Education Officer at United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)

United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Education Officer

Job No.: 591136
Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Level: NO-2
Contract type: Temporary Appointment
Categories: Education

Background

• Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with approximately 213 million people, with a half of the population is below 18 years of age, in 2021.
• The country has strived to provide quality inclusive education for all children under the Sustainable Development Goal 4 and increased access to education and closed gender gaps particularly in primary education.
• However, the country falls short of the goal.
• Nigeria accounts for the largest global share of out of school children (15 per cent).
• 10.2 million children at primary school age and 8.1 million children at junior secondary school age are still out of school, although the basic education is compulsory in the country.  
• This implies that approximately one in three children at basic education level are out of school.
• Equally concerning are children do not learn even if they attend school due to poor quality of education.
• For instance, about 70 per cent of students in grade 5 do not acquire foundational literacy and numeracy skills in 2021.
• Importantly, the educational challenges are not equally distributed across the country, with children from poor families, rural areas, and northern areas with a higher security risk more excluded from education and learning.
• The lack of access to quality education has a significant impact on the future of children and the country.
• Children who do not complete basic education and acquire foundational skills are less likely to find a job in an increasingly knowledge-based economy, which in part contributes to the low employment at 37 per cent in Nigeria.  
• These children are also less likely to increase their wellbeing, to be actively engaged citizens, and to nurture healthy and prosperous families.
• This in turn limits the opportunities for the country to drive economy and reduce poverty and build more inclusive, democratic societies. 

Purpose for the Job

• Under the supervision of the Education Specialist, the Education Officer will support the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of education section’s programme in Maiduguri Field Office, along with contribution to the office management and supervision of facilitators and consultants.

Responsibilities

• Programme management and reporting in Maiduguri Field Office
• Grant implementation, monitoring, and delivery of results
• Programme implementation in learning output
• Communication, advocacy, stakeholder engagement and partnership building
• Supervision, coaching and capacity building of facilitators and consultants.

Requirements

• A University Degree in one of the following fields is required: Education, Psychology, Sociology or another relevant technical field
• A minimum of two years of professional experience in programme planning, management, and/or research in education is required
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language(Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba) is an asset.

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are:

• Builds and maintains partnerships
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
• (Drive to achieve results for impact
• Innovates and embraces change
• Manages ambiguity and complexity
• Thinks and acts strategically
• Works collaboratively with others.

Application Closing Date
4th March, 2026.