Learning Support Associate

This United Nations Volunteers (UNV) assignment is part of UNICEF Pakistan's education programme, which supports the Government of Pakistan in achieving equitable, inclusive and quality education for all children. UNICEF, established in 1946, has a global mandate to promote and protect the rights and wellbeing of every child, with education as a central pillar of its work.

The assignment is based in the team delivering Output 2 of the education programme, which focuses on foundational learning (FL) and early childhood education (ECE). The assignment also supports Output 3, which covers accelerated learning programmes (ALPs) for out-of-school children (OOSC). The team works with federal and provincial education departments to move FL policy into coherent, costed and measurable implementation. This includes a common core package for FL programmes across provinces (a daily Foundational Learning Hour, graded reading materials, phonics training, assessment-led instruction and mentoring), a national FL Hub in the Pakistan Institute of Education (PIE) working alongside provincial FL hubs, and support for provincial FL and ECE delivery in Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

Key stakeholders include the Government of Pakistan (federal and provincial), the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the European Union, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Royal Norwegian Embassy. Expected results include improved access and retention, and enhanced quality of pre-primary and primary education, with measurable improvement in children's foundational learning.

More information on UNICEF's education work in Pakistan can be found here: https://www.unicef.org/pakistan/education

1. Programme support (Output 2: FL and ECE; Output 3: ALPs for OOSC)
- Assist in monitoring the implementation progress of Output 2 and Output 3, supported by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the European Union and other donors, in the provinces by consolidating relevant field updates.
- Help compile updates on action points agreed in the Output 2 and Output 3 Technical Working Groups across provinces.
- Support the Education Specialist in research for policy briefs and discussion papers on FL, ECE and ALPs for out-of-school children.
- Help collect and organise information on ECE and FL programmes, including teacher training, mentoring and classroom activities, to support regular progress updates.
- Support teams working on ALPs for out-of-school children under Output 3 by helping gather information, follow up on activities and track the progress of children returning to learning.
- Support the review and refinement of professional development (PD) processes and frameworks, ensuring alignment with programme objectives and quality standards.
- Facilitate coordination on cross-cutting priorities, including PSEA, gender equality and child safeguarding, within Output 2 and Output 3 interventions.
- Assist in coordinating and consolidating quarterly progress updates from provincial and field offices.

2. Documentation and reporting
- Draft meeting notes, briefs and summary reports from technical discussions and Technical Working Group meetings.
- Maintain a tracker of commitments, deadlines and deliverables for Outputs 2 and 3 (government, UNICEF and partners).
- Compile partner inputs and prepare first drafts of situation updates, fact sheets and donor progress reports.

3. Knowledge and data management, including FL Hub support
- Support the national FL Hub in PIE and the provincial FL hubs by helping build and maintain a curated repository of national and provincial FL and ECE resources, such as levelled readers, big books, high-frequency word books, teacher training guides and Knowledge Management Support Associate (UNV, Output 2 FL, ECE and ALP) - revised description of assignment digital resources, with agreed quality criteria, permissions and licensing records.
- Maintain a tracker of provincial roll-out of the common core package (daily Foundational Learning Hour, reading materials, phonics training and mentoring) against the common results framework, and consolidate inputs for the monthly FL implementation review.
- Support the Federal-Provincial FL Forum by preparing background packs and agendas and recording decisions and follow-up actions.
- Compile the latest education data from Pakistan Education Statistics (PES) and provincial education data into infographics for the provinces and nationally.
- Maintain databases of studies, evaluations and evidence on FL, ECE, ALPs and out-of-school children for easy reference.
- Support the preparation of presentations, background notes and briefing packs for meetings with government and partners, including checking for the latest data.

4. Administrative and logistical support
- Support the organisation of workshops, FL Forum and review meetings (venue booking, invitations and materials).
- Maintain calendars for key Output 2 and Output 3 events, such as Technical Working Group meetings, FL Forum meetings, donor reviews and provincial planning cycles.
-Ensure documentation is systematically prepared and shared across team members.

5. Communication and visibility
- Draft internal communication notes and partner updates on progress or upcoming activities.
- Support the development of infographics, briefs and short updates for advocacy and knowledge sharing on FL, ECE and ALPs.
- Track media, research and partner publications relevant to foundational learning, ECE and accelerated learning.