Education Officer at Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

Job Description

Introduction to Context

NRC has been present in Nigeria since 2015 and has been working to help displacement affected communities meet their basic needs, improve their livelihoods, access essential services, and enhance their resilience to future shocks through our six core competencies: water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), Shelter, Education, Information-Counselling and Legal Assistance (ICLA), Livelihoods and Food Security (LFS), Camp Management, and Protection. NRC provides immediate assistance during the onset of emergencies through the rapid response mechanism (RRM). With a workforce of 370 staff and presence in key locations such as Maiduguri (in Borno State), Yola (in Adamawa state) and JOS (in Plateau state), NRC is able to respond to the needs of those affected by the conflict across North-East, and North Central Nigeria. These strategic locations have allowed NRC greater reach from the north and south parts of the North-East and North Central region, and allowed NRC to contribute to bridging the gap between humanitarian aid and development cooperation, including through focusing on equitable access to basic services and strengthening the rights of displaced people and returnees. In addition to the Country Office, and the above mentioned Area Offices, NRC has sub-offices structures in Dikwa, Monguno,  Biu, Mubi, Pulka and Gwoza.

Responsibilities

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Education Officer is responsible for supervising implementation and monitoring of project activities in the field, managing Education Assistants and reporting progress to supervisors.

Generic responsibilities

• Ensure adherence to NRC policies, tool, handbooks, guidelines and donor requirements including strict adherence to the Code of Conduct and Child Safeguarding Policies

• Prepare plans based on proposals, logframes and budgets

• Implement activities in coherence with project documents

• Prepare regular reports and other documents to capture project progress and achievements

• Represent NRC and coordinate with government, partner, and education stakeholders

• Provide capacity building for staff and contractors

• Identify and share ideas for improvement of the Education program 

Specific responsibilities

• Plan and implement program activities in compliance with project log frame, budget, workplan, proposal, NRC, donor and humanitarian practices and guidance provided by the Education Manager or Coordinator and Education Specialist

• Develop and apply workplans, procurement plans and spending plans to ensure on time implementation of project activities

• Contribute to monthly, quarterly and annual internal and external reports

• Formally or informally identify capacity development needs for Education staff and contractors, identify or provide training and follow up mentoring.

• Oversee the work of Education Assistants, identify capacity building needs and provide technical and administrative support and mentoring as needed

• Supervise the collection of data including baseline

• Ensure that all necessary documents and means of verification for all activities are captured and stored electronically

• Oversee recruitment and procurement processes in coordination with Education Assistants and NRC’s Human Resources and Procurement units and follow up as necessary

• Represent NRC to government authorities and ensure that all project activities are done in coordination with government

• Engage and coordinate with government authorities, communities, community leaders, parent groups, school management and other organizations implementing education activities including the Education in Emergencies Working Group and implementing partners

• Ensure effective coordination with NRC’s Shelter, WASH, Information Counseling and Legal Assistance (ICLA), Camp Coordination and Camp Manager (CCCM), Monitoring and Evaluation, Protection and Compliance units.

• Supervise and submit needs assessment, data collection and submission and collection of documentation and verification of project activities

• Any other task relevant to the position as requested by the line and/or technical manager

Critical interfaces

Relevant interfaces for this position are:

• Project planning: Education Coordinator, Manager and Specialist

• Area operations: Procurement Officers, Human Resource Officers, Finance Officer, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Field Office Coordinator

• Implementation: Education Coordinator, Shelter and WASH Officers, Protection Officer, M&E Officer, Support Officers, Compliance Coordinator

COMPETENCIES

Behavioral competencies

• Managing resources and achieving results

• Handling insecure environments

• Empowering and building trust

• Communicating with impact and respect

• Management of teams

Professional competencies

• At least two years experience working with a national or international NGO or United Nations agency in the northeast of Nigeria.

• At least one year of experience managing program staff and implementation in the field with experience in education preferred.

• Bachelor’s degree in education, development, management or a related field with a master’s degree preferred.

• Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities

• Understanding of data collection and analysis and documentation of results

• Experience mobilizing communities and interacting with government education authorities

• Analytic and computer skills including Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint

• Fluency in English, both written and oral required.

Context specific skills, knowledge and experience:  

• Understanding of the education context and humanitarian and development response in northeastern Nigeria, with specific experience in north east nigeria preferred.

• Fluent spoken Hausa language, with other local languages an advantage

• Experience with nonformal and vocational education and support to formal education preferred

• Documented experience working with local government authorities and IDP, returnee and host communities

• Experience with budgeting, procurement and recruitment of staff and contractors

• Understanding of humanitarian, development and protection standards and their application in the field

• FEMALE CANDIDATES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY

Behavioural competencies  

The following behavioural competencies are essential for this position: 

• Handling insecure environment 

• Planning and delivering results 

• Empowering and building trust 

• Communicating with impact and respect 

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

The employee will be accountable for and evaluated on the responsibilities and the competencies, based on NRC’s Performance Management System. The following documents will be used for performance reviews:

• The Job Description

• The Work and Development Plan

• The Mid-term/End-of-trial Period Performance Review Template

• The End-term Performance Review Template

• The NRC Competency Framework