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UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

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For every child, the right to Education

How can you make a difference?

Rwanda has made strong progress in expanding access to education and prioritizes quality and relevant learning under Vision 2050 and NST2. However, challenges remain in foundational learning, school completion and transition, and access to education and employment opportunities for adolescents and young people. Through its 2025–2029 Country Programme, UNICEF supports national priorities in early and foundational learning, teacher development, inclusive and digital education, education data, and flexible learning pathways. The Chief, Education will provide strategic and technical leadership and strengthen partnerships to accelerate equitable learning and skills outcomes, particularly for the most disadvantaged children and young people.

Purpose of the Position:

As Chief of Education, you will provide strategic leadership for UNICEF Rwanda’s education portfolio, ensuring the delivery of sustainable, high-impact results aligned with UNICEF’s Strategic Plan and results-based management principles. You will oversee major education investments and partnerships, including grant-funded programmes, while supporting government-led sector coordination and strengthening national education systems. The role drives inclusive, equitable and resilient learning opportunities by promoting innovation, multisectoral collaboration, Generation Unlimited (GenU), and South-South cooperation. You will also champion resource mobilization and innovative financing solutions, leveraging partnerships across government, donors, the private sector, foundations and civil society to expand quality education and skills development opportunities for children and young people across Rwanda.

Lead UNICEF Rwanda’s education portfolio and help shape inclusive, equitable and future-ready learning opportunities for children and young people across the country. As Chief of Education, you will provide strategic leadership, technical direction and operational oversight for a diverse education programme spanning early childhood development, foundational learning, secondary education, skills development, and school-to-work transitions.

Working closely with government, development partners, the private sector and young people, you will drive the design and delivery of high-impact education initiatives, including RISE Rwanda and other major grant-funded programmes. You will champion innovation, data-driven decision-making and technology-enabled learning, while ensuring that gender equality, disability inclusion, refugee inclusion and climate resilience are embedded across all programmes.

You will lead a multidisciplinary team, mobilize resources and strategic partnerships, strengthen national education systems, and support government efforts to expand quality learning and skills opportunities at scale. The role also serves as a key advisor on education policy, financing and sector reform, helping to translate evidence and innovation into sustainable national impact.

Key Accountabilities:

Managerial Leadership
Programme Development and Planning
Programme Management, Monitoring and Quality Control of Results
Advisory Services and Technical Support
Advocacy, Networking and Partnership Building
Innovation, Knowledge Management and Capacity Building

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Download File Job Descriptions Chief Education (P4).pdf

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements

Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in education, economics, psychology, sociology, international development, public policy, public administration, statistics, educational technology, development studies and any other related fields is required.
Work Experience: At least 8 years of relevant work experience in programme, research, education, education program management, education policy, sector coordination, monitoring and evaluation, grant management, resource mobilization, digital learning, education data systems, inclusive education, youth skills development and any other related fields is required.
Skills:
- Professional experience in programme planning, management, and/or research in education at the international level is required.
- Good knowledge of global developments in education and international engagement strategies is required.
- Good education and policy sector analysis capacity, understanding of policies and strategies and ability to support policy dialogue is mandatory.
- Good technical knowledge of digital pedagogy, accessible technology-enabled learning is required.
- Demonstrated ability in results-based programme and grant management is mandatory.
- Demonstrated ability to lead multidisciplinary teams is expected.
Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

Desirables

Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
Good ability to support engagement with partners.
Good understanding of gender and inequity issues in relation to education and development and the application of gender / equity analysis to policy and planning in education.
Experience working in a developing country is considered as an asset.
Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships
(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
(3) Drive to achieve results for impact
(4) Innovates and embraces change
(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity
(6) Thinks and acts strategically
(7) Works collaboratively with others
(8) Nurtures, leads and manages people

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, discrimination, fraud, corruption and other forms of serious misconduct.

UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference, safeguarding and background verification checks. These checks may include verification of academic credentials and employment history, screening against relevant United Nations misconduct databases, and requests for misconduct disclosures from current and former employers, professional associations, other relevant organizations and participating organizations under inter-agency safeguarding initiatives, including the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (MDS), where applicable.

Appointment, selection and continued engagement are subject to the satisfactory completion of all required checks. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information and consent to enable UNICEF to undertake these checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments are conditional on the selected candidates' willingness to comply with current or future vaccination requirements, should UNICEF mandate it for personnel. Failure to comply with such requirements, where applicable and without a duly approved medical exemption from the relevant UN authority, will result in the cancellation of the selection or may lead to other administrative measures, including separation from service.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, all eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants' bank account information.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF's Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

Chief Education, P-4, Fixed Term Position, #00011290, Kigali, Rwanda