WoS Education Cluster Co-Lead

WoS Education Cluster Co-Lead

The Opportunity

The cluster approach ensures clear leadership, predictability and accountability in international responses to humanitarian emergencies by clarifying the division of labour among organizations and better defining their roles and responsibilities within the different sectors of the response. It aims to make the international humanitarian community better organised and more accountable and professional, so that it can be a better partner for the affected people, host governments, local authorities, local civil society and resourcing partners.

The humanitarian response in Syria is carried out through multiple response centres with their own coordination bodies. The Whole of Syria (WoS) coordination architecture is the body that is overall responsible for ensuring coherence and a principled response across these centres. The post holder is the WoS Education Sector Co-Lead who along with the UNICEF Education Sector WoS Co-Lead supports a relevant, coordinated, timely and accountable education response inside Syria. The WoS Education Cluster Co-Lead will support the coordination of the three hubs (Gaziantep, Damascus, NES) and work closely with the Unicef Co-lead and the WoS Information Management Officer
SCOPE OF ROLE:
Reports to: Country Director, Syria Response Office
Staff reporting to this post: None. This post holder is responsible for ensuring collaboration and cooperation between people through matrix management and coordination when with other agencies.
Budget Responsibilities: TBD
KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY:
Representation duties as WoS Education Cluster Co-Lead will be coordinated with the UNICEF WoS Co-lead and follow guidance from the Save the Children Syria Director, and RO PDQ Director

The post holder has joint responsibility for the functioning of the Education Sector with the UNICEF- Co-Lead, by supporting the coordination mechanisms of the three different response centres for the efficient management and functioning of a humanitarian education response, encompassing the following:
* Support, promote and maintain an appropriate humanitarian coordination mechanism
* Strengthen pre-existing sectoral coordination and response modalities through increased relevance, predictability and accountability
* Promote strategically and technically sound, evidence-based planning and responses that put the populations needs, preferences and priorities at the centre of the response. Promote responses that are relevant to a protracted crisis emphasising early recovery approaches that address humanitarian education needs while laying foundations for post-conflict recovery.
* At the country-wide level and be responsible for all facets of the humanitarian program cycle including production of the humanitarian needs overview, humanitarian response plan and related reporting; No Lost Generation workstreams; contingency, preparedness and emergency planning; and all related reporting.
* Provide ongoing technical support to the coordination units within the response centres and provide gap-filling as needed.
* Facilitate evidence based advocacy on safe access to education and the stopping attacks on education.

* Promote adequate resource mobilization and advocate for resources that enable quality education and continuity of services. Advocacy efforts target humanitarian and development actors including donors.
* Proactively work with other sectors to promote cross-sector collaboration.

WoS Coordination
* Working closely with the Education WoS Focal Point at UNICEF and education cluster/sector/working-group coordinators and information managers, ensure a technically sound, strategic, coherent humanitarian education response in Syria across the three response centres.
* In line with the INEE Minimum Standards, Sphere, and other relevant guidance facilitate the use of best-practices and the harmonization of standards across the WoS response; in collaboration with the Global Education cluster ensure rigorous needs and severity analysis.
* Foster effective cooperation, collaboration, communication, reporting, engagement and coordination between WoS and the response centers and between education and other sectors.
* Represent the education sector/cluster in the monthly Inter-sector Strategy Group (ISG) that acts as the inter-secor coordination form at the WoS level and contribute to response-level coordination as needed. Represent the education sector in No Lost Generation, donor and other meetings/forums.
* Synthesize communication and information to the WoS Strategic Steering Group (SSG) and as appropriate contribute towards SSG agendas and discussions.
* Facilitate weekly and ad hoc meetings across the three response centres and sector workshops as needed.
* With the response centers, develop key advocacy messages for key audiences including safe access to education, access to quality education, predictable and continuous access to education services, early recovery approaches to the humanitarian education response, aligning responses to the priorities and preference of the effected population, accountably toward the affected populations, protecting the humanitarian nature of the humanitarian education response and localization.
* Facilitate and support the development of capacities and abilities and localization initiatives across the response centres.
* Effective and comprehensive integration of relevant cross-cutting issues, including equable access, age, gender and disability.
* Maintain flexibility within the humanitarian education response to respond to changes in the operating environment, evolving requirements, capacities and participation, changing needs and changing availability of funding.
* Effectively use and transfer information to, from and between Cluster/Sector/Working-group leadership at the response level and other stakeholders
* Interact with other sectors (including through inter-cluster coordination fora), humanitarian, development and stabilization actors, government counterparts, and relevant authorities for operational planning, engagement and active contribution of operational members as represented by the coordination leadership at the response level.
* Monitor performance of the core cluster functions and support course correction, learning from lessons and the replication of successful practices.

