Regional Education Program Specialist (REPS) – JRS (Asia Pacific) At Jesuit Refugee Service

Position Title: Regional Education Program Specialist (REPS)

Location: Bangkok

Reports to: Regional Director – Asia Pacific

Starting date: immediate

Contract duration: 1 year

Organisational Context

The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is an international non-governmental organisation with a mission to accompany, serve, and advocate for the rights of refugees and forcibly displaced people. The organisation was founded in November 1980 and has a presence in over 50 countries. JRS undertakes services at national and regional levels with the support and guidance of an international office in Rome. The style of JRS service is human and spiritual, working in situations of greatest need, seeking the long-term wellbeing of refugees and displaced persons, while not neglecting their immediate or urgent needs. JRS offers opportunities to a wide variety of staff, local and international, while maintaining a realistic and localised scheme of salary/stipend, insurance, etc.

Operational Context/Role

The Education Program Specialist is mainly responsible for coordinating and strengthening the cross-border education programming and advocacy of Thailand and Myanmar. The specialist will support JRS teams in terms of conception, supervision, and implementation of education projects responding to the specific needs of forcibly displaced people in the Asia Pacific Region. Of the eight countries where JRS is present, the following have established education projects—Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

The Education Program Specialist will be based in Mae Hong Son, at the northern border of Thailand with southeastern Myanmar. The position requires deep familiarity with refugee education in the context of camps and urban settings as well as in the context of return. The specialist must have good communication skills, leadership, and the capacity to work with a team. Analytical thinking and the capacity to research innovative intervention methods, as well as creativity and flexibility are also expected.

Key Responsibilities

1. General

• Serve as a technical resource to Regional, Country and Project Directors to evaluate, assess and direct education projects.
• In coordination with Country and Project Directors, liaise with local government officials, education ministries and other relevant authorities and stakeholders in order to represent the priorities of the organization, provide necessary technical expertise, and support local teams in implementation of projects.
• Serve as delegate representative of JRS in education partnerships, namely, BEST Consortium Management Committee together with JRS Thailand Program Director.

2. Planning

• Under the supervision of the Regional Director, and in collaboration with the Country Directors and International Education staff, define the strategy and priority actions of the educational programs in the regions.
• Study and analyze relevant research done by JRS and other stakeholders in Thailand and Myanmar regarding refugee education. The specialist will provide JRS APR with periodic programming, advocacy and networking recommendations.
• Provide technical support to the annual review and planning of JRS projects taking into account regional and international strategies and guidelines, as well as international standards for education in emergencies.
• Lead and manage all educational needs assessment activities within the region for new sites.
• Develop technical inputs for all proposals with educational outcomes and activities within the region.
• Propose innovative strategies and activities to address educational needs in the region.
• Attend the annual face-to-face meeting of the Global Education Team (usually later in the year)

3. Supporting Project Implementation

• Lead contextualized training of JRS education and teacher training staff (i.e., responsible for the training of team members and of teaching personnel) in Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia.
• Propose and create tools to monitor and evaluate impact indicators and the quality of JRS education projects.
• Define and coordinate actions that guarantee the implementation of strategic priorities in the region especially cross-border education programming involving Thailand and Myanmar.
• Support JRS teams and reinforce their capacities in terms of education by:
  • Drafting and preparing key documents in order to implement and harmonize key interventions and support interventions (information regarding educational systems, key documents, INEE, etc.).
  • Planning and implementing training to reinforce the capacities of educational teams.
• To coordinate with other actors in the educational sector in the region:
  • To ensure the effective exchange of information, technical support, and advocacy regarding education in emergencies in the regions among JRS and other key actors (beneficiaries, NGOs, UN Agencies, Education Cluster, Ministries of Education, etc.).
  • To support the technical work of the teams in the field and help country offices coordinate their interaction with authorities and networks.

4. Reporting

• Lead the development and writing of the BEST IV consortium narrative reports in coordination with MHS Project Director.
• Support the Regional Offices in the consolidation of reports coming from the country. REPS will assist the JRS Myanmar Country Director in developing bi-annual project reports.
• To write and submit bimonthly activity reports to the Regional Director. This report will be shared to relevant Country Directors and the International Education Manager.
• Lead efforts within the region to harmonize project-level education data collection efforts with global JRS education indicators and data management procedures.
• Visit JRS educational projects and monitor their implementation, reporting to regional and international staff on progress.
• Assist in providing other information upon request for purposes of grant reporting.
• Participate in bi-monthly conference calls among members of the Global Education Team.

Core values and ethics

• Good understanding of and compatibility with the values of JRS.
• Very good pastoral sense and listening abilities and communication/inter-personal skills.
• Demonstrated ability and experience of working in a multi-cultural environment with good multicultural sensitivities and in a flexible environment.
• Willingness and ability to travel to the field, when appropriate, for project monitoring visits and live a simple lifestyle.

This position offers a salary package with Medical and Accident group insurance, Life insurance and other benefits. Interested candidates must apply by sending their cover letter and CV (including 3 references) addressing how they satisfy the criteria described above. JRS advocates for equal opportunity and promotes a diversified and inspiring working environment. Therefore, qualified candidates of ethnic minorities and women are strongly encouraged to apply.