Digital Education Officer

Host entity: UNICEF

Volunteer type: National

Areas of expertise: Education, Information technology and telecommunications, Translation and interpretation

Application deadline: 13/10/2026

Mission and objectives

UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF’s mandate, mission and unique attributes provide a strategic advantage in promoting and supporting transformational change to achieve sustainable coverage at scale. After more than 45 years in Lao PDR, UNICEF Lao PDR UNICEF is one of the longest-serving international organizations in the country plays an important role in supporting the government, advocating for reform and leading coordination to scale-up results.

Assignment context

Lao PDR has been selected by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) to participate in the GPE Technology for Education (Tech4Ed) technical assistance initiative. UNICEF, as the selected grant agent for GPE Tech4Ed, will support the co-design and implementation of the initiative with GPE and technical partner EdTech Hub, in close coordination with the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) and other key stakeholders in Lao PDR. Drawing on the technical expertise, tools and resources of UNICEF and EdTech Hub, the initiative aims to strengthen partner countries’ capacity to use technology to improve education access and learning outcomes for children. Specifically, Tech4Ed will provide technical, policy and cross-sectoral assistance to countries integrating or scaling technology within their education systems.

Under the leadership of the MoES Digital Transformation Steering Committee, and with support from UNICEF, the GPE Tech4Ed work plan for Lao PDR has been developed and approved by the GPE Secretariat. The work plan is fully aligned with the MoES Digital Education Action Plan and is designed to help implement the same. The work plan was formulated through extensive consultations within education sector working groups at national and sub-national levels, ensuring the engagement of key multi-sectoral stakeholders, including government, non-government and private sector entities. It is informed by a comprehensive situation analysis of Tech4Ed in Lao PDR, which confirmed that, despite steady progress in expanding access to education, persistent challenges continue to hinder improvements in education quality, inclusion and efficiency. Available data indicate low student learning outcomes, increasing dropout and out-of-school rates, persistent inequities in access, and insufficient education financing. In response, the digital transformation of education has been identified as a priority within national and sector strategies to address these systemic challenges.

In alignment with national strategic documents, sector working group agreements, and MoES approval, the proposed Tech4Ed work plan focuses on leveraging digital technology to enhance digital readiness and enabling environment to help improve primary-level foundational learning outcomes for the most disadvantaged children. To strengthen school digital readiness and enable teachers to enhance learning outcomes, the project will deliver three key strategic outputs:
1. A minimum digital access standard for schools.
2. A comprehensive costing model.
3. An investment brief to guide strategic coordination and scale digital access across Lao PDR.

Task description

Under the direct supervision of the Education Specialist at UNICEF Lao PDR, and in close coordination with the UNICEF International Consultant, the UN Volunteer will coordinate with central and local education authorities during data collection and verification workshops. Key duties include coordination with the MoES and other stakeholders, and coordinate implementation activities throughout the project and interpretation during workshop sessions and translating core documents. In doing so, the UNV will serve as part of the UNICEF Education team, while liaising with government partners and key stakeholders in close coordination with other sections within UNICEF Lao PDR.


More specifically, the UNV will undertake the following key tasks (not limited to):


Stage 1: Programme Inception and Setup - the UNV coordination with MoES and other key stakeholders for the Inception Phase. The task also includes comprehensive operational and coordinate technical and operational inputs to ensure smooth technical alignment among UNICEF, MoES, and the EdTech Hub. Key responsibilities include preparing and translating Terms of Reference (TOR), translating core deliverables—such as the integrated Inception Report and workshop presentation materials—into Lao for official endorsement, and delivering real-time interpretation during kick-off meetings and the main Inception Workshop with MoES

Stage 2: National School Digital Access Mapping - the UNV will deliver critical translation, interpretation, and coordinate field-level data collection and stakeholder engagement to enable robust qualitative and quantitative data collection. Responsibilities include translating survey instruments, Key Informant Interview (KII) protocols, and pilot findings into Lao, as well as organizing and labeling Lao qualitative data for handover to EdTech Hub. Additionally, the UN Volunteer will provide on-the-ground interpretation and coordination during pilot and national field visits alongside the UNICEF International Consultant, requiring field support across provinces to engage effectively with school administrators, teachers, and provincial officials.

