Short term Technical Advisor, Education

Scope:

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

The IRC seeks an Education Technical Advisor (TA) to support education projects in its East Africa region (Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Somalia) and Great Lakes region (Tanzania, Burundi). The role is to help guide on program design, provide direct technical support, and build technical capacity to implement, measure and continuously improve IRC education programs. To ensure quality programming towards impacting the lives of children and youth affected by conflict and crisis through IRC’s work, the Education TA will support country program staff to design programs and projects that are aligned to the IRC’s outcomes and evidence framework, theories of change and core indicators; review the technical quality of proposals; input into go/no go decisions on upcoming funding opportunities; help analyze data to inform course correction; conduct technical trainings and ongoing technical coaching; share cross-context learning with country program staff; design, review and share program-specific tools; and, if needed, support senior technical country program recruitment.

Major Responsibilities:

Core Functions:

1. Provide leadership support and guidance to country program staff to implement projects and ensure that IRC institutional goals for program quality are met and programming is in alignment with the IRC’s Strategy 100, which includes contextualizing education outcomes and theories of change, ensuring interventions are based on best available evidence, responsive to client needs and preferences and based on sound context and gender analysis.
2. Review technical quality of proposals, including providing input on budgets required for project delivery, technical activities, ensuring alignment to IRC’s education and cross-sectoral outcomes.
3. Input into go / no go decisions on proposals.
4. Oversee and help analyze data to inform periodic review and course correction to ensure that IRC’s programs are based on evidence and are evidence-generating.
5. Develop, conduct and lead technical training and ongoing technical coaching for country program staff, including on IRC outcomes, theories of change, evidence and indicators.
6. Share cross-context learning with country program staff across the region.
7. Support senior technical country program recruitment.

Additional Functions:

1. Engage with donors and system actors and conduct outreach in support of expanding country programming.
2. Contribute to technical design of interventions in proposals.
3. Play a leadership role in defining approach to teaming / partnering with other organizations.
4. Support senior country program staff onboarding.

Specific priorities for the East Africa/Great Lakes role:

1. Country support and program review – conduct field visits to Ethiopia and Tanzania country programs; identify recommendations for improving effectiveness, efficiency and general quality; review and revise country support plans; provide targeted training to teams.
2. Business development – review program strategies and implementation plans for Tanzania and Ethiopia; identify potential areas of growth and added value for IRC education programming; conduct business strategy development visit to one other country in region.
3. Regional youth strategy – work with EA TA in development of regional youth strategy.

Key Working Relationships:

Reporting: the role will report to and work in consultation with the East Africa Education Technical Advisor.

Other Internal and/or external contacts:

Internal: Regular relationships with education, violence prevention and response, health, economic recovery & development, and governance technical unit teams as well as with regional and country program coordinators and managers. Interacts with IRC internal departments, including business development, external relations and advocacy departments, to keep them informed of program activities.

External: Serve as IRC program representativein outside regional meetings and global meetings (as needed) and academic forums with donors, other non-governmental organizations, inter-agency groups and foundations.

Job Qualifications:

Education: Master’s/post-graduate degree in education, education psychology, social work, human development or relevant field or equivalent combination of education and experience is required. Participate in ongoing training courses and share knowledge and skill sets within the unit.

Work Experience: A minimum of 8 years of implementing and/or managing Education programs is required, preferably also within a humanitarian, international development setting. Experience in technical tools and materials development, monitoring and evaluation, and research in relation to education is highly desired. Experience in strategy development and working across sectors or disciplines is highly desired.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies: Demonstrated expertise in program design, monitoring and evaluation, with the ability to turn concepts and strategy into measurable action. Strong verbal and written communication skills. Demonstrated commitment to renewing and maintaining currency with best practices.

Working Environment: Position to be regionally based. Up to 40% travel may be required.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Equality, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.