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The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, 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 favoritism. 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, nutrition, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill 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.

Job organizational context:

The situation in Afghanistan remains exceptionally complex, with a protracted emergency situation, characterized by recurrent natural disasters, an increased number of people living in poverty, continued internal displacement, unprecedented levels of food insecurity, further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.  This complexity has greatly impacted the situation of children and women in the country. The withdrawal of United States military forces from Afghanistan in August 2021 and the establishment of a de-facto government by the Taliban has exacerbated the complexity and uncertainty of the situation. UNICEF is required to rapidly adapt is ways of working to address the multiple operational constraints present in the highly volatile and unpredictable context.

The current education needs in Afghanistan, and related scale up plan for increased coverage and quality of education services, underscore the relevance of a reliable, at-scale, informed coordination mechanisms to ensure adequate and effective reach to the most vulnerable. Coordination of  education partners at national level involves the main cluster forum, as well as subgroups, such as the Strategic Advisory Group (SAG) and two  thematic Technical Working Groups.

At subnational level, sub-national coordination mechanisms exist and are currently supported by double hatting focal points.  However, with time and rise in needs, staff turnover, and evolving coordination challenges, the need for leadership strengthening at subnational level, and establishment of strong connection between the various levels have risen as central elements for improved coordination Given the current needs, the demand for programme implementation outweighs their sub-national cluster coordination efforts. Fully dedicated subnational cluster coordinators are required for the fulfillment of the cluster functions, in collaboration with the cluster focal points and relevant stakeholders present at zonal level.

Purpose for the job

Under the supervision of the Education Cluster Coordinator, the purpose of this post is to provide leadership and facilitate the processes that will ensure a well-coordinated, strategic, adequate, coherent and effective response by partners in the sub national education cluster.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

The post holder has joint responsibility with the UNICEF, resourcing partners and all cluster participants at the national and sub-national level for the efficient management and functioning of the sub-national education cluster encompassing the following:

• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with education stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge
• Revitalize and maintain an appropriate humanitarian education coordination mechanism
• Build complementarity of partner actions, avoiding duplication and gaps
• Provide support to adequate resource mobilization and equitable allocation for the effective functioning of the sub cluster and its response.
• Promote effective and comprehensive integration of relevant cross-cutting issues, including age, gender, and disabilities.
• Maintain flexibility within the sub cluster to respond to changes in the operating environment, evolving requirements, capacities and participation.
• Effectively use and transfer information to, from and between cluster participants and other stakeholders.
• Interact with other clusters (including through inter-cluster coordination), humanitarian actors, government counterparts, and relevant authorities for operational planning, engagement and active contribution of operational partners.
• Be accountable to the affected population through effective and inclusive consultative and feedback mechanisms.
• Enhance and monitor performance of the core cluster functions, i.e.:
  • Supporting service delivery
• Provide a platform to ensure that service delivery is driven by the agreed strategic priorities
• Develop and/or contextualize mechanisms to eliminate duplication of service delivery
• • Informing strategic decision-making for the humanitarian response

• Needs assessment and gap analysis (across other sectors and within the sector)
• Analysis to identify and address (emerging) gaps, obstacles, duplication, and cross-cutting issues.
• Prioritization, grounded in response analysis

• • Planning and strategy development

• Develop context-specific sectoral plans, objectives and indicators that directly support the realization of the education cluster strategic priorities
• Application and adherence to existing standards and guidelines
• Clarify funding requirements and prioritization and provide input into the fundraising processes (Flash Appeal, AHF, CERF, etc.)

• • Advocacy

• Identify advocacy concerns to contribute to education cluster messaging and action
• Undertaking advocacy activities on behalf of cluster participants and the affected population

• • Monitoring and reporting the implementation

• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual reviews with the government and other counterparts.
• Enhance programme data analysis for action at subnational level.
• Participate and keep record of reports on surveys and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
• Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners to discuss facts and concerns found from monitoring. Provide solutions, recommendations and/or alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and/or decision-making.
• Monitor and report on the use of sectoral resources allocated to partners (financial, administrative and other assets), verifying compliance with approved allocation.

• • Contingency planning/preparedness for recurrent disasters

• Contribute to risk profiling and analysis and subsequent contingency plans with relevant, context-specific inputs.