Stage 3: Minimum Digital Access Standards - the UN Volunteer will provide end-to-end language and provide technical inputs to facilitate official MoES review and endorsement. Key duties include necessary coordination with MoES and stakeholders, and translating the final Minimum Digital Access Standards report and validation workshop presentation materials into Lao, as well as providing live interpretation support during validation workshops with key government stakeholders.

Stage 4: Costing Model and Institutional Capacity Assessment - the UNV will provide implementation support and language and technical preparation support to facilitate government review and project deliverables. Key duties include assisting coordination among stakeholders, and translating the Costing Model report, assessment instruments, and the final Institutional Capacity Assessment Report into Lao, alongside preparing draft presentation materials for internal review. Additionally, the UNV will deliver interpretation during validation workshops and translate meeting notes and Key Informant Interview (KII) summaries from Lao to English to inform the report drafting process.

Stage 5: Financing Landscape Analysis and Investment Brief - the UNV will provide implementation support and targeted translation and interpretation support to enable strategic financial mapping and stakeholder endorsement. Key responsibilities include coordination among key stakeholders, and translating relevant Lao-language budget documents, policy papers, and meeting notes to inform the financing landscape analysis, as well as delivering live interpretation during consultations with MoES and subnational stakeholders. Additionally, the UNV will translate presentation materials for validation workshops and translate the final Digital Access Investment Brief into Lao to facilitate MoES review and dissemination.

Other Tasks - provide substantive inputs to other UNICEF Programme related tasks as appropriate, including (not limited to) inputs to annual reviews, MoES-UNICEF Rolling Work Plans, development of funding proposals, donor visits, annual reports, etc.

Skills and experience

• Experience working in the UN or other international development organization is an asset
• Experience working with the government in Lao PDR is an asset
• Technical knolwedge and work experience in any relevant field including technology in education, digital pedagogy and digital learning, teaching/Education, is a strong asset
• Experience in translating technical documents and facilitating meeting/workshop interpretation (English-Lao).
• Strong familiarity with Lao PDR’s education sector, national digital strategies, and relevant policy frameworks
• Excellent interpersonal skills; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners at different levels
• 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
• Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines

Competencies and values

• Accountability
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Building Trust
• Commitment and Motivation
• Communication
• Creativity
• Ethics and Integrity
• Planning and Organising
• Professionalism
• Respect for Diversity
• Technological Awareness
• Self-management
• Working in Teams

Living conditions

The UNICEF Lao PDR Office is a multi-cultural working environment with around 70 staff. The UNV will be based within the Education Section of the UNICEF Lao PDR Office in the Capital City of Vientiane. The assignment will also require field mission travels to support programme implementation, monitor and facilitate UNICEF-supported activities in the provinces. All work-related travels to sub-national level, including air tickets, car rentals, security clearance, will be supported by UNICEF as per UNICEF rules.

There are several UNVs (international and national) working for UNICEF Lao PDR. UNV will also avail peer-support from those UNVs in the office as well as wider UNV networks in the country.

Lao PDR is a family duty station and is safe (hardship level B). As part of the appointment process, the UNV is required to complete the B-SAFE training (online) and submit the certificate. The workplace (Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR) is located by the side of the Mekong River, 3km from the center of Vientiane Capital and easy to reach. Commuting is either done by private car, taxis, bicycles or on foot.

You can check full entitlements at the duty station at https://app.unv.org/calculator.
The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos.

Other information:

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’s policy

Full eligibility requirements, conditions of service and application instructions are available on the official UNV platform.