Senior Adviser, Education (Digital Education Implementation) (P-5), Fixed-Term, #00133283, Global Programme Division, Education Section, Nairobi – Kenya CoE
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
Nairobi (Kenya)

596932

Kenya

Fixed Term Appointment

Closing at: 27 Nov 2026 – 23:55 EAT

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

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.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to Digital opportunities

UNICEF’s Global Programme Division (GPD) drives programme excellence by providing global strategic leadership and policy direction, developing standards and evidence-based solutions, and strengthening country-level implementation through integrated technical support. Through its Centres of Excellence, including the Centre of Excellence in Nairobi, UNICEF provides high-quality, demand-driven technical assistance to Country and Regional Offices, governments and partners, linking global policy and expertise with practical action to deliver results for children at scale.

Digital transformation is an important part of UNICEF’s ambition to improve learning outcomes and equip children and young people with the skills they need for life and work. Guided by UNICEF’s Digital Education Strategy 2025–2030, UNICEF works with governments to develop inclusive and sustainable digital education strategies, strengthen education systems, empower teachers and school leaders through effective digital tools, and navigate the opportunities and risks presented by rapidly evolving technologies, including AI. The focus is on ensuring that technology serves clearly defined educational objectives, strengthens education systems and advances equitable learning outcomes for all children.

How can you make a difference?

As Senior Adviser, Education (Digital Education Implementation), you will provide strategic and technical leadership for the operationalization of UNICEF’s Digital Education Strategy, helping translate global ambition into sustainable, equitable and scalable change in education systems. Working with Country and Regional Offices, governments and partners, you will provide high-level technical assistance and policy guidance to strengthen national digital education strategies, implementation frameworks and institutional capacity.

You will lead efforts to integrate digital technologies and AI into education systems in ways that are pedagogically sound, evidence-based, safe, inclusive and sustainable. A particular focus will be on empowering teachers and school leaders, strengthening teacher professional development, integrating digital and AI-enabled approaches into models such as structured pedagogy and Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL), and supporting countries to embed digital education priorities within national policies, sector plans, curricula, governance mechanisms and financing strategies.

You will also help countries identify, adapt and scale high-impact digital education approaches across diverse contexts, including low-connectivity and crisis-affected settings. Through strategic partnerships, cross-country learning, evidence generation and engagement in regional and global forums, you will contribute to positioning UNICEF as a thought leader in digital education and responsible AI for learning, ensuring that digital transformation delivers better and more equitable learning outcomes for children

Join UNICEF’s Global Programme Division and help translate our Digital Education Strategy into sustainable, equitable change in education systems at scale. As Senior Adviser, Education (Digital Education Implementation), you will provide strategic and technical leadership to help governments and UNICEF Country and Regional Offices harness digital technologies and AI to strengthen teaching, learning and education systems, with a strong focus on equity, inclusion, safety and evidence-based approaches.

Your key areas of responsibility will include:

At-Scale Digital Education System Design
Digital Education System Planning and Readiness Assessment
Education System Institutional Reform and Governance
Quality Improvement through Digital Solutions
Digital Education System Strengthening and Sustainability
Equitable Access

You will also contribute to strategic partnerships, policy dialogue, cross-country learning and UNICEF’s global positioning on digital education and responsible AI for learning, helping countries scale solutions that deliver improved and more equitable learning outcomes for children.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Download File JD_Senior Adviser Education – Digital Education (P5), Nairobi.pdf

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

Minimum requirements

Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Education, International Development, Social Science, Educational technology, Teacher education, Learning sciences, Public policy, Educational planning and management, Education Policy and any other related fields.
Work Experience: At least 10 years of relevant work experience in Education systems strengthening, digital transformation, and the design and implementation of digital education programmes at national or multi-country level.
Proven expertise in integrating technology and AI into teaching and learning, and in leading digital education reforms, including policy, governance, financing, curriculum, and pedagogy.
Skills: Digital education systems, AI in education, Education system strengthening, Strategic policy, stakeholder engagement, Strategic Leadership.
Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

Desirables

Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language
Experience scaling digital and blended learning programmes.
Experience with teacher development, including structured pedagogy and/or TaRL.
Experience leading multicultural teams and multi-country portfolios.
Experience in resource mobilization and strategic partnerships.
Recognized thought leadership in digital education.
Experience in humanitarian or low-connectivity contexts, at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings.

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

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, 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.

In this role, you will collaborate with colleagues across multiple locations. For effective collaboration, we encourage flexible working hours that accommodate different time zones while prioritizing staff wellbeing.

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.

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