to	Sudanese Candidates
Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time)	17.10.2024

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

Background

The Local Education Group (LEG) is a country-level group established with support from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) to ensure that education stakeholders voices are heard to inform and facilitate policy dialogue and coordination among the Local Education Authorities, development partners, and civil society.

The LEG is usually chaired by the government – a senior representative from the Ministry of Education and co-chaired by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Coordinating Agency, who is selected and or endorsed by the group for this role. 

The LEG in Sudan has been active since 2012- in 2022. Following the 2021 coup, the GPE operational framework for fragile and conflict-affected contexts was invoked, resulting in the removal of Government from the LEG.

Following the outbreak of armed conflict on April 2023 and its destabilizing impact on the Education Sector, on October 2023, UNESCO assumed the role of GPE Coordinating Agency and Chair of Sudan’s LEG, aiming to optimize efforts in sector engagement and coordination to meet the educational needs of learners across Sudan, considering the active armed conflict. 

Comprising 26 international and domestic organizations, including UN agencies, I/NGOs, multilaterals, and donors, the Sudan LEG is in the early stages of redevelopment. Under UNESCO’s leadership and with a shared focus on duly elaborating and implementing a Transitional Education Plan, (2025-2027), it has garnered significant engagement from the education community since the end of 2023.

UNESCO is seeking to hire a Sudan LEG Coordinator to ensure and facilitate inclusive sector coordination, effective LEG collaboration and communication including between Local Education Authorities, LEG members and other development and humanitarian partners as well as oversee GPE or otherwise grants and facilitate TEP development and implementation.

Long Description

Tasks

Under the supervision of the Head of UNESCO Khartoum Office as well as the National Professional Officer (NPO) Education and designated UNESCO HQ focal points, the LEG Coordinator will facilitate and support the Chair of the LEG and the Coordinating Agency to coordinate the activities of the LEG, serving as a liaison between the Chair and Sudan LEG members as well as with Local Education Authorities, humanitarian and development partners, civil society, and other stakeholders to optimize sector engagement and coordination in meeting Sudanese learners’ educational needs amid ongoing armed conflict.

Specifically, the incumbent will be responsible for the following: 

• Organize and support the facilitation and moderation of monthly LEG meetings, the Working Sub-Groups and other sub-groups, including supporting the creation of  additional relevant working groups when needs arise. 
• Prepare and distribute in a timely manner draft meeting agendas and minutes/action points and follow up on actions after each meeting. 
• Disseminate relevant information and updates among the group members to support coordination and collaboration, including for joint planning, monitoring and evaluation of the TEP and GPE funded projects.  

Long Description

• Ensure coordination and collaboration, as appropriate, with other sectors coordination groups and clusters (including the Humanitarian Sector), including by sharing the main outcomes and recommendations from the LEG meetings with clusters and civil society and vice versa.
• Where needed, lead external communication to communicate progress beyond the group membership, this could include UNCT, IPMT, NGOs working in education, and the donor community.
• Maintain a repository of key documents relevant to the LEG.
• Maintain an up-to-date contact list for all members of the group as well as a key stakeholder mapping that tracks modality of engagement to guide the implementation of activities.
• Work jointly with GPE and ECW Grant Agents (and other relevant partners) to ensure (a) all development partners can actively engage with the GPE and ECW funded programs and (b) the GPE and ECW Secretariats are sufficiently briefed on the Sudan context.
• Lead annual and mid annual review, monitoring and assessment exercises of all members and facilitate the organization and review process with LEG members to identify what worked well and what needs to be improved in ways of working arrangements. 

Long Description

a)    Regular provision of professional and technical support to more senior field staff, research, analysis and exploration of programmes, projects, priorities and partners as outlined/guided by supervisor in order to enhance Education Field work. He/she gathers and provides content for events and publications and subsequent distribution. He/she researches current best practices/concepts/frameworks and trends and synthesizes findings, providing inputs and recommendations for project and programme work as well as identifies and highlights areas of concerns and opportunities to colleagues and management. The post holder may be required to recommend adaptations to approach depending on established objectives and needs at the national level. The work also requires an awareness of politics particularly in the area served by the Field Office, emerging needs, trends and conflicting agendas and ways to address and integrate elements of multiple agendas and new modalities into relevant projects, programmes and actions.

b)    Effectively and successfully carry out the work and ensure that there is a common understanding of objectives and work activities. He/she will exchange information, discuss trends, developments and capacities and facilitate initial communication with staff members and peers within and outside of the Field Office in the same field of work (Education). External contacts are focused on practical issues and programme execution. He/she will also contribute to the identification of and feasibility of potentially new partnerships, including CCA and UNDAF opportunities. Post holder will provide assistance in terms of technical backstopping to other colleagues and may be required to persuade partners, managers, both internal and external to the organization, governments and institutions of particular positions and initiatives and advise on relevant approaches.

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For detailed information, please consult the UNESCO Competency Framework.

Education

Advanced university degree (Master’ or equivalent) in development studies, education, development economics or closely related fields.

Number of years of relevant work experience

At least 4 years of relevant professional work experience in programme development, management, information management, and coordination in the field of education, including in emergency contexts.

Experience in communication, public awareness, advocacy, reporting, and donor/partner communication.

Experience within the United Nations or other International Organizations is an added advantage

Knowledge, skills and competencies 
Excellent coordination and networking skills.
Excellent English drafting and presentation skills.
Knowledge of computer productivity tools and multimedia and creativity software.
Very good understanding of working in diverse and multi-cultural environments.
Ability to interact with partners at various professional levels and diverse backgrounds.
A deep understanding of humanitarian-development-peacebuilding nexus approach work, particularly of capacity development in education.
Excellent skills in operational planning, setting up indicators for monitoring implementation, and provision of up-to-date project report.
Excellent strategic, analytical, and communications skills.
Capacity to manage and handle confidential and sensitive documents and materials in a discreet manner

Languages
Excellent knowledge (written and spoken) of English and Arabic.

Duration of assignment and expected results

• The Service Contract assignment is for 12 months, tentatively from Nov 2024 to Dec 2025. 
• Extension of the Service Contract is subject to satisfactory performance, continued need of the services/tasks and availability of funds.

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the UNESCO careers website. No modifications can be made to the application submitted.

The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as a competency-based interview. 

UNESCO uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates.

Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided.