About this role
Education Specialist (Early Learning)
The
Education
- Specialist (Early Learning) is part of the Equitable and resilient services for primary health care, learning and skills working group. This group leads the implementation of the CPD outcome on equitable and resilient services that boost children’s nutrition, mental health, learning and skills, by strengthening health and education systems to deliver integrated PHC, nutrition, MHPSS and quality basic and secondary education for all children and adolescents. Its function is to translate this priority into integrated policy packages, service delivery models and scalable solutions across the subregion, ensuring that equity, inclusion and climate-resilience are embedded in the expansion of health and education services and that socio-emotional learning and future-ready skills are systematically advanced in all 12 countries.
The team is led by the Assistant Representative for Equitable and Resilient Services for Primary Health, Learning and Skills (Belize) and includes seven NOC Specialists. The specialist profiles have been defined directly against the CPD outputs under this outcome, so that each post is anchored in a specific strand of work (early learning, foundational learning, policy and public finance, PHC/MHPSS, PHC/nutrition and Early Childhood Development), while together they form a complementary skills mix that covers the full range of expertise required to achieve the intended results. The working group is comprised of the following:
Education
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Specialist (Early Learning) in Belize, Education Specialist (ECD) in Suriname, Education Specialist (Foundational Learning & Skills) in Guyana, Education Specialist (Policy & Budget) in Barbados, Health Specialist (Primary Health Care & Mental Health) in Suriname, Health Specialist (Policy & Budget) in Jamaica, and Health Specialist (Primary Health Care & Nutrition) in Barbados.
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How can you make a difference?
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The
Education
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Specialist (Early Learning), reports to the Assistant Representative for Equitable and Resilient Services for Primary Health, Learning and Skills, P4., located in Belize, in close day-to day coordination with the in-country Lead in Belize. The Incumbent contributes to the achievement of education results across the Caribbean Multi-Country Programme (MCP) and supports collective action, knowledge exchange, innovation, and cross-country collaboration to advance shared programme priorities and outcomes throughout the Multi-Country Office.
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The
Education
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Specialist (Early Learning) provides specialised technical expertise in early childhood education, school readiness, and the foundations of quality learning for young children across the Caribbean MCO. The role contributes substantive depth in early learning systems, pre-primary curriculum, and teacher development, supporting UNICEF's contribution to improved educational outcomes for the youngest and most vulnerable children across the platform.
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Based in Belize, the position leverages the context and early learning challenges to strengthen UNICEF’s capacity to address critical issues affecting children, with a strong focus on pre-primary enrolment and school readiness among indigenous and rural children. The
Education
- Specialist (Early Learning) will work in close coordination with the
Education
- Specialist (Policy and Budget) in Barbados, the
Education
- Specialist (ECD) in Suriname, and the
Education
- Specialist (foundational Learning and Skills) in Guyana.
The key functions and accountabilities are:
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Technical Leadership on Early Learning
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Support to Earling Learning Programme Development and Planning
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Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results
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Technical and operational support to programme implementation
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Networking and partnership building
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Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
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This position belongs to the Equity Access to Quality Health & Education Services working group. If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Descri