Planning and Development Specialist Jobs in Iraq

<section><p class="heading jdMain">Job Description</p><p class="heading">Roles &amp; Responsibilities</p><div class="paragraph"><p><span >Versar Global Solutions is seeking a Security Assistance Mentor and Cultural Advisor (SAMA) Ministry of Defense (MoD) to support the United States Military Group Iraq (USMILGP-Iraq) mission. The SAMA MoD will advise and assist senior Ministry of Defense officials and USMILGP-Iraq personnel at the ministerial level, supporting the development of engagement strategies, operational coordination, decision-making processes, information sharing, and continued functional development of an effective Iraqi Ministry of Defense. This role requires deep knowledge of Iraqi defense structures, civil-military relations, Arabic language proficiency, and the ability to build trusted professional and cultural relationships with senior Iraqi counterparts. *This position is contingent upon award.</span></p><p>Serve as an advisor to senior Iraqi Ministry of Defense officials and assist USMILGP-Iraq in managing and executing duties at the ministerial level. Advise and assist USMILGP-Iraq with the development of ministerial engagement strategies that enhance the systemic capability and continued functional development of an effective Iraqi Ministry of Defense. Support the development of strategies that facilitate timely and effective decision-making and information sharing through daily observation and written reporting. Develop solid professional and cultural relationships with senior MoD officials and other ministries and agencies to further USMILGP-Iraq efforts and foster sound working relationships with Iraqi counterparts. Maintain daily and frequent personal contact with MoD leadership and officials to establish relationships built on trust, confidence, and confidentiality. Assist in the development, implementation, and oversight of policies and procedures that enhance personal and professional effectiveness in the execution of official duties. Advise on the integration of military and civilian elements of the Ministry Headquarters. Manage operational and administrative planning requirements, including suspenses, schedules, and strategic and operational plans. Support the development of a daily operating rhythm to meet requirements within available resources. Develop and schedule key leader engagement strategies to enhance advisor effectiveness, leverage systematic improvement in USMILGP-Iraq capabilities, and support coordination at the highest levels of leadership. Prepare and deliver briefings to senior military officials on the status of MoD staff, systems, programs, and transition progress.</p></div></section><section><p class="heading">Desired Candidate Profile</p><p class="paragraph"></p><ul><li>Bachelor's degree required; master's degree in Middle Eastern Studies, Middle Eastern Culture, or a related field is highly preferred.</li><li>Fluent in English and Arabic, both written and spoken.</li><li>Possess a sound and current working knowledge of Ministry of Defense organizational structure and operations.</li><li>Previous strategic experience with U.S. Forces in Iraq since 2011 as a civilian contractor or uniformed service member.</li><li>Significant knowledge, education, and experience in civil-military relations within a democratic government.</li><li>One year or more of experience working with Iraqi Ministry of Defense officials is highly preferred.</li><li>Knowledge of Iraqi customs, culture, political structures, and cultural sensitivities, with the ability to adapt communication, advisory, and training approaches accordingly.</li><li>Excellent written, oral, interpersonal, and verbal communication skills.</li><li>Proficient in operating a personal computer and experienced in Microsoft Office software, including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.</li><li>Ability to deploy to and work in Iraq in support of mission requirements.</li><li>For U.S. Citizens, must complete deployment processing through an approved Continental United States (CONUS) Replacement Center (CRC), including required deployment training at designated CONUS deployment centers such as the CRC at Fort Bliss, Texas, and redeployment through such centers.</li><li>Ability and willingness to travel internationally in support of mission needs, including movement by Embassy Air, Department of State Charter Air, secure ground transportation, and military air movements via rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft, as required.</li><li>Must possess a valid passport with at least 18 months of remaining eligibility at the time of deployment.</li><li>Successful results of preemployment screenings, including federal background check, MVR, and drug screen.</li><li>Comply with company drug and alcohol policy.</li><li>Be authorized to work in the US or will be authorized by the successful candidate's start date.</li><li>Eligibility Requirement - US Citizen (This requirement is necessary to meet the security and eligibility requirements for the performance of this contract).</li><li>Active Secret clearance.</li></ul><p>The position will primarily work onsite in Iraq in support of USMILGP-Iraq mission requirements. Primary duty locations may include Baghdad and/or Erbil, Iraq. In addition, the position may designate other temporary duty (TDY) locations, including but not limited to sites in the Middle East and the United States.</p><p></p></section>

