Overview
Provides high-level technical leadership and strategic guidance to countries on education financing for scale, champions innovative and equitable financing of education systems, and leads efforts to strengthen institutional and individual capacities in education sector planning, budgeting, and reform.
Key Responsibilities
- Provides high-level technical leadership and strategic guidance to countries.
- Champions innovative, equitable, and efficient financing of education systems.
- Leads efforts to strengthen institutional and individual capacities in education sector planning, budgeting, and reform.
- Manages the education satellite in Panama, overseeing technical assistance.
- Coordinates with thematic areas within education and public finance across sectors.
- Advises on evidence-based policy reforms.
- Leads the development of public goods and innovative solutions.
- Provides technical expertise to UNICEF Country and Regional Offices, governments, and partners.
- Supports governments in informing and resourcing education sector plans and budgets.
- Develops capacity of national and mid-level officials on public expenditure, budgeting, and innovative financing approaches.
- Serves as the focal point between the Education and Child Poverty CoE.
- Forges strategic partnerships with multilateral banks, finance institutions, private sector actors, and global platforms.
- Advocates and represents UNICEF in global education financing dialogue.
Required Experience
- At least 10 years of relevant work experience in Education, Planning, Education Economics, Public Finance for Education and any other related fields.
- Demonstrated experience supporting government-led education planning and budgeting processes and in the application of education financing tools (costing, value-for-money analysis, benefit-incidence, MTEFs, etc.).
- Experience working with multilateral/bilateral agencies and Ministries of Education and Finance.
- Experience in strategic collaboration across sectors (e.g., child poverty, child protection, health, nutrition).
- Policy research and analytical skills, including quantitative analytical skills, as shown by prior substantive contributions to policy reports and/or academic publications.
- Familiarity with UN/UNICEF programming and experience working with UNICEF field offices is considered a significant advantage.
- Experience with GPE, World Bank, other international development agencies and Ministries of Education is considered a significant advantage.
- Experience with Education financing mechanisms (e.g. GPE, ECW) is considered an additional advantage.
- Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.
Qualifications
- Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Economics, Finance, Education, Early Childhood Development, Public Financing and any other related fields.
- A Bachelor or equivalent (First Level University Degree) in a relevant area combined with 2 additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree (applicable to internal staff only).
