Local Education Group (LEG) Sector Planning, Damascus

General

• Description of assignment title: Local Education Group (LEG) Sector Planning
• Assignment country: Syrian Arab Republic
• Duty stations: Damascus
• Work location: On UN premises
• Expected start date: 12/01/2026
• Duration: 12 months (with possibility of extension)
• Sustainable Development Goal: 4. Quality education
• Host entity: UNICEF SYR
• Modality: Onsite
• Type: National
• Volunteer category: Expert UCoS from Apr2026
• Work schedule: Full-time
• Number of Assignments: 1

Details

Mission and objectives

With the strong presence on the ground and partnerships with local communities and organizations across multiple sectors, UNICEF aims to reach more children and families. Upholding the humanitarian principles, UNICEF supports integrated, multi-sectoral programming and continues to improve sustained, equitable and safe access to critical basic services in areas where the needs are the highest.

UNICEF aims to reach children no matter where they are or live.

Context

The Ministry of Education (MoE) is leading efforts to restore and transform Syria’s education system following years of crisis and disruption that have significantly affected access, equity, quality, learning outcomes, and institutional capacity. As the country transitions toward recovery and development, the Ministry is committed to ensuring that all children and young people, including returnees, internally displaced populations, and other vulnerable groups, have access to safe, inclusive, and quality education aligned with national priorities and Sustainable Development Goal

To advance sector recovery and reform, the MoE is strengthening its capacity for education sector planning, coordination, monitoring, and evidence-based decision-making. Central to this effort is the establishment of the Local Education Group (LEG), a Ministry-led, multi-stakeholder platform bringing together government entities, development partners, UN agencies, civil society organizations, and other education stakeholders to promote sector dialogue, align partner support, and advance collective action around national education priorities. A LEG Secretariat has been established within the Ministry to support the effective functioning of the LEG and strengthen Ministry-led sector coordination.

Syria’s accession to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) provides an important opportunity to further strengthen sector governance, planning, coordination, and accountability. The establishment of the LEG and its Secretariat provides an institutional mechanism to reinforce government leadership, strengthen partnerships, and support coordinated implementation and monitoring of national education priorities.

Given the scale and complexity of Syria’s education recovery and reform agenda, UNICEF recruiting a UN Volunteer Expert (LEG - Education Sector Planning) to strengthen the Ministry of Education’s capacity to lead sector planning, policy development, performance monitoring, and evidence-based decision-making. Working within and supporting the LEG Secretariat, the UN Volunteer Expert will support the development, implementation, monitoring, and review of education sector plans; strengthen sector analysis, data use, monitoring and reporting systems; and develop practical planning tools and analytical products to inform policy and implementation. The UN Volunteer Expert will ensure that stakeholder inputs, partner engagement, and coordination outcomes are effectively reflected in sector planning, monitoring, and implementation, while also supporting the effective functioning of the LEG and other sector coordination mechanisms.

The UN Volunteer will be based in the Directorate of Planning and International Cooperation of the Ministry of Education and will report to the Director of Planning, or his/her designated representative, on the daily delivery of tasks. The UN Volunteer's work plan will be agreed jointly by UNICEF and the Ministry of Education. Administrative and contractual accountability rests with UNICEF. While the UNICEF Chief of Education will approve leave and travel and will complete the UNV performance assessment, with formal input from the Ministry of Education. The UN Volunteer will keep regular communication with both supervisors, including monthly progress updates shared with both UNICEF and the Ministry.

Task description

Within the delegated authority and under the overall supervision of the UNICEF Chief of Education and under the day-to-day functional guidance of the Director of Planning and International Cooperation, Ministry of Education (or his/her designated representative), the UN Volunteer will support the following:

1. Education Sector Planning and Policy Development

• Coordinate and consolidate technical inputs from relevant MoE directorates, development partners and other education stakeholders to support the preparation, review and implementation of national education sector plans, annual operational plans and related planning frameworks.
• Support the Directorate of Planning and Statistics and Directorate of International Cooperation in translating national education priorities into practical planning products, including implementation roadmaps, annual planning calendars, results frameworks, costing inputs and prioritization criteria.
• Prepare evidence-informed policy briefs, options papers, technical notes, analytical summaries and presentations to inform Ministry leadership's deliberations, priority-setting and decision-making.
• Support the integration of equity, gender equality, disability inclusion, climate resilience, social cohesion and conflict sensitivity into education sector plans, planning frameworks and operational tools.
• Support the integration of education in emergencies, disaster risk reduction and management, emergency preparedness, anticipatory action and relevant emergency education indicators into sector planning frameworks to strengthen resilience, continuity of learning and recovery of the education sector.

