Sr. Education Finance Specialist, USAID Early Childhood Education Study in the Middle East and North Africa At Social Impact

Social Impact is a global development management consulting firm. We provide monitoring, evaluation, strategic planning, and capacity building services to advance development effectiveness. We work across all development sectors including democracy and governance, health and education, the environment, and economic growth. Since 1997 we have worked in over 100 countries for clients such as US government agencies, bilateral donors, multilateral development banks, foundations, and nonprofits.

Project Objective:

Under the Middle East Education Research, Training and Support (MEERS) initiative, the USAID Middle East Bureau has requested a study on Early Childhood Education (ECE) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in preparation for further support to this education sub-sector. Under the current USAID Education Strategy, the education programs funded by the Agency support host countries to achieve specific, measurable results by improving reading skills for children; strengthening higher education and workforce development programs; and expanding access to education in crisis and conflict states. On September 8, 2017, Congress passed P.L. 115-56, the Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development (READ) Act, which called for USAID to develop a comprehensive international education strategy in consultation with other relevant U.S. Government Departments and Agencies by September 2019. As part of this process, USAID examined the role of early childhood and pre-primary education in supporting reading programs globally. In addition, the COVID pandemic and uncertain economic conditions in the region has turned the attention of policy makers to the private sector, where most pre-primary education services in the MENA region are situated, as potential development partners.

This study aims to examine two less understood themes pertaining to early childhood education in the MENA region: financing and access. In particular, it will seek to address the following questions:

1. Who has access to pre-primary education in the MENA region, and what are the challenges to its provision for underserved communities?
2. What are the variety of public and private financing models for the provision of pre-primary education in the MENA region, and what implications do these models have for who has access to these services, physical and learning conditions, and sustainability?
3. What tools and resources are currently used by national and international policy makers in planning for, designing, financing, implementing, and monitoring pre-primary education in MENA, what are the gaps, and what improvements can be made to expand access to more children in the region?

Position Description:

Social Impact is seeking a Sr. Education Finance Specialist in support of this early childhood educations study. The Sr. Specialist will be expected to provide technical inputs and subject matter expertise relevant to education finance to the study and contribute substantially to the production and finalization of all deliverables for USAID. This is a remote, part-time consulting position requiring 25 days of work from December 2021 to June 2022.

Responsibilities:

• Conduct in-depth archival review and remote interviews; support data analysis and reporting.
• Support the research design to address study questions, including sources and methods of data collection and analysis relevant to ECE financing in the MENA region.
• Assist the Team Lead in the preparation, editing, and submission of client deliverables.
• Provide technical inputs on education finance to guide the study.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in education or another relevant field with eight years of relevant work experience.
• Experience conducting literature reviews of policy documents, program reports, and academic literature and in quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis.
• Subject matter expertise in education finance, ideally with experience at the ECE level.
• Knowledge of blended finance models such as public-private partnerships in education funding desired.
• Oral and written fluency in English. Arabic proficiency is an asset, but not required.