Senior Technical Specialist – Basic Education
TEAM/PROGRAMME: Programme Development and Quality (PDQ) Team
LOCATION: Somaliland/Hargeisa
GRADE: TBC (Competitive Package)
POST TYPE: International
Child Safeguarding:
Level 3: the role holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work in country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.
ROLE PURPOSE: The Senior Technical Specialist – Basic Education, will provide overall strategic and technical support to all projects related to Basic Education in Somalia/Somaliland both in emergencies and development. Will play a leading role in strategically growing the Basic education programme and supporting capacity building of Area teams, partners, consortium members and other local actors in Somalia/Somaliland. Will be responsible for technically leading the design, planning and implementation of Basic Education programs including concepts and proposal writing. Working under supervision of Head of Education Sector, will be required to work in close liaison with the Program Implementation teams for ensuring high quality education interventions and integration. Will represent SCI in all Education forums for the Somalia/Somaliland programme whenever possible. She/he will closely work with other members in PDQ team and Area teams to promote and disseminate good practices and lessons learned in education programmes and will support the Head of education and advocacy manager to promote education related advocacy at country and cluster level.
SCOPE OF ROLE:
Reports to: Head of Education
Dimensions: Save the Children works in four regions of CSS with a current staff complement of approximately 450 staff and current expenditure of approximately US$60 million in 2012.
Staff directly reporting to this post: None
KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:
Programme Development
· Strategically lead gap analysis of the education system in Somalia/Somaliland in conjunction with regional technical advisors and country PDQ team and development of Basic education programme through a long-term education strategy by working closely with the Head of Education
· Support the Head of sector in development of ambitious yet practical and integrated education plan as part of the Country Annual Plans and contribute from the perspective of child rights.
· Provide high quality technical leadership in developing cost-effective, innovative and sustainable programmes related to education for deprived children in Somalia/Somaliland programme
· Work with other members in the PDQ team to provide technical assistance and inputs to the development of concept notes , proposals and research related to education as mandated under the strategy
Technical Capacity Building and Support
· Provide technical support to Save the Children teams in designing, planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating project activities under education programs
· Develop and implement a relevant and sustainable capacity building plan for Area/operations teams, partners and consortium members in areas of education for quality delivery and building local capacity for sustainable promotion of Save the Children’s education goals for deprived children.
· Build technical capacity in the area teams, partners and consortium members to produce top class donor reports of projects related to education , by working with others in the operation team
Representation and Advocacy
· Represent SC in all relevant external forums whenever possible, including the UN Clusters related to education portfolio of Somalia/Somaliland programme on behalf of the Head of education in order to influence decisions in favour of the deprived children of Somalia/Somaliland
· Work with other members in education & advocacy manager to support Area/operations teams in developing local-specific advocacy strategies and messages in education
· Support the education team with evidence and information for effective advocacy with key stakeholders i.e. governments and donors in issues related to education
· Support Head of the sector in identifying key opportunities and events for Save the Children to position itself as the leading organisation for education issues in Somalia and Somaliland
· Support the Head of the sector in identifying and securing potential technical resource persons and organisations for their support in advancing Save the Children’s advocacy in the sector
Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation
· Work closely with the MEAL and operations teams to ensure that all projects related to education have robust monitoring plans, baselines, reviews and evaluations in line with project designs and donor guidelines
· Undertake regular project quarterly review and document feedbacks and experiences, and re-tune the project implementation and enhance field staff and implementing partner’s capacity in quality assurance.
· Continuously seek and support new approaches, practices and processes to improve the efficiency and quality of education interventions
· Carry out reasonable field visits to document observations and experiences and share them with Area teams and influence management action for technical improvement in projects.
· Work with MEAL Research team to carry out relevant studies and document and disseminate good practices in projects related to Education both in emergencies and development
· Lead robust Education data analysis for programming, knowledge sharing and advocacy helping Education programme in Somalia/Somaliland to grow and be visible of its breakthrough impact.
COMPETENCIES AND BEHAVIOURS (our Values in Practice)
Applying Technical and Professional Expertise
- Makes decisions based on professional expertise and experience without deferring unnecessarily to others
- Shares knowledge and best practice on technical solutions so that others can make best use of that expertise
- Actively seeks new ways to develop the application of technical and professional standards within the team
Delivering Results
· Delivers timely and appropriate results using available resources
· Takes responsibility for their work and its impact on others
· Plans, prioritises and performs tasks well without needing direct supervision
· Understands the link between their work and the organisation’s objectives
Innovating and Adapting
· Suggests creative improvements and better ways of working
· Seeks out and applies successful ideas from others to overcome challenges
· Shifts tasks, roles and priorities to perform effectively under changing or unclear conditions
· Applies lessons learned to enhance future ways of working
Communicating with Impact
· Conveys complex issues with clarity, brevity and confidence
· Promotes dialogue with key stakeholders through active listening and effective questioning
· Adapts communication style to maximise support and engagement
· Advises others on different approaches to influence key stakeholders
· Seeks out new methodologies for communication to engage new audiences
Networking
· Actively participates in networks to access and contribute to good practice
· Gathers and distributes organisational intelligence Maintains and develops a range of contacts and keeps them informed
· Knows what is needed from contacts and what they need to benefit from the relationship too
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
- Higher Degree in Education, social sciences or a related field. Additional training in education in Emergency will be highly desirable.
- Recommended a minimum of six years of relevant technical experience including two years at senior level
- Proven experience of developing and managing Education programmes in both development and emergency settings
- Proven skills and experience in undertaking assessments and designing/writing quality technical proposals in the sector under fragile context.
- Proven experience in programme development, project cycle management and monitoring and evaluation related to the sector including writing up high quality project/donor reports
- Proven experience of developing and managing high quality, innovative and cost-effective education projects in fragile and insecure environments, preferably in Somalia context and with International NGOs
- Proven experience and skills in advocacy and building work relationships with local/national governments and influencing institutional, private and/or corporate donors
- Solid experience and excellent skills in capacity building of systems, staff, partners and other actors in education
- Ability to extensively travel for project monitoring and provide on-site technical support to field teams
- Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills including influencing, negotiation and coaching
- Highly developed cultural awareness and ability to work well in an international environment with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures
- Strong results orientation, with the ability to challenge existing mindsets
- Experience of solving complex issues through analysis, definition of a clear way forward and ensuring buy in
- Ability to present complex information in a succinct and compelling manner
- Ability and willingness to dramatically change work practices and hours, and work with incoming surge teams, in the event of emergencies
- Willingness to be deployed part or full time in to emergency response as per need and as directed
- Fluency in English, both verbal and written, required
- Commitment to Save the Children values
HOW TO APPLY:
Interested candidates are required to submit a CV and mandatory cover letter quoting the Job Title and Vacancy Announcement No. SCI/SOM/26/16 on the subject line. The file name of the CV and attachments must be the applicants name and sent to Somalia.vacancies@savethechildren.org. For more information please visit www.somaliangoconsortium.org
Kindly include your current and expected salary
Applications close on 15th August 2016
Disclaimer:
Save the Children International does not charge any kind of fee at whichever stage of the recruitment process and does not act through recruitment agents