<p>UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence. At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job it is a calling. UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package. Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF. For every child, the right to a Future How can you make a difference? Reporting to the Deputy Representative, the Chief Child Survival and Development (CSD) is responsible for leading UNICEF Iraq s efforts to improve child survival and development outcomes through the strategic integration of Health, Nutrition, and WASH programming. The Chief CSD is accountable for the overall leadership, coordination, and technical quality of the Child Survival portfolio. This includes setting strategic direction, ensuring effective programme design and delivery of results especially for priority areas on early childhood development (ECD) and Climate Change (CC), and fostering cross-sectoral collaboration. The Chief CSD is also accountable for mobilizing and using resources efficiently, and supporting system strengthening and policy dialogue. Summary of key functions/accountabilities: • Managerial leadership • Programme development and planning • Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results • Advisory services and technical support • Advocacy, networking and partnership building • Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Specific JD Chief CSD ( HNN+WSH) NOD, Baghdad #PHONE_NUMBER updated.docx To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have Minimum requirements: • Education: An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: public health,nutrition, health policy/management,, global/international health and nutrition, environmental health sciences, water resources engineering, or another relevant technical field. Additional relevant post-graduate courses that complement/ supplement the main degree are required. • Work Experience: DEVELOPMENTAL: A minimum of eight years of professional experience in health, nutrition and/or WASH-related programmes for developing countries or middle income countries is required. Demonstrated experience in supervising a team is required HUMANITARIAN: At least one year of work in humanitarian situations. • Skills: To be considered for this role, candidates are required to have experience in leadership, planning, delivery, advisory services, partnership development, and innovation. • Language Requirements : Fluency in Arabic and English is required Desirables : • Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language • Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization. • Familiarity with child rights-based and results-based approach • Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts. For every Child, you demonstrate... UNICEF's Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values UNICEF competencies required for this post are (1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels. UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status. UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF . Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance. UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Desired Candidate Profile</strong></p>An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: public health,nutrition, health policy/management,, global/international health and nutrition, environmental health sciences, water resources engineering, or another relevant technical field. Additional relevant post-graduate courses that complement/ supplement the main degree are required. A minimum of eight years of professional experience in health, nutrition and/or WASH-related programmes for developing countries or middle income countries is required. Demonstrated experience in supervising a team is required. At least one year of work in humanitarian situations. To be considered for this role, candidates are required to have experience in leadership, planning, delivery, advisory services, partnership development, and innovation. Fluency in Arabic and English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is desirable. Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization. Familiarity with child rights-based and results-based approach. Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

<section><p class="heading jdMain">Job Description</p><p class="heading">Roles &amp; Responsibilities</p><div class="paragraph"><p>The National Education and Evaluation Expert will be expected to:</p> <ul> <li>Contribute to the evaluation design, inception phase, stakeholder mapping, evaluation matrix, and sampling approach.</li> <li>Support the review of education policies, strategies, programme documents, monitoring data, EMIS-related documents, and relevant education sector evidence.</li> <li>Provide technical inputs on Iraq s education system, school governance, education planning, teacher professional development, learning outcomes, and institutional capacity development.</li> <li>Support the design and adaptation of qualitative and quantitative data collection tools.</li> <li>Lead or support key informant interviews, focus group discussions, surveys, and field observations with education stakeholders.</li> <li>Facilitate access to and communication with education authorities, GDoEs, schools, teacher training institutions, CSOs, and other relevant stakeholders.</li> <li>Support analysis of qualitative and quantitative findings, with attention to equity, gender, disability inclusion, child rights, and vulnerable groups.</li> <li>Contribute to the preparation of presentations, preliminary findings, recommendations, and sections of the evaluation report.</li> <li>Support validation workshops, sensemaking sessions, and recommendation co-creation processes.</li> <li>Ensure that all fieldwork and stakeholder engagement follow ethical standards, confidentiality, informed consent, and do-no-harm principles.</li> </ul></div></section><section><p class="heading">Desired Candidate Profile</p><p class="paragraph"></p><p><b>Applicants should have:</b></p> <ul> <li>Master s degree in education, social sciences, public management, development studies, or a related field. Specialization in education is highly desirable.</li> <li>At least 6 years of relevant experience in education systems, education research, evaluation, policy analysis, or programme assessment.</li> <li>Strong knowledge of the education sector in Iraq, including Federal Iraq and/or the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.</li> <li>Proven expertise in one or more of the following areas: school governance, education planning, EMIS, teacher professional development, learning assessment, inclusive education, education finance, or community participation in education.</li> <li>Experience in research and/or evaluation in education, including data collection, analysis, and reporting.</li> <li>Strong experience in qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and tools.</li> <li>Experience facilitating interviews, focus group discussions, stakeholder consultations, and field-level data collection.</li> <li>Understanding of child rights, gender equality, equity, disability inclusion, and ethical standards in evidence generation.</li> <li>Previous experience with UN agencies, international organizations, or donor-funded education programmes is an asset.</li> <li>Fluency in Arabic and proficiency in English are required. Kurdish language skills are an asset.</li> <li>Readiness and ability to travel within Iraq, subject to access and security conditions.</li> <li>Strong communication, facilitation, analytical, and report-writing skills.</li> </ul><p></p></section>