Steering Committee Member at Adam Smith International

Tracking Code: 913-112
Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Department: Public Sector Governance
Position Type: Temporary

Background

• DFID has designed the Developing Effective Private Education Nigeria (DEEPEN) Challenge Fund (CF) under the Supporting Innovation component of the DEEPEN programme, which pilots sustainable business models to improve education quality in low cost private schools in Lagos. Over two years, the fund will invest up to £2.2 million to ensure that girls and boys have access to improved education quality and that investments are monitored effectively.
• The beneficiaries of this work are Lagos State Government, low cost private school providers and the constituents they support including parents and children.
• The CF will support innovation to ensure children not achieving at grade level attending low cost private schools in Lagos have access to improved educational opportunities, particularly those from the poorest families.

The Challenge Fund has three objectives:

• To select, support and evaluate sustainable business models that aim to improve the quality of education in schools serving children from low income households
• To identify what works to improve the quality of education in low cost private schools and disseminate examples of best practice
• To support the growth of a competitive non-state education market

Responsibilities

• The Steering Committee will consist of the DFID Governance and Education Advisor, a representative from the DEEPEN programme and two experts in low cost education innovation in private school markets in developing countries. It will have oversight of the Fund to ensure that all grants are relevant and respond to the short-term and long-term needs of the Lagos low cost private school sector.
• The Steering Committee will be responsible for quality assuring any material developed by the Fund Management Team relevant to the creation of bid scoring criteria and performance evaluation.
• The Steering Committee will also act as the Project Evaluation Team responsible for the evaluation of the shortlisted organisations based on the set of criteria agreed upon during the inception phase, selecting the projects for funding. It will report to DFID and make its inputs in accordance with DFID guidelines.
• The Steering Committee will meet at agreed periods during inception and implementation.
• All final agreements or next steps are to be submitted to DFID for approval.
• All Steering Committee meetings must be clearly and comprehensively documented, with a minute-taker selected at the beginning of each session.
• Steering Committee Members will be notified of the start and end dates for each aspect of the terms of reference by the Project Manager.

Required Skills

• A post-graduate degree in a relevant discipline;
• At least ten years’ experience working in an education related field, ideally in Nigeria and Lagos State;
• Proven experience of evaluating project plans and monitoring progress; and Signed disclosure on an absence of conflict of interest with the stated aims of the fund