Education Technical Advisor

The Opportunity – Education Technical Advisor – RE-ADVERTISEMENT

Post location: Ramallah with frequent field visits to West Bank and Gaza

Contract Duration and Level of Effort: 2 years
As a member of the Programme Development Quality and Advocacy (PDQA) Team, the Education Advisor will be responsible for developing and articulating a full spectrum Education programme that includes both development and humanitarian elements, linked with SCI’s Quality Learning Framework (QLF). In close coordination with the Operations team, the Education Technical Advisor will provide technical guidance and oversight in the development, implementation, monitoring, and reporting of all education activities, ensuring they are implemented in a high quality and timely manner. This includes developing and implementing technical capacity building plans for Save the Children and partner teams. Working in close collaboration with other thematic Advisors in the PDQA team, the Education Technical Advisor will be responsible for ensuring the development and implementation of integrated quality programming across all relevant sectors. The Education Technical Advisor will be the technical lead on developing high quality concept notes and proposals in close coordination with the Proposal and Reporting Senior Officer, New Business Development Manager and the wider SCI team. The Education Technical Advisor will develop and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders in the Government, UN agencies, INGO/NGO actors, and local partner counterparts. In addition to ensuring programme development and quality, the Education Technical Advisor will represent SCI and ensure ongoing coordination in the Humanitarian Cluster/working groups and with the Palestinian Authority, closely collaborating with the SCI advocacy and communications team.
The Education Technical Advisor will ensure strategic and technical links to the regional, global, and member thematic technical capacity groups for strategic alignment, cluster support, and advocacy purposes and lead on the country strategy accordingly.

In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

SCOPE OF ROLE:
The Education Technical Advisor sits in the Programme Development and Quality unit, and works closely and has a dotted line relationship to Operations, responsible for technical quality and support to operations teams and partners.
Reports to: Director of PDQA
Context: The oPt Country Office (CO) operates in a highly complex context with an annual budget of around $12m-15m, and approximately 75 staff in three offices.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:
Programme Development and Technical Support:
• Lead on updating the Education Strategy and an integrated Education/Child protection strategy, and contribute to Save the Children’s country strategy, based on the SCI Quality Learning Framework and Education Common Approaches. Collaboration should include the education team and key stakeholders such as government officials, UN and national education counterparts.
• Cultivate a strong education team across various departments and teams (Programme Operations, Awards Management Unit (AMU), MEAL, Advocacy and Communications) to ensure a unified Education Strategic vision.
• Through close collaboration with other sector Advisors, ensure Education Strategy efficiently integrates with other sector approaches, ensuring holistic child development with a specific focus on child wellbeing across sectoral lines (Child Protection, Child Rights Governance, Child Poverty, MHPSS etc.). Drive close inter-sectoral integration between the thematic areas.
• In coordination with the Awards Management Unit, be the technical lead on fundraising for the Education sector, including development of high quality concept notes and proposals, and engagement with donors’ technical advisers in country and in the region.
• Contribute to and ensure quality programme and donor reports in compliance with internal Save the Children requirements and any relevant external donor requirements.
• Working closely with the Risk and Compliance Manager to develop risk assessments and mitigation strategy for the organization’s operations in the education sector.
• Working closely with the MEAL team lead on designing Education technical assessments in coordination with other SCI thematic areas and other external sector agencies, ensuring assessments (needs and outcomes) are documented, programming is evidence based or evidence generating, and that all assessments include a specific analysis of children’s needs.
• Working closely with MEAL team, support information management and lead technical analysis of data including all MRM data.
• Provide technical support to Education teams and conduct regular monitoring visits to the field offices in the West Bank and Gaza to ensure quality programming is being implemented.
• Ensure child participation, inclusion and humanitarian principles are institutionalized within education programming.