2. Sector Monitoring, Performance Review and Adaptive Planning

• Develop and maintain sector planning and performance-monitoring frameworks, indicator reference sheets, reporting templates and dashboards linked to agreed national education priorities, plans, results and targets.
• Consolidate and analyse available data and implementation updates, in collaboration with the relevant MoE information and communication technology (ICT), monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and other technical departments, to monitor progress against agreed objectives, indicators and targets.
• Prepare quarterly, mid-year and annual sector performance analyses identifying achievements, gaps, implementation bottlenecks, emerging risks and recommendations for corrective action.
• Support the technical preparation of Joint Sector Reviews, mid-year reviews, annual reviews and other sector performance assessments, including the compilation of evidence, analysis of results, preparation of background documents and drafting of findings and recommendations.
• Support scenario-based, contingency and adaptive planning, as required, by analysing changing needs, implementation constraints and emerging risks and proposing evidence-based adjustments to sector plans and priorities.

3. Education Financing and Resource Prioritization

• Support the Directorate of Planning and International Cooperation in analysing education sector financing, available resources, partner contributions, funding gaps and resource allocation in relation to national education priorities and plans.
• Provide technical inputs to investment cases, education financing strategies, concept notes and funding proposals led by the MoE, in consultation with the Local Education Group (LEG), development partners and relevant stakeholders, as appropriate.
• Consolidate and analyse relevant costing information, financing evidence and resource requirements to inform donor consultations, resource mobilization discussions and sector investment prioritization, in collaboration with the Education Partnership and Coordination Consultant hosted by the MoE.
• Support the MoE in assessing the alignment, complementarity and potential gaps in partner investments against national education plans and priorities, providing evidence to inform resource prioritization and partner dialogue.

4. Planning Systems and Institutional Capacity Strengthening

• Develop and support the institutionalization of practical planning, monitoring and reporting tools, templates, technical guidance and standard operating procedures for use by relevant MoE directorates and, as appropriate, the LEG Secretariat.
• Provide on-the-job coaching and structured capacity-building support to relevant MoE staff on sector planning, costing, results-based management, performance monitoring, data analysis and reporting.
• Support harmonized planning, monitoring and reporting processes across MoE directorates, promoting the consistent application of agreed methodologies, tools and standards.
• Document planning methodologies, tools, good practices and institutional knowledge, and support their transfer to relevant MoE counterparts to strengthen national capacity, institutional ownership and the sustainability of sector planning and monitoring functions.

5. Technical Collaboration with the Education Partnership and Coordination Consultant

• Provide technical inputs, sector analyses, planning products and evidence-based materials to support stakeholder consultations, policy dialogue, LEG meetings and sector review processes coordinated by the Education Partnership and Coordination Consultant hosted by the MoE.
• Collaborate with the Education Partnership and Coordination Consultant to consolidate stakeholder feedback, partner contributions, commitments and coordination outcomes, and reflect agreed priorities and actions in relevant sector plans, monitoring frameworks and analytical products, as appropriate.
• Provide technical content and evidence for partner briefings, consultations and discussions on sector priorities, financing gaps, implementation progress and emerging challenges, while the Education Partnership and Coordination Consultant leads the organization and facilitation of LEG meetings, stakeholder engagement, coordination processes, communication and follow-up on agreed actions.
• Maintain regular technical coordination with the Education Partnership and Coordination Consultant to ensure coherence between sector planning and monitoring activities and the LEG's agreed priorities, work plan and coordination processes.
• Support the preparation and follow-up of technical actions arising from LEG discussions, as requested by the MoE, while respecting the Ministry's leadership of the education sector and the LEG's agreed governance and decision-making arrangements.

Eligibility criteria

• Age: 18 - 80
• Required experience: 7 years
• Nationality: Candidate must be a national, legal resident or hold refugee status in the country of assignment.

Assignment requirements

• Relevant experience: 7 years

• Languages:

  
  
  • Arabic, Level: Fluent, Required
  • English, Level: Fluent, Desirable

• Required education level: Master's degree in Education Planning, Economics, Public Policy, Development Studies, or related field is required.

