Education Core Competency Specialist at Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

Job Identification: 3938
Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Job Category: Education

Role and Responsibilities

• The Education Specialist will provide technical oversight and strategic direction to Country and Area offices to further the development of the Education Core Competency (CC).
• The Specialist will provide quality assurance for all projects, develop a collaborative country strategy, capacity build staff through mentoring and training to increase the technical capacity of the staff, and develop a donor strategy to further grow the program.

Generic Responsibilities:

• Develop Education CC strategy, technical guidance and Macro LFAs
• Compliance with and adherence to NRC policies, guidance and procedures
• Contribute to fundraising, develop and revise funding proposals, budgets and donor reports
• Identify trends technical standards and donor priorities
• Follow up on compliance with contractual commitments within CC, ensure high technical quality and synergies in project implementation
• Provide technical direction and project implementation support to the implementation team
• Ensure that key learnings are extracted from CC implementation, and incorporate them in CC and staff development processes
• Provide systematic training and build the capacity of Education staff
• Represent NRC in relevant forums/clusters, including with national authorities and donors
• Promote the rights of IDPs/returnees in line with the advocacy strategy

Specific Responsibilities:

• Responsible for leading technical innovative programme development (including approaches such as Accelerated Education) and quality of CC in-country (including through the use of Quality Assessment Tools)  to ensure the relevance of NRC education programmes in-country
• Support and promote holistic programming (with other CCs) ensuring harmonisation and consistency across CC projects in line with NRC Global Education Strategy and Programme Policy
• Provide technical lead and support on the integration of the Better Learning Programme across the education response
• Lead the process on proposals, budgets, modifications, project reviews and reporting and ensure high technical quality
• Take the lead on quality project deliverables to ensure high technical outputs
• Provide strategic leadership on the development of programming that recognizes the challenges and wellbeing needs faced by conflict-affected youth
• Support programmatic M&E and indicator tracking in conjunction with project teams and the M&E department
• Ensure work plans and spending plans in line with donor budgets are developed and maintained by supporting Project Coordinators, Managers and Area Managers
• Lead on the transition of program teams regarding the split of Area Officer and the transition from leadership by a PDM to technical supervision by a Specialist in compliance with co-op
• Develop and lead on conducting needs assessments (in collaboration with Area Program teams, Protection team and M&E team), baseline, mid-and end-evaluations
• Represent NRC with relevant donors, government ministries, and in relevant humanitarian coordination meetings in-country
• Create strong linkages with other Education and Child Protection actors, and ensure strong referral pathways are in place
• Actively promote and operationalize synergies between Education and other NRC programmes to move toward integrated programming (focus on WASH, LFS and ICLA)
• Provide support and input to the recruitment processes for all Education staff
• Accountable for organisational learning from programme implementation, sharing of best practices and capacity building

Qualifications / Competencies
Generic professional competencies for this position:

• Post Bachelor's Degree qualification
• Minimum of 4 years of Education experience within a humanitarian/recovery context
• Experience working in complex and volatile contexts
• Education expertise (as Specialist/TA or Project Manager)
• Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities
• Knowledge about own leadership skills/profile
• Fluency in English, both written and verbal.

Context / Specific Skills, Knowledge and Experience:

• Knowledge of the Lake Chad Basin region and north-eastern Nigeria context specifically
• Experience with start-up or expansion of new programmes
• Experience in team capacity building
• Advanced computer skills, especially in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
• Experience with youth/adolescent programming, particularly vocational training is desired
• Experience with alternative education in a humanitarian context is an asset
• Understanding of INEE Minimum Standards is required
• Candidates with an advanced degree preferred; significant experience in the field of Education, PSS or Child Protection considered in lieu.

What We Offer

• At NRC we think outside the box. We encourage ideas and give responsibility to all employees at all levels, to help solve the complex issues that we face.
• You will have many opportunities to be heard and take the initiative12 months fixed term contract with the possibility of extension
• Grade 9 on the NRC scale
• Duty Station: Maiduguri with 40% travelling
• An opportunity to match your career to a compelling cause
• A chance to meet and work with people who are the best in their fields.