Education Technical Specialist at Save the Children

ROLE PURPOSE

The Education Specialist will use their in-depth contextual understanding, technical expertise, and relationship building skills to define and deliver our strategic ambition for education in Kenya Country Office (including Madagascar).  The role will lead strategy development and the technical design and implementation of high quality programmes that deliver change for children in both emergency and development programming. The role supports national and county advocacy and influencing, while driving strategic partnerships for new business development.  It supports the design and implementation of monitoring and evaluation systems to demonstrate impact, while sharing learning across our programmes, teams and partners.  The role will work closely operations colleagues and with partners in Kenya and Madagascar, building their capacity and building ownership and agency of local organisations.  This role includes a focus on external representation on priority issues including: early childhood care and development: foundational learning and uninterrupted learning (education in emergencies) to ensure all children have access to education leading to learning and wellbeing outcomes. 

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.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY

Technical Leadership

• Provide technical leadership for education or the Country Office, and set the strategic approach in relation to the wider country strategy
• Build capacity of staff and partners in key technical approaches related to education.
• Engage programme managers and field teams in the process of developing or updating strategy and thematic plan, with the goal of needs based, responsive education programming

Programme Quality (Design & Implementation)

• Work closely with new business development colleagues to identify and pursue funding opportunities that allow for both integration intro broader programmes and standalone education programmes/projects; engage with technical partners, donors and colleagues across Save the Children
• 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.
• 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
• Promote an Education Systems Strengthening approach as the overarching framework, that supports working in collaboration and partnership with governments and regional bodies, local partners and working towards impact, scale and sustainability.

Programme Quality (Evidence and Impact)

• Provide oversight and guidance to the programme implementation teams to ensure that thematic programme components are technically sound, implementation methods are consistent with national and global strategies, acknowledged good practice (e.g. Save the Children Common Approaches); and are likely to achieve scale, as well as equitable and sustainable results.
• Promote and monitor integrated programming in a way that increases overall impact of education programmes at the community level.
• 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);.
• Contribute towards the creation of an organisational learning culture that promotes the use of disaggregated data, evidence and analysis (including gender and power analysis) and understands its link to quality and accountable programming; Contribute to strengthening the use of equality-focused programme principles and good practice across themes and sectors.
• Undertake field visits to project sites; work with implementation teams to understand impacts, operational challenges, and continuously identify opportunities for learning and improvement.
• Contribute to organisational learning on education, ensuring that learning from our programmes is shared across the Country Office and our partners, as well as with colleagues in the wider regional and global education community in Save the Children including relevant technical working groups.
• Support the operations team (as needed) to develop emergency preparedness plans, and conduct sectoral assessments (including gender analysis and disability situation analysis, using SC assessment processes and tools) and to design and deliver emergency response and recovery programmes.
• Monitor trends in order to ensure early action; and lead technical design and implementation and technical coordination of humanitarian responses

Networking & External Engagement

• 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.
• 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.
• Strengthen civil society engagement in national dialogues and policy processes through working closely with advocacy and child rights governance colleagues. Ensure that the diverse voices of children, girls and boys are equitably heard and represented in our education work.
• Represent the program to National and Local government representatives, donors, partner agencies, etc. as required.
• Ensure the quality, clarity and consistency of technical components of internal and external reports (e.g. programme reports, sit-reps, internal updates), working closely with awards, programme implementation and communications colleagues as needed.
• Leverage and liaise with technical colleagues from across Save the Children, including technical working groups and centres of excellence, ensuring that learning from the Country Office is shared with others and global lessons brought back.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in Education is required.
• Master’s degree in education or other related fields highly preferable.
• At least 8 years of relevant professional experience in the education sector.
• At least 5 years’ experience of leading the design and implementation of humanitarian and development programmes in education
• Understanding of the education sector in Kenya.
• Familiar with education systems (humanitarian/cluster systems as needed) for example 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 experience in research and evaluations that contribute to designing and scaling pathways to sustainable impact.
• 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.
• Skilled at networking, representation and partnership development in order promote learning, strengthen civil society and mobilise resources. 
• Able to generate and use data and evidence to innovate, deliver, learn and share what works and what doesn’t work for children
• Experience of promoting quality and impact through at least one crosscutting area: gender equality and inclusion, adaptive and safer programming; child rights; disability; migration and displacement.
• Experience of supporting humanitarian preparedness, response and recovery
• Significant experience in training, capacity building, and mentoring
• Experience of effective teamwork and outstanding inter-personal communication skills.
• Commitment to Save the Children’s aims, values and principles including willingness to abide by and enforce the Child Safeguarding policy.

Closing: 09 August 2022