National Project Officer (MHPSS and Inclusive Education Reform)

The National Project Officer will coordinate UNESCO's support to the ongoing mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) and inclusive education reforms in Ukraine. The role involves policy coordination, technical advice, programme management, capacity development, monitoring, partnerships, and resource mobilization to support education reform amid war-related challenges.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate UNESCO's technical support to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine for the implementation of MHPSS and inclusive education reforms.
• Support joint workplans, reform roadmaps, coordination arrangements and the alignment of UNESCO-funded activities with national policies, legislation and sector priorities.
• Provide and coordinate technical inputs for policies, standards, operational guidance, service models, referral pathways, training packages and other reform instruments.
• Promote rights-based, gender-responsive, disability-inclusive, child-safe and evidence-informed approaches across education settings.
• Plan, coordinate and monitor related projects and contracts.
• Ensure timely delivery against approved workplans, budgets, results frameworks and donor commitments.
• Review technical outputs, identify implementation risks and bottlenecks, and initiate corrective action in consultation with the supervisor and national counterparts.
• Coordinate capacity-building support for national and subnational authorities, school psychologists, inclusive resource centre specialists, teachers, school leaders and other education personnel.
• Promote sustainable supervision, professional support and institutional ownership of MHPSS and inclusive education services.
• Develop and maintain indicators, monitoring tools and evidence products that track reform progress, service quality, reach and outcomes.
• Coordinate assessments, field monitoring and stakeholder feedback, document lessons learned and use findings to inform policy dialogue, programme adaptation and scale-up.
• Maintain effective coordination with government institutions, UNESCO units, UN agencies, development partners, civil society, organizations of persons with disabilities, academia and donors.
• Prepare high-quality briefs, reports, presentations and project proposals, and contribute to advocacy and resource mobilization for the portfolio.
• Perform any other task as assigned by the supervisor.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree (Master's or equivalent) in education, psychology, social work, public policy, sociology, disability studies or another field relevant to MHPSS and inclusive education.
• Minimum of four years of progressively responsible professional experience in education reform, inclusive education, MHPSS in education, education policy, programme management or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating with government authorities and diverse national and international partners, and translating policy priorities into implementable plans, tools and programmes.
• Experience in project planning, results-based management, monitoring, budget follow-up, partner management and donor reporting.
• Demonstrated experience in policy design, development and coordination of its implementation, particularly in education sector.
• Experience in Ukraine, in a UN organization or in an emergency or recovery context is a strong asset.
• Experience working for the Ministry of Education and Science or other Governmental entities is a strong asset.
• Strong knowledge of education-sector governance, policy development and reform implementation, preferably in Ukraine.
• Sound understanding of MHPSS in education, inclusive education, disability inclusion, safeguarding, referral systems and the humanitarian-development nexus.
• Proven ability to facilitate policy dialogue, technical working groups and consultations, and to draft clear policy, programme and analytical documents.
• Strong understanding of Ukrainian ecosystem, both on central and regional levels.
• Strong analytical, coordination, negotiation and partnership-building skills, with sound judgement in complex and sensitive environments.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, monitor results and risks, and deliver high-quality outputs within deadlines.
• Excellent digital literacy and command of standard office, collaboration and data-management tools.
• Excellent written and spoken English and Ukrainian. Knowledge of another UNESCO official language, is an asset.

Skills

• Education Reform
• Inclusive Education
• Mental Health and Psychosocial Support
• Educational Policy Development
• Programme Management
• Project Planning
• Result-Based Management
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Budget follow-up
• Partner Management
• Donor Reporting
• Policy Design
• Policy Coordination
• Stakeholder Coordination
• Technical Working Groups Facilitation
• Policy Dialogue
• Analytical Skills
• Negotiation Skills
• Partnership Building
• Digital Literacy
• Office Applications
• Data Management

Languages

English, Ukrainian