Education Technical Lead At Save the Children

JOB TITLE: Education Technical Lead

TEAM/PROGRAMME: Myanmar Education Consortium (MEC)

LOCATION: Head Office, Yangon or Mae Sot, Thailand

Grade: NAT 2

Number of Positions: 2

Type of Contract: 2 year, Fixed Term (Possible to extend).

ROLE PURPOSE:

The Myanmar Education Consortium (MEC) partners with selected ethnic and monastic education providers to strengthen their capacity to deliver and sustain good quality learning opportunities for hard-to-reach children in Myanmar. MEC provides funding, coordination, technical assistance and research across different complementary education systems to promote continuous improvement of education services and a supportive operating environment for ethnic and monastic education providers. As MEC enters into a new strategy period (2021-25), the programme is expanding in scope and size.

Working closely with the Head of Education, the Education Technical Leads will work to contribute to the

development and implementation of education initiatives through MEC and across partners. As part of an education team, each technical lead will be responsible for providing regionally focused education-based technical support to partners. The technical leads will collaborate closely with the monitoring, accountability, evaluation and learning manager to ensure that programme learning, external analysis and insights inform and contribute to evidence-based programme planning and policy and advocacy.

The education technical leads must possess excellent communication skills and have proven experience of providing direct technical support and building technical capacity to implement, measure and continuously strengthen education programmes.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Head of Education

Direct Reports: None**

Financial Approval: None

External Representation: Both regular oral and written interpersonal contact is expected at a variety of levels with a range of stakeholders.

Travel: Frequent (typically over 10 days per month, when possible)

Key areas of accountability

Education strategy and quality assurance

• In collaboration with the Head of Education, take a lead role in designing high quality educational strategies and approaches in support of MEC’s overall strategy and partnership approach.
• Take a lead role in ensuring the quality of MEC’s educational technical assistance at a regional level
• Collaborate with the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning Manager in developing approaches to monitoring education access, quality and management, tracking progress against the results frameworks and building specific partners’ capacity for analysis and monitoring of education participation and quality and evaluation of educational strategies.
• Support partners in key cross-cutting issues, including ensuring Child Safeguarding, Gender, Disability and Social Inclusion actions are prioritised and implemented across all partners, providing technical support as required.

Complementary education systems strengthening

• With a regional focus, provide direct technical support and skills that build capacity in order to strengthen education systems.
• Take a lead role in the design and practical implementation of technical trainings directly related to teacher education and CPD for partner organisations.
• Work with the education team to support an ongoing process of identification of professional capacity development needs of partner complementary education systems and implementing appropriate and creative strategies to meet these needs.

Teamwork

• Work closely with peer Education Technical Leads and the Education Coordinators to streamline support given to partners.
• Contribute to the education aspects of MEC quarterly, mid-year and annual reports.
• Collaborate with the education team to develop short and long term work plans.

Research and policy engagement

• Represent MEC in coordination, policy dialogue and advocacy forums as agreed as part of a whole-team approach
• Support the identification of opportunities to link MEC partners into policy, advocacy and research initiatives and forums and the identification, development and management of research to inform systems strengthening and policy dialogue.

Budget responsibility

• Work closely with the Head of Education to determine budget lines needed for activity implementation
• Carry out quarterly budget reviews in line with quarterly work planning sessions.

Monitoring, Accountability, Evaluation and Learning

• Ensure programme learning, external analysis and insights informs and contributes to evidence-based programme planning and policy and advocacy.
• Ensure that all education activities align to and contribute towards the programme’s Theory of Change and can be clearly monitored through the overarching Results Framework.
• Support the development of quality benchmarks to enhance performance monitoring, ensuring these are used and regularly updated based on programmatic needs and learning from implementation.
• Support the development and use of appropriate accountability mechanisms

Child Safeguarding Responsibility:

• Develop specific and contextual guidance to ensure that the safeguarding of children is incorporated into MEC strategies and children are protected from exploitation, increased vulnerability, or any form of harm or indignity.

General

• Comply with Save the Children policies and practice with respect to safeguarding, child protection, code of conduct, health and safety, equal opportunities and other relevant policies and procedures.
• Build and maintain optimal working relationships with all programme teams, SCI programme teams and MEC partners, in line with MEC partnership principles.
• Ensure that child participation and child safeguarding is integrated into design and implementation of activities, and that children’s voices are represented.

Person specifications

Education:

• Bachelor Degree in education or a related field. Ideally a Post Graduate qualification in a relevant field and/ or professional qualification in education or related field

Professional skills and experience:

• At least 5 years’ experience in working in education in Myanmar
• Understanding and experience of the Myanmar education system, ideally to include government and nongovernment systems or programmes.
• Demonstrated skills, experience, and knowledge in education, ideally including multilingual education, curriculum and pedagogy.
• Skills and experience in capacity development in education, including mentoring and training.
• Practical teaching or training experience

Management and Work Skills

• Proficiency in English, Myanmar language and an ethnic Myanmar language
• An ability to articulate concepts and ideas related to the education field, make presentations and deliver quality written reports
• Ability to analyse information, evaluate options and to think and plan strategically.
• Excellent training, facilitation and communication skills
• Strong personal organisational skills, including time/task management and ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure
• Strong remote-working and self-motivated

General:

• Ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally as assigned.
• Interest in and commitment to working alongside others within a dynamic, inter-disciplinary team and taking opportunities for learning and professional development.
• Ability and willingness to spend significant blocks of time in the field, when possible, and to travel domestically and internationally as assigned.
• Commitment to and understanding of MEC and Save the Children’s aims, values and principles.
• Willingness and capability to comply with all relevant Save the Children policies and procedures with respect to health and safety, security and equal opportunities, including the Child Safeguarding Policy