Re-advertisement: Education Specialist (Learning and Skills Assessment), P-4, Fixed Term Position, HQ Outposted, Nairobi, Kenya, #00133267 (Open for all UNICEF personnel)

How can you make a difference

Around the world, UNICEF is delivering on its Every Child Learns Education Strategy 2019–2030, which aims to ensure equitable access to quality education, improved learning outcomes, inclusion, lifelong learning, and continuity of learning in both humanitarian and development settings. In 144 countries, UNICEF works to provide quality learning opportunities that prepare children and adolescents with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in today’s world. UNICEF focuses on supporting three key transitions in a child’s learning journey: ensuring children are ready for school by age 5; acquiring foundational and socio-emotional skills by age 10; and being prepared for life and work by age 18. Leveraging innovation, data, and cross-sectoral collaboration, UNICEF works with governments and partners to help education systems become more resilient, relevant, inclusive, and empowering — with a focus on reaching the most marginalised children and adolescents.

Education professionals in UNICEF’s Centres of Excellence provide strategic policy and technical assistance to Country Offices and governments, enabling them to design and deliver equitable, inclusive, and high-quality learning opportunities for all children and adolescents. Their work supports the CoEs’ mandate to provide predictive, integrated, and trackable technical assistance that aligns with national priorities, strengthens system resilience, and maximises impact.

The team plays a central role in helping countries implement UNICEF’s Every Child Learns Education Strategy 2019–2030 and the UNICEF Strategic Plan 2026–2029, which is built around three key transitions in a child’s learning journey:

• Readiness for school by age 5 – ensuring children enter primary education with the cognitive, social, and emotional foundations for learning.
• Acquisition of foundational and socio-emotional skills by age 10 – guaranteeing all children achieve basic literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional competencies as the building blocks for lifelong learning.
• Preparation for life and work by age 18 – enabling young people to complete a quality secondary education and gain the skills necessary for further education, employment, and active citizenship.

These transitions underpin UNICEF’s three strategic goals:

• Equitable access to learning opportunities for all children and adolescents.
• Improved learning and skills for all, with a focus on foundational skills, transferable skills, and job-specific skills.
• Continuity of learning and protection in emergencies and fragile contexts, ensuring that crises do not derail a child’s education.

Purpose of the Job

Under the supervision of the Senior Adviser (Education Financing), the Education Specialist (Learning and Skills Assessment) will provide high-level technical assistance and strategic support to advance UNICEF’s global strategy on learning and skills measurement. The role will guide UNICEF’s work on strengthening national assessment systems and their use in improving the performance of education and skills programmes, with a focus on transferable skills (including socio-emotional learning), digital skills, green skills, and secondary education learning outcomes.

The Education Specialist (Learning and Skills Assessment) will provide technical assistance to UNICEF Country and Regional Offices and to national governments to develop, implement, and use assessments and tracer studies that inform sector policy, planning, and financing, while improving learning and skills outcomes and employability. The role will also contribute to global standardsetting, methodology development, and partnerships to promote inclusive and actionable learning and skills assessments and tracer studies. These will support system-wide education reform, equitable resource allocation, and improved performance of education and skills programmes, including in emergency settings.

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

The Education Specialist (Learning & Skills Assessment) will provide high-level technical assistance and strategic guidance to UNICEF Offices, Centres of Excellence (CoEs), governments, and partners. In alignment with the UNICEF Strategic Plan 2026–2029 and the Every Child Learns Education Strategy 2019–2030, the Specialist will advance learning and skills assessment as a core driver of education system strengthening, equitable resource allocation, and improved learning outcomes for all children.

• At-Scale Programme Design
• Education Sector Planning
• Education Sector Institutional Reform
• Capacity Development & Institutional Strengthening
• Quality Improvements at Scale
• Policy Reform in Education

Minimum requirements

• Experience in developing tools for assessing transferable skills, digital skills, green skills, or secondary education learning outcomes.
• Working knowledge in psychometrics, test development, and sampling.
• Working knowledge of global reporting frameworks such as SDG 4.1.1a/b and 4.7 indicators.
• Strong technical expertise in data analysis and visualization using statistical software (e.g., SPSS, Stata, R) and Visual Basic for Applications.
• Solid understanding of the broader education policy landscape, including sector planning and financing, monitoring frameworks, and the use of learning, skills and employment data for system reform.
• Demonstrated ability to contribute to and engage in policy dialogue with governments and partners on skills assessment, linkages between education outcomes and labor market demands and education system strengthening.
• Experience working in a developing country.

Desirables

• Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
• Experience with learning and skills assessments in emergency, displacement, or fragile contexts.
• Excellent communication, writing, and presentation skills, including the ability to translate technical findings into actionable policy recommendations.
• Familiarity with digital assessments, computer-based testing, or remote learning assessments.
• Understanding of intersectional equity issues in learning and skills assessment (e.g., disability-inclusive measurement, gender-responsive assessments). • Experience collaborating with global and regional assessment programs (e.g., LLECE, PASEC, SACMEQ, SEA-PLM, PISA).
• Proficiency in data visualization platforms (e.g., Tableau, Power BI) and innovative communication of learning data.
• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

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 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 candidates 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.

In this role, you will collaborate with colleagues across multiple locations. For effective collaboration, we encourage flexible working hours that accommodate different time zones while prioritizing staff wellbeing.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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.