Brazil has not yet guaranteed to all children and adolescents the basic right to education. It is observed through available indicators the worsening of the situation of Brazilian public education in the last two years, due to the pandemic.

Considering that, UNICEF works in the country to ensure that (i) all children and adolescents are at schools, protected and learning at the right age; (ii) they develop all their skills, based on an integrated and protective approach; and (iii) every young people make a positive transition from school to work. In Rio de Janeiro, this work is done through Agenda Cidade UNICEF, which will have a new edition starting in 2025.

This assignment will support the implementation of the national and local education strategy in Rio de Janeiro as the focus, but also guiding the local strategy on education as an integral part of Education that Protects and of the Rio de Janeiro Framework focused on Violence Prevention and Response in contexts or armed violence.

The UN Volunteer is supposed to design, implement, and monitor education activities, in partnership with government and civil society, based on the strategies developed by Brasília’s Education Team and the Chief Field Office in Rio de Janeiro.

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the Chief of UNICEF Rio de Janeiro Field Office or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UNV Education Officer will provide technical assistance to:
Advocacy activities
• Provide high quality information, data and critical analyses to support UNICEF advocacy strategies on education in Rio de Janeiro, in the context of the new office framework and in close coordination with local team.
• Identify strategic places where UNICEF should be present to influence public policies for education.
• Dialogue with high level public managers in the State and Municipal levels to ensure the advancement of inclusion, permanence and quality policies in schools.
• Represent UNICEF in public events.

School Active Search Initiative
• Contribute to the development of the national strategy, with inputs about the experience in Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo.
• Engage all necessary segments to implement the strategy, including managers from the Secretariats of Education, Health, Social Assistance, civil society, protection systems, the guardianship councils, Public Prosecutor’s Office, courts of auditors and other.
• Support local technical teams to feed the digital platform with relevant information on children out of school.
• Provide capacity building activities to managers and their teams engaged with the initiative.
• Support managers from the State Secretariats of Education, with the implement partner, to implement Successful School Pathways principles.
• Prepare donor proposals and reports.

Education that Protects

• Engage public managers and their teams to implement initiatives that ensure children are protected from all forms of violence in the schools.
• Train education managers to implement a system of protection, prevention, and response to violence.
• Address issues of violence and structural racism that impact learning and are usually not addressed, specially influencing the curricula of the engaged schools.
• Support Education Departments in the development of strategies to use digital resources and promote the development of digital skills.
• Prepare donor proposals and reports. Early child education.
• Provide technical assistance on the intersectoral initiatives for early childhood, with the lens of education.
• Engage public managers and their teams in the initiatives related to early child education.
• Prepare proposals and reports. One Million Opportunities (1 MiO).
• Work in close collaboration with the 1 MiO team in this initiative that brings together companies, social organizations, governments, and young people in a network to generate opportunities and defend decent work.
• Provide advice for the Education axle of 1 MiO in Rio de Janeiro.

Other duties

Monitor annual work plans designed for Rio de Janeiro, including budget implementation; Participate in internal discussions, meetings and external events as needed, duly liaising with other programmatic areas in the Field Office as well.

• Accountability
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Creativity
• Judgement and decision-making
• Planning and organising
• Professionalism
• Self-management

Education or relevant area, e.g. human rights, human development
• At least 10 years of professional work experience at the national and/or international level in education public policies advice, implementation or design, or other relevant programmes; experience with Municipal level is an asset, as is experience working in the UN or other international development organization.
• Excellent oral and written skills.
• Accuracy and professionalism in document production and editing.
• Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development.
• Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to
• work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel.
• Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment.
• Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines.
• Sound security awareness.
• Have affinity with or interest in children’s rights, volunteerism as a mechanism for durable development, and the UN System.

The assignment will be in Rio de Janeiro with eventual missions to São Paulo and Espírito Santo. Rio de Janeiro is a family duty station and classified A (hardship). The living conditions in Rio de Janeiro are good as well as the access to health services. The accommodation facilities are in general good, and the choice is wide. As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging their own housing and other living essentials. National UN Volunteers are part of the malicious insurance plan.

Brazil is security level 3 (moderate). United Nations Department of Safety and Security UNDSS Brazil advises to exercise a high degree of caution in Brazil due to high levels of serious and violent crime, particularly in major cities. Violent crime as muggings, armed robbery, kidnappings, and sexual assault, is very high. Avoid shanty towns (favelas) in the big cities and if you are attacked or robbed, do not resist. Demonstrations can occur at any time and may turn violent with little or no warning. All United Nations personnel must scrupulously comply with UNDSS procedures and recommendations during their assignment in Brazil. For missions in rural areas, favelas or indigenous reservations, special procedures may apply; UN personnel should consult with the local DSS office in advance.

Information on full entitlements at the duty station is available at https://app.unv.org/calculator.
The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos.