Job Detail

Job Description

Role Purpose:

The position of ‘Technical Specialist – Education’ is situated within the Programme Quality and Development Team at SCI Zambia and will make a key contribution to our education work in Early Childhood Development and Early Learning.  They will help us achieve our ambition that all children benefit from good quality inclusive early childhood care and development and have access to and learn from a good quality education, with a focus on children with disabilities and girls.

The incumbent will be reporting to: Programme Quality & Development Director

Role Dimensions:

The role is expected to foster relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders including Save the Children members, the Country Office Programme Development & Quality team, advocacy colleagues, Regional Advisors, technical counterparts in other organisation, donors, academia etc. The role is also expected to engage with internal technical working groups and communities of practice.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

A.    Technical Leadership:

1. Provide technical leadership for education or the Country Office, and set the strategic approach in relation to the wider country strategy

2. Build capacity of national staff and partners in key technical approaches related to education.

B. New Business Development:

1. Develop new strategic partnerships and position SCI Zambia for securing new standalone and cross-cutting education funding opportunities

2. Work closely with new business development colleagues to identify and pursue funding opportunities

3. Engage with technical partners, donors and colleagues externally and across Save the Children to strengthen profile and opportunities to grow the education portfolio

C . Ensuring Programme Quality (design and implementation):

1. Lead the technical scoping, planning, and design and proposal writing during new programme  development, and ensure that we design and deliver high quality education programmes for children, building on global best practice. Ensure that gender, disability and resilience considerations are reflected in our programme design and implementation.

2. Work with Child Rights Governance colleagues to ensure that a rights based approach is reflected in our programme design and implementation (in line with our child rights programming approach), with a strong focus on child participation.

D. Ensuring evidence of outcomes, results and learning:

1. Promote and monitor integrated programming in a way that increases overall impact of education programmes at the community level.

2. Work with Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability & Learning (MEAL) teams to carry out gender and  power analysis, and conduct quality monitoring against international standards through participatory methodologies that promote gender equality and social justice (including child-friendly and gender sensitive/transformative methodologies).

E. Networking & External Engagement:

1. In alignment with Country Office strategy and leadership, engage in strategic positioning with donors, partners and government in-country, and ensure that Save the Children is a partner of choice in education.

2. Ensure that Save the Children is influencing and learning from others through national technical coordination and networking bodies such as clusters and working groups recognising Save the Children and UNICEF are global co-leads for the education cluster.

Qualifications and Experience

• Master’s degree in education, social policy or other relevant social science degree
• 7-10 years’ experience of leading the design and implementation of development (and humanitarian) programmes in education
• Understanding of the education sector in Zambia
• Familiar with education systems (humanitarian/cluster systems as needed) for ex. the INEE Minimum Standards, the key issues related to Sustainable Development Goal 4 – to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
• Track record in successful business development/fundraising such as Global Partnership for Education, Education Cannot Wait , EU, FCDO, USAID, World Bank
• Demonstrated program design, monitoring and evaluation skills, including designing pathways to sustainable impact at scale.
• Experience conducting gender analysis and designing gender-transformational programming
• Experience of strategy development and planning
• Experience of context, capacity and policy analysis, and influencing and advocacy at regional/international level in order to hold duty bearers to account to realise children’s rights.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with confidence to serve as the organization’s spokesperson when assigned by the country director.
• Skilled at networking, representation and partnership development in order promote learning, strengthen civil society and mobilise resources.

The post holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.

Child Safeguarding: 

Level 2: either the post holder will have access to personal data about children and/or young people as part of their work; or the post holder will be working in a ‘regulated’ position (accountant, barrister, solicitor, legal executive)

PLEASE DO NOT ATTACH COPIES OF YOUR CERTIFICATES

The closing date for receipt of applications is Friday, 10th June 2022. Only short listed candidates will be notified.

Save the Children reserves the right to re advertise if suitable applicants are not found.

Skills Required

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