About this role
Education Specialist (Policy & Budget)
The
Education
- Specialist (Policy and Budget) 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 (Policy & Budget), 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 Barbados.
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The
Education
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Specialist (Policy & Budget) provides specialized technical expertise in education policy development, education system financing, costing analysis, and public budget advocacy for children across the Caribbean MCO. The role operates at a strategic register — supporting the development of evidence-based education policy, tracking education budget allocations, and engaging regional education bodies to advance systemic improvement in learning outcomes, reduce inequities and ensure sustainable financing for education sector priorities. The Specialist supports government counterparts and partners in translating evidence into policies, strategies, and programmes that contribute to child survival, growth, development, and resilience.
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Working in close collaboration with the Social Policy Specialist responsible for public finance for children, the incumbent contributes education-sector analysis to broader work on fiscal space, public financial management, equity and financing. The Specialist also supports education authorities to strengthen the policy and financing foundations for quality, inclusive and resilient education, including early and foundational learning, socio-emotional and future-ready skills, accessibility for children with disabilities, continuity of learning, and shock- and climate-resilient education systems.
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Based in Barbados and serving all 12 programme countries, the position supports UNICEF engagement with national governments, regional institutions, international financing institutions, development partners, civil society and academia. The role contributes to regional policy dialogue, harmonized approaches, knowledge exchange and resource mobilization, including engagement with CARICOM, OECS, UNESCO, development banks and other relevant partners, to advance equitabl