• Competencies and values:

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

• Skills and experience:

  
  

  Required:

  
  
  • Minimum seven years of progressively responsible professional experience in strategic planning, policy development, programme planning or systems strengthening.
  • Relevant professional experience and familiarity with education sector planning processes is required. Planning and education experience may have been gained through separate roles; experience combining both is preferred.
  • Demonstrated experience developing or supporting strategic and operational plans, including defining priorities, activities, measurable targets, results frameworks and implementation timelines.
  • Working knowledge of costing, budget analysis and results-based budgeting, including linking resources to planned outputs and outcomes. Relevant experience may include contributions to government, sector or programme budgets, costed plans, investment cases or business cases.
  • Proven ability to analyse and interpret sector and demographic data to identify gaps, establish priorities and inform equitable resource allocation. Experience using education data and familiarity with Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) or another Ministry led information management system for planning and decision-making is considered an asset.
  • Experience working within or in collaboration with government institutions to support planning, policy, programme implementation or management processes. Experience working directly with a Ministry of Education is strongly preferred.
  • Strong consultation, coordination and technical writing skills, with the ability to engage constructively with government counterparts and a wide range of education partners.
  • Demonstrated ability to work effectively and diplomatically in a government setting, manage multiple reporting lines, and build trusted working relationships with senior officials and partners.
  
  

  Desirable:

  
  
  • Demonstrated experience supporting the development, implementation or monitoring of national education strategies, including Education Sector Plans or Transitional Plans, Joint Sector Reviews or sector performance monitoring. Expertise in education financing, expenditure analysis or resource prioritization.
  • Experience with Local Education Groups (LEGs), Education Cluster or similar sector coordination mechanisms is strongly preferred.
  • Experience working with the education sector in Syria or comparable crisis and recovery contexts, including planning for displacement, returns and humanitarian–development nexus programming.
  • Experience with the UN system, international NGOs or development partners working in the education sector.
  • Experience integrating inclusion, gender equity and flexible learning pathways into education policies or programmes.
  • Specialized training in education planning, such as through UNESCO-IIEP.
  • Experience with capacity development of government staff, such as on-the-job coaching, training or mentoring.
  • Knowledge of additional local languages (e.g. Kurdish) is an asset.

• Area(s) of expertise: Economics, poverty reduction, livelihoods, Education, Finance, accounting

• Driving license: -

Other information

Volunteerism is understood as a wide range of activities undertaken of free will, for the general public good, for which monetary reward is not the principal motivating factor.

Living conditions and remarks

As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. This position is based in the Ministry of Education in Damascus, Syria. National UN Volunteers are expected to be culturally sensitive and adjust to the prevailing culture and traditions.

Damascus offers a unique and professionally enriching working environment at an important time of transition and recovery in Syria. The duty station provides opportunities to contribute meaningfully to education, recovery and development efforts, while requiring a high degree of cultural awareness, resilience, flexibility and sound security awareness. Staff should be prepared to live and work in a complex and evolving environment where services and amenities may be limited or disrupted and where operating conditions can change at short notice. Flexibility, and the ability and willingness to live and work in harsh and potentially hazardous conditions – sometimes involving physical hardship and limited comfort – are therefore essential.

Benefits Package:

• Entry lump sum (one-time payment): USD 350
• Monthly Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA): USD 1,705.31
• Danger and Hardship Differential depending on the hardship classification and family/non-family status of the duty station.
• Free access to UNV's learning and career development resources

For more information on please visit the Entitlements Calculator: https://app.unv.org/calculator.

Inclusivity statement

United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme that welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, care protected characteristics. As part of their adherence to the values of UNV, all UN Volunteers commit themselves to combat any form of discrimination, and to promoting respect for human rights and individual dignity, without distinction of a person’s race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.

Reasonable accommodation

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for UN Volunteers with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process and afterwards in your assignment.

Note on Covid-19 vaccination requirements

In addition to duty station-specific vaccine requirements, appointments are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the appointment. It does not apply to UN Volunteers who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their contracts.

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• UNICEF, in coordination with partners, aims to ensure accountability to affected populations with integration of gender, child safeguarding as well as prevention from sexual exploitation and abuse into its programmes.

UNICEF, in coordination with partners, aims to ensure accountability to affected populations with integration of gender, child safeguarding as well as prevention from sexual exploitation and abuse into its programmes.