Capacity Building:
• Develop learning needs assessment and capacity building plans for both SCI and partner staff, linking capacity building initiatives to wider opportunities identified via coordination and networks, including internal SCI capacity building initiatives and regional training initiatives.
• Coach and mentor partner staff, Education Team, and national level counterparts and link in to wider organisational talent development mechanisms.
• Oversee development and delivery of technical training material including Save the Children’s Common approaches that will improve aspects of Education work within partner organizations and across Save the Children.
• Solicit, develop, promote, and share ideas for improvement, innovation, and necessary changes in project approaches and activities.
Representation, Advocacy & Organisational Learning:
• In close coordination with programme teams, represent Save the Children in Education in Emergencies (EiE) Working Group and Cluster, working closely with UNICEF counterpart contributing to the development of high quality sector strategy documents and representing the sector in regional and national forums. This may involve taking on a co-chairing role where needed.
• Work in close collaboration with Gaza education team in representing Save the Children in the Gaza Education Sub-Cluster, ensuring nationally unified Save the Children representation.
• Working closely with the HR team, lead on identifying Education staffing needs (national and international) and ensure timely recruitment, induction and training of new staff.
• Ensure that Save the Children’s planning and work is coordinated with efforts of other agencies UNICEF, NRC, UNRWA etc.) and Government, and take a leadership role within Interagency Coordination forums (including the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group and Education in Emergencies Advocacy Working Group), ensuring the specific needs of children are being addressed.
• Liaise and collaborate with other relevant local and national authorities and stakeholders and represent SCI in relevant forums/sectors/working groups.
• In collaboration with the Child Rights Governance and Advocacy, Campaigning, Communications and Media (ACCM) team, lead key policy and advocacy initiatives and turn these into action with local and national stakeholders feeding into international advocacy efforts.
• Working closely with the MEAL team to put in place a national Education sector MEAL plan, ensuring this links to reporting requirements, and build the capacity of the technical field staff in carrying out the work across county office and between field offices ensuring comparable and aggregated quality indicators and data.
• Play a leadership role in shaping English and Arabic communications and media priorities on Education in line with thematic priorities and collaborate with Communications, Advocacy, and Programme Operations to ensure quality communication products and visibility.
• Take the initiative in linking global SCI resources with the Country Office, documenting lessons learnt, best practice, and case studies to shape in-country strategies and programme approaches, and contribute to broader sector learning.
• Identify research opportunities working together with programme and MEAL team and gather evidence to develop innovative, Education and gender transformative programmes.
• Ensure that the minimum standards of humanitarian relief are maintained in accordance with the Sphere Charter, Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies Minimum Standards and Red Cross Code of Conduct.

General:
Demonstrate leadership in relation to Save the Children policies and practice with respect to child safe guarding, code of conduct, health and safety, equal opportunities, and other relevant policies and procedures.

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In order to be successful you will bring/have: **

QUALIFICATIONS
• Master’s Degree in Education, International Relations, Development studies or similar field, or 8 years work experience in relevant technical field.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
Essential
• Minimum 8 years’ experience of working in Education programmes in a humanitarian or development context.
• Previous experience of working with a large Education team of international and national staff with capacity building experience.
• Capacity to support the development of monitoring & evaluation systems in large complex programmes
• Previous experience of implementing awards funded by institutional donors with medium to high levels of compliance requirements, e.g. ECHO, SIDA, USAID, BHA and FCDO, .
• Demonstrated knowledge of key education standards, in particular INEE and familiarity with Minimum Standards and Conflict Sensitive Education.
• Proven ability of mentoring, coaching, and training on Education related topics.
• Experience of senior level external representation.
• Experience of developing and negotiating successful partnerships with institutional donors
• Ability to write clear and well-argued assessment and project reports and proposals
• Excellent communication skills.
• Proven ability to influence change at an operational and strategic level.
• Politically and culturally sensitive with qualities of patience, tact and diplomacy
• Fluency in written and spoken Arabic and English required.
• Willing and able to travel and/or spend time in Gaza.

Desirable
• Familiarity with Save the Children’s Common Approaches
• Experience in successfully integration Education programming with MHPSS and CP interventions.
• Understanding and knowledge of SCI’s global Quality Learning Framework, focusing on literacy, numeracy and wellbeing of children.
Experience of working with Education team and with direct training of trainers (ToT).

We offer a competitive package in the context of the sector. This role is offered on the basis of national and international terms and conditions.

Save the Children promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment, women and people with different abilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

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The Organisation**

Save the Children works in development and humanitarian contexts with children and partners to help families, communities, and governments identify and use innovations to ensure all children survive, learn and are protected.

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 realize 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.