WoS Strategic Leadership
* Promote strategic, technically sound, evidence and needs based response planning across the response.
* Be overall responsible for, and lead, the response centres through the the development of annual Humanitarian Needs Overviews (HNO) and Humanitarian Response Plans (HRP), ad hoc planning documents and related reporting.
* Provide briefings and informational packages to Sector/Cluster/Working-group members, donors and others that promote evidence-based, technically appropriate and people-centred, planning and programming and need based funding.

Member capacity development:
* Support the conceptualization and actualization of Save and Unicef funding for developing the capacity of Cluster/Sector/Working-Group members and for promoting localization.
* Contribute towards developing related TORs and workplans, reviewing progress reports and upward reporting requirements,
The post holder is accountable to:
* The Country Director (direct line management); and indirectly to the Unicef Senior Emergency Advisor. Together these senior managers will ensure that the post holder and her/his Unicef Co-lead counterpart are provided with all necessary support and guidance to deliver agreed minimum commitment as outlined by the IASC and Syria-specific commitmtent .
* Education Cluster/Sector/Working-group coordination team members, who will in turn support the post holder in line with their terms of reference
* Inter-cluster coordination bodies established by the HCT/HST/UNOCHA
* Affected populations through agreed mechanisms
* Accountability to the country representative/cluster coordinator, cluster participants, coordination team members and inter-cluster coordination bodies will be expressed in regular review meetings.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
Required
* Significant experience in leadership, advisor and coordination roles, including direct experience in education Cluster, Sector or Working Group.
* Experience of developing and negotiating successful partnerships with institutional donors
* Significant experience producing HNO (chapters and severity scales) and HRP documents and related reporting
* University degree level (Masters preferred) in a relevant subject or equivalent field experience.
* Experience in child friendly data collection preferred.
* Experience in conducting and coordinating humanitarian assessments and conducting needs analysis that articulates the priroties of a needs-based response.
* Experience of contextualizing and rolling out relevant interagency humanitarian frameworks and standards in education in emergencies (for example INEE Minimum Standards)
* Demonstrated strong monitoring and evaluation skills, including planning/participating in evaluations.
* Experience in strategic planning and coordination of strategy development
* Experience of representation and ability to represent Save the Children effectively in external forums.
* Ability to write and present information clearly
* Ability to explain technical concepts/information in a non-technical manager.
* Prior experience developing EiE intervention strategies, contextualized EiE standards and guides and related capacity building and experience in addressing education needs within a protracted crisis and promoting early recovery approaches that better enable future post-conflict eduction investments
* Experience in preserving the humanitarian nature of a humanitarian education response within a highly politicalized operating environment.
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* Experience of representation and ability to represent the Education sector effectively in external forums.
* Experience of working with and supporting local partners and localization commitments
* Demonstrates commitment to and abilitiy to protect Humanitarian Principles
* Demonstrates commitment to and abiltiy to promote Principles of Partnership
* Very good knowledge and experience in data analysis and producing effective information materials/presentations.
* Excellent advocacy related communication and influencing skills
* Proven ability to maintain cooperative relationships with and between people outside of ones management line. Politically and culturally sensitive with qualities of patience, tact and diplomacy.
* The capacity and willingness to be extremely flexible and accommodating in difficult and sometimes insecure working circumstances.
* Commitment to the aims and principles of Save the Children. In particular, a good understanding of the Save the Children mandate and child focus and an ability to ensure this continues to underpin our support.

Desirable
* Language skills in Arabic and Kurdish.
* Experience working on humanitarian responses for protected crisis, working within a highly poltizied and fratured operational theatre, working within direct implementation, implementation through partners and remote-managed modalities and working in the Middle East.
* Training in cluster coordination

Note: this position will fill in rolling basis

The Organisation
We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realise the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard.

We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:
* No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday
* All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
* Violence against children is no longer tolerated

We know that great people make a great organization, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.
Application Information:
Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application, and include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations. A copy of the full role profile can be found at www.savethechildren.net/careers

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our global anti-harassment policy.
We encourage qualified women and persons with disabilities to apply.