ACCESS Programme Consultant - Out-of-School Children, Lagos

About the role

UNICEF is recruiting a consultant for the ACCESS programme in Lagos, Nigeria, for a 12-month period with remote work combined with travel. The consultant coordinates, implements, monitors and supports the delivery of the ACCESS programme at local government area (LGA) level, covering out-of-school children, school attendance, foundational literacy and numeracy, and community engagement.

Key responsibilities

• Support the identification and enrollment of out-of-school children with school mobilization teams, schools and communities.
• Improve school attendance and retention, and support transitions of out-of-school children between education levels with schools and parents/caregivers.
• Enhance foundational literacy and numeracy outcomes with schools.
• Strengthen community engagement, ownership and social mobilization with all relevant stakeholders, including schools, headteachers and teachers, to improve learning quality.
• Help build sustainable community-based systems that support children's continuous education and learning success.
• Carry out monitoring, evaluation and learning, ensuring data is collected, analyzed and used cyclically to improve enrolment and learning.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in education development, foundational learning, sustainable development, education policy, teacher training or another educational field.
• At least eight years of progressively responsible experience in education programming, including school-based programmes, community-based interventions, out-of-school children programming, school enrolment and retention initiatives, stakeholder engagement, M&E and school-based professional development.
• Preferred: experience in Lagos State with LASUBEB and LGEAs, donor-funded programmes, UNICEF, UN agencies or international NGOs, and knowledge of the OOSC and FLN landscape, ideally in Sub-Saharan Africa and Nigeria.
• Fluency in English; Yoruba is preferred, and ability to communicate in other local languages spoken in Lagos communities.

Required skills

• Expertise in education, out-of-school children programming, community mobilization, foundational literacy and numeracy, data analysis and reporting, and social and behaviour change approaches.
• Strong written and oral communication in English, with the ability to translate evidence for a wide range of actors, including government.
• Coaching and mentoring skills for headteachers, teachers and community leaders, and stakeholder collaboration.

Candidates apply through the UNICEF online recruitment portal with an up-to-date profile and CV, a cover letter, a financial proposal using the provided template, and a technical proposal (a writing sample). The position is advertised until 09 November 2026.