Education Officer At Plan International

Title: Education Officer

Reporting to: Education in Emergencies Advisor (Technical Unit Lead)

Direct Reports: None

Key relationships: Programme Implementation Units, Business Development Units, IQE network, Country Office Education leads

Grade: 3

Contract Length: 2 years

Brief overview and purpose of role

Plan International Ireland is looking for an Education Officer to join its programmes team supporting the delivery of programming in West Africa and other select countries.

The Education Officer is an important member of the Programmes Department, which is responsible for the provision of high quality education technical input into programme design and delivery to long term Inclusive Quality Education programmes and in protracted crises. You will be part of the Technical Unit reporting to the Education in Emergencies Advisor (Technical Unit Lead), with a primary focus on education in development settings but also on education in the nexus setting.

You will link closely with Plan International Ireland’s Business Development Units and Programmes Implementation teams, supporting the design and delivery of quality education programming including in crisis settings in Plan Country Offices. You will support the EiE Advisor on engagement with the Plan International Inclusive Quality Network and other fora ensuring Plan International Ireland remains.

You will support Plan Country Offices where Plan International Ireland is working, particularly in West Africa, in the design and delivery of their education strategy and you may be required to support emergency response to humanitarian disasters should they occur and be of critical scale.

You will liaise with the Fundraising and Communications Department to profile Plan International Ireland’s work in the designated country offices, and within Ireland and support Plan’s advocacy work in engaging with key stakeholders in Ireland and overseas in relation to education.

This is an exciting time to join Plan International as we continue to implement our focus on supporting 100 million girls to help them Learn, Lead, Decide, and Thrive!

About Plan International Ireland

Founded in 1937, Plan International is a children’s organisation that fights for children’s rights, particularly girls, who live in the poorest regions of the world. We are an independent organisation with no religious, political, or governmental affiliations. Our vision is a just world that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

We work at local, national, and international level across over 70 countries to influence governments to tackle the root causes of child poverty and to create a more equal world for girls. We work with communities to advance education, advocate for an end to FGM and child marriage, amplify girls’ and women’s voices and much more. During emergencies, we save lives and ease suffering by providing shelter and sanitation, while also creating safe spaces to protect and keep children in school.

Established in 2003, Plan International Ireland is a young and dynamic organisation that influences and supports Plan International’s work worldwide.

Plan International Ireland have been certified as one of Ireland’s Best Workplaces in 2020 and 2021.

Key roles and responsibilities

The primary purpose of this role is to provide technical support and assistance to Plan International Ireland’s programmes team and country offices on education programming through the complete project cycle and to help build the quality of our education programming to deliver meaningful change in the lives of children.

Key Responsibilities

Education Technical Support and advice

You will advise and support the Programmes Department units on the delivery of Education related programmes including in protracted crisis/ humanitarian settings, ensuring to the extent possible, programmes are delivered in line with relevant international standards, best practice and appropriate to the context.

You will ensure quality education technical input into the design of donor proposals and contribute to assuring technical quality of delivery of institutional grants – in particular in relation to Plan International’s Irish Aid framework funding (SQRIBE) and EU INTPA funding.

Contribute towards staff training and organisational learning in designated Country Offices where appropriate on education/ Education in emergencies.

Provide continuous mentoring and backstopping support to key Country Offices to ensure quality delivery of education programmes, and support education needs assessments and M&E design and implementation on education programmes.

Assist the Country Office teams in identifying innovative and successful approaches and scalable solutions in-country.

Represent Plan International Ireland to donors as required and to deal with their related inquiries in relation to education.

Emergency Response

Travel to disaster affected areas as required at short notice in the event of large-scale emergencies and a need for education technical support is identified.

Learning, knowledge management, and communications

Support the EIE Advisor and Programme Leads for Irish Aid and EU funding in maintaining quality knowledge and learning management in relation to education, remaining abreast of best practice within Plan International and externally.

Contribute to the delivery programme reviews and evaluations, and share learning, research and best practices.

Assist Country Offices to develop case studies and briefing papers that can also be shared with the communications, fundraising, business development and implementation teams as appropriate.

Maintain watching brief on donor related education initiatives and expectations on good practice from key institutional donors in relation to education.

Travel

Travel to Plan Country Offices for up to three months per year

Other

Contribute actively to Plan International Ireland’s Programmes Department, sharing ideas and experience to ensure the implementation of our programme strategy and to build programme quality.

Person specification

Education

3rd Level qualification in a related discipline is an advantage but not a necessity.

Skills and abilities

You will be able to prepare and manage project budgets, prepare and assess financial reporting in line with good practice and donor requirements

You will have experience of developing technically sound proposals, including log frames and budgets for major development and humanitarian donors including the EU, ECHO, ECW (Education Cannot Wait)

You will have experience of developing and delivering M&E frameworks in relation to education, the design of education focused SMART indicators and the development of tools for assessing these.

You will have excellent understanding and knowledge of education programme management, technical design and implementation across a diverse range of contexts, particularly in protracted crises;

Level of experience required

You will have at least four years relevant experience working on international development/humanitarian related programmes, with a specific focus on education programming: overseas programme delivery experience is required

Competencies

Communicating with all stakeholders: be able to communicate our vision using clear and concise messaging. Be able to recognise the needs of others and actively support, coach, and provide supportive feedback. Be able to engage with others inside and outside the organisation to promote our gender transformative inclusive quality education agenda, and profile the work of Plan International Ireland.

Working effectively and efficiently: always ensure that impact is the core feature of our work and maintain continuous improvement in everything we do. Influence change within your team and the wider organisation.

Responsive and agile: be willing to respond positively and constructively to change and play an active role in Plan International Ireland’s Programmes Department.

Languages

French language competence is required for this post.

Salary and benefits

Plan International Ireland operates a salary scale, as well as a broad range of employee benefits.

This role is graded as a Level 3 within our salary scale, with an expected range of between €38,000 and €45,000. Placement on the scale will be dependent on level of experience and fit within the role.

In addition to salary, Plan International Ireland provides a number of employee benefits, some of which include:

• Private Health Insurance for all employees (from commencement date)
• Matching company pension contributions up to 5% (once probation is complete)
• Flexible working hours (core hours of 10am to 4pm daily, minimum of 37 hours per week)
• Commitment to training and development.
• 25 days annual leave, increasing with length of service up to 30 days.

Location

The Plan International Ireland office is located on Harrington Street, Dublin 8 (across from Brother Hubbard’s). We are just a stone’s throw away from the bustling and busy Camden Street area, with its many coffee shops, bars, restaurants, and much more! Our nearest LUAS stop is Harcourt Street.

As an employee you will also be able to sign up to the Bike-to-Work scheme, or the TaxSaver scheme for DART, LUAS, and Dublin bus users.

Safeguarding

Plan International is committed to safeguarding people within our programmes from exploitation and abuse and has specific policies on this commitment (including a Code of Conduct) which outlines the expected behaviour and the responsibility of all staff, consultants, and other organisational representatives.

Any candidate offered a job with us will be expected to sign our Safeguarding Policies and Code of Conduct as an appendix to their contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these documents. Specific roles may require police/Garda vetting.

This document is not intended to be an exhaustive job description – it serves only as an overview of the role.