National Refugee Education Assistant

Onsite

Cameroon

12 monthsApply

1

assignment(s)

Open recruitment (advertised)

Advertisement end date:08/05/2022

General

Description of assignment title

National Refugee Education Assistant

Assignment country

Cameroon

Expected start date

08/01/2022

Sustainable Development Goal

4. Quality education

Volunteer category

Refugee UN Volunteer

DoA reserved for persons with disabilities

No

Host entity

UNHCR

Type

Onsite

Duration

12 months

Number of assignments

1

Duty stations

Yaounde

Details

Mission and objectives

The Office of the UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950 by the UN General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country (www.unhcr.org).

Context

As of 31 January 2022, Cameroon was hosting 1,926,616 people of concern to UNHCR, including 466,541 refugees and asylum seekers mainly from the Central African Republic (CAR) and Nigeria, 933,138 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and 518,853 returnees. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Cameroon has established 11 offices across the country which, in collaboration with the Government and other humanitarian and development partners, provide protection and assistance to these people in situations of forced displacement, including in education.

In recent years, access to education for refugee children and youth has gradually improved in their main host areas, which include the East, Adamaoua, North and Far North regions, as well as in the urban areas of Yaoundé and Douala. They are now fully included in the national education system. However, there are still challenges to be overcome both in terms of supply (lack of classrooms and sanitary facilities in schools, qualified teachers, school materials, etc.) and demand (family poverty, socio-cultural constraints, particularly with regard to girls and young women, lack of birth certificates or certificates in lieu of birth certificates (ATLAN), etc.).

In addition, information management relating to refugee education in Cameroon needs to be strengthened to ensure that programmes and projects developed in the education sector are as effective and efficient as possible. Since January 2020 and for a period of 3 years, UNHCR Cameroon has been implementing the Educate A Child (EAC) programme through co-funding with the Education Above All Foundation with the aim of ensuring access to quality primary education for children from refugee and host communities in the Eastern, Adamawa and Northern regions. Currently, UNHCR is implementing a second project funded by Education Cannot Wait (ECW).

UNHCR Cameroon is also one of the four UN agencies that are members of the consortium for the implementation of MYRP-ECW for the period 2022-2024. Several other education projects are being developed. All this requires enhanced coordination and collaboration with key actors, such as the education authorities, Plan International Cameroon, UNESCO, WFP, UNICEF, NRC and the World Bank at the field level, including between the national and field levels to ensure smooth implementation and avoid any possible duplication or overlap with other education projects and programmes.

UNHCR Cameroon also supports a German government-funded higher education programme for 109 refugees (DAFI programme). In line with UNHCR’s Global Strategy for Refugee Education to 2030 and other key policy documents, UNHCR Cameroon will develop a national refugee education strategy, or guidance note, after the validation of the national strategy for the education and training sector (SSEF 2022-2030).

All these activities, which are implemented using an age, gender and diversity (AGD) approach taking into account the specific needs of refugees, require the strengthening of the team in charge of education issues in UNHCR Cameroon.

The National Refugee Education Assistant will support the Community-based Protection Unit in Yaoundé in its objective to enable refugee children to have equitable access to quality education for a sustainable future, in line with UNHCR’s global strategy « Refugee Education 2030: A Strategy for Refugee Inclusion ».

Task description

Under the supervision of the Assistant Education Officer in Yaoundé, and in close collaboration with UNHCR staff in other functional units, the National UN Volunteer Refugee Education Assistant will:

• Support the strengthening of the internal data collection and analysis system related to refugee education in Cameroon

• In a long-term perspective, support the strengthening of collaboration and coordination with Ministries of Education and other education sector partners involved in the implementation of the national education management information system (EMIS) taking into account the refugee situation

• Assist in updating the education-related information of registered refugees in the Yaoundé urban area in the UNHCR proGres database when necessary

• Support the development and regular publication of a fact sheet on refugee education in Cameroon

• Assist in the mapping of public schools in the urban areas of Yaoundé and Douala, as well as private schools recognized by the Cameroonian authorities in these two cities

• Support the cash-based school assistance (CBI) distribution system in the urban areas of Yaoundé and Douala as required

• Ensure the reception and follow-up of individual cases for education

• Support any other activity deemed relevant to education for refugees in Cameroon

• Support any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities:

• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day);

• Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;

• Provide annual and end of assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities.

• Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;

• Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers;

• Promote and utilize the UNV Online Volunteering service providing themselves and their organizations with flexible, free of charge, Online Volunteer capacity to support their efforts. Information and promotional material can be found in the onsite kit. . Results/expected outputs:

• As an active UNHCR team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to UNHCR and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including: o Good coordination with relevant UNHCR sections and local partners (implementation partners and refugee committees)

• Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment • A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed.

Eligibility criteria

Age

27 – 80

Nationality

Application to this assignment is open exclusively to individuals residing in the country of assignment, with stateless, refugee or similar protective status.

Requirements

Required experience

3 years of experience in

• Good oral and written skills; good drafting, formulation, reporting skills;

• Accuracy and professionalism in document production and editing;

• Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development;

• Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel;

• Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment;

• Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines;

• Have affinity with or interest in international refugee protection, volunteerism as a mechanism for durable development, and the UN System;

Area(s) of expertise

Education

Driving license

–

Languages

French, Level: Fluent, Required English, Level: Fair, Desirable

Required education level

Bachelor degree or equivalent in At least 3 years of professional work experience at the national and/or international level in education, development, or other relevant programmes; experience with data management is an asset, This assignment is for candidates with recognized refugee status in the country of assignment.

Competencies and values

• Planning and organizing

• Professionalism

• Integrity

• Teamwork and respect for diversity

• Commitment to continuous learning

• Flexibility

Other information

Living conditions and remarks

UNHCR offices in Yaoundé are located in Bastos neighbourhood, where most of Embassies and international organizations have their offices. A number of services (banks, international schools, etc.), restaurants and supermarkets can be found in Bastos. In fact, most of expatriates do live in this neighbourhood. Transportation in Yaounde can be done by taxi. As this is anational Refugee UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials.

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.

Note on Covid-19 vaccination requirements

Selected candidates for certain occupational groups may be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) in line with the applicable host entity policy