Mission and objectives
The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favouritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education, hygiene/sanitation and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.
Context
Mozambique has a predominantly young population. Of the estimated 32.4 million people in 2021, approximately 65 per cent were children and young people under the age of 25.[1] While this demographic profile presents a significant opportunity for long-term development, it also poses serious challenges in the context of slow economic growth, high dependency rates, and widespread poverty. Education is central to unlocking this potential, yet the sector continues to face persistent challenges. Despite ongoing efforts by the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC), supported by partners including UNICEF, barriers to access and quality remain significant. These include gaps in teacher quality and capacity, shortages of teaching and learning materials, limited access—particularly for girls—weak institutional capacity, and insufficient school-level governance and financial management. In response, UNICEF is implementing an integrated package of education interventions in targeted districts across all the provinces, recognizing that no single intervention can address these systemic challenges. The approach focuses on expanding access to learning and improving learning outcomes through enhanced teacher capacity, improved teaching and learning materials, digital and remedial learning, strengthened institutional and school-level capacity, and support to school councils. In parallel, the Learning-to-Earning (L2E) approach is being introduced to connect education with skills development and pathways to decent work for adolescents and young people, particularly the most vulnerable. Moreover, UNICEF supports the system-strengthening of the education sector through contributing to national education governance systems, capacity building, and recently contributing to the national education management information system, to enable more effective and efficient monitoring, planning, and decision making. These interventions are implemented within the framework of UNICEF’s Country Programme Document (CPD) and Annual Work Plans (AWP). Wherever possible, multiple interventions are delivered in the same learning facility to maximize impact, with close coordination with Provincial Directorates of Education and Culture to ensure alignment, coverage, and sustainability. The Education UNV will support achievements towards ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all by implementing identified activities in collaboration with Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC), specifically within areas of access, quality, and enabling environment, especially on the monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Under the direct supervision of Education Specialist, and with technical guidance from Chief Education, the UNV will support the Education Specialist in managing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and reporting, and data management in the learning, skills and engagement section, including Accelerated School Readiness (ASR) programme, Digital Learning, Learning to Earning (L2E), system strengthening, Youth engagement and Education in Emergency.
Task description
Under the direct supervision of the Education Specialist the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: • Support the monitoring and evaluation component of various donor-funded prgrammes, including but not limited to programmes funded by the EU, the Japanese Committee for UNICEF (JCU), and others. • Conduct and participate in field monitoring visits, stakeholder workshops, and meetings; actively monitor programmes and projects through field visits and surveys; and engage with stakeholders to assess progress, document and report on implementation, identify bottlenecks and risks, and facilitate timely decision making and referral to relevant officials for resolution • Liaise with UNICEF communication section to enhance the visibility of funding donors; deliver key programme messages through websites and social media, documentation of best practices and lessons learned (including human-interest stories). and dissemination to relevant partners and stakeholders. • Analyze education statistics generated by the Government and other partners for the use of the UNICEF programme in close collaboration with the Learning, Skills and Engagement (LSE) section colleagues, UNICEF’s internal issues, and develop infographics and/or presentations for internal and external use. • Support the improvement of data management, data collection and support to harmonize the data management tools in use in the programme, also with support of training and follow-up on data collected from field offices, and partners as needed. • Support the production of factsheets or dashboards with graphs and images based on the data collected for data visualization to disseminate knowledge. • Support the enhancement of digital workplace tools to support effective Knowledge Management (KM) (SharePoint, KM evidence site) and promotion of their adoption & use in programming. • Support in generation of donor proposals and donor reporting as appropriate. • Support with administrative activities, follow up with other sections such as supply, HR, and processing. During the first month of the assignment, the UN Volunteer will work closely with his/her direct supervisor to finalize an agreed-upon work plan. The work plan should outline key objectives and activities and include regular check ins with the supervisor to review progress and receive performance.
