Senior Programme Consultant 146 views

ABOUT STiR EDUCATION

We are an international NGO that is addressing the moral and economic imperative that every child, everywhere, should have a teacher who cultivates the joy of lifelong learning. At a practical level, that means we support governments to reignite intrinsic motivation in teachers and local officials, through teacher networks. Our vision is a world where teachers love teaching and children love learning. In our sixth full year of operations, we are working with 200,000 teachers and 6 million children across 70 districts in India and Uganda.

OUR MODEL

We achieve this through a five year learning partnership with an education system, where we align all levels of the education system (officials, teachers and children) around the goal of increasing intrinsic motivation.

Practically, this means that teachers undergo monthly network meetings with about 20 to 30 local peers. Through these meetings they’re supported to develop their practice in areas ranging from effective questioning to creating warm but orderly classroom routines – all designed to create a more effective relationship between the teacher and child. In doing so they develop a sense of autonomy (the sense they can change things), mastery (sense of getting better as a professionals) and purpose (reconnecting emotionally with their peers and students) – the key drivers of intrinsic motivation.

District officials undergo a training and coaching programme that motivates and supports them to prioritise, run and monitor the teacher networks and a close partnership with the state or national government enables the government to align this intrinsic motivation approach within their priorities, structures and systems.

The approach is run by the government from day one and after about five years of partnering with an education system we hope to have embedded a culture of improvement at all levels for the system to continue to strengthen itself. We typically allocate one member of our own staff per district to train, energise and coach the district officials running the approach, and a small team at the national or state level.

OUR VALUES

How we approach our work is as important as what we do and our core values guide the way:

Humility – We don’t have all the answers upfront.

Ownership – We empower each other with high expectations & support.

Openness – We will listen, learn and improve, and lead through obstacles.

Purpose – We’re united by a shared vision we’ll build & achieve together.

senior programme consultant, ethiopia

 THE OPPORTUNITY

The Senior Programme Consultant role presents a unique opportunity for an exceptional candidate to scope, shape and build STiR’s programme in Ethiopia. Our goals are ambitious, with the aim to ensure our programmes have an impact on over 7 million children across the country by 2030.  As the Senior Programme Consultant, you will be responsible for ensuring the foundations are laid for the establishment of a world-class development offer for teachers, school leaders and government officials, grounded in the promotion of an education system in Ethiopia where children are inspired to become lifelong learners.

STiR is looking for a leader who is both highly influential and can inspire others, including senior government officials, to join them on this journey. This leader will also be highly adept at ‘getting things done’, with an eye for detail in planning and programme management.

REPORTING, ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

The Senior Programme Consultant will be based in Addis Ababa, and will work primarily with the national Ministry of Education (MoE) in Addis Ababa. The post will report to the Associate Director of Design and Programme Readiness based in London.

This role is a full-time position. In the first months of the role, some travel to Uganda will be expected in order to build understanding of how the programme works in practice.

Develop clear recommendations for how stir education’s programme can be integrated into ethiopia’s national education plans

 

• Identify and build strong relationships with key stakeholders at the national Ministry of Education, and build both a sense of excitement and a deep understanding of how the model works
• Identify and make explicit how the STiR model aligns with broader national education priorities, particularly with regards to lifelong learning and intrinsic motivation
• Create an implementation proposal, for how the STiR model may be embedded within the national education system, from ministry to district level (including detailed proposals on launch and expansion timelines, budgets and personnel)
• Build an understanding of the registration process for foreign NGOs, and offer recommendations for the most effective, collaborative way to approach this
• Agree and sign a strategy cooperation note with MoE, to be used as a basis for a formal Memorandum of Understanding
• Develop and build relationships with key non-government actors, including other NGOs and funding partners

Ensure operational foundations are in place for a programme launch, tentatively in Addis Ababa

• Work with the Ministry of Education to establish a central ‘Lifelong Learning Unit’ to oversee the planning, delivery and expansion of the programme in Ethiopia
• Work closely with the Education Bureau of Addis Ababa to build understanding of and excitement for the programme, including agreement of a local MoU and programme implementation plan, ensuring clear links are established between key local and national stakeholders
• Upon confirmation of funding, begin search and recruitment process for local programme staff to be based in Addis Ababa
• Work closely with the Global Director of Finance and Administration to develop simple but robust systems of local accountability for operational costs during consulting contact eg travel, accommodation during field visits

LEAD AND CONTEXTUALISE THE DESIGN OF THE PROGRAMME FOR THE ethiopian CONTEXT

• Work closely with the Associate Director of Design and Programme Readiness to ensure a world class programme is in place for both officials and teachers, with two full Learning Improvement Cycles ready for delivery in the first year – including content and language contextualisation
• Ensure that we are designing with an exit in mind, by building ownership of design both locally and nationally from day one, through the establishment of a programme steering group at either the intra-district or national level
• Build a strong understanding of the principles of user-centred design and how to create a programme that meets the needs of local children, teachers and officials
• Engage in field research with key stakeholders (teachers and officials) through forums such as focus group discussions in order to build this understanding
• Engage in learning visits to Uganda, in order to understand key lessons of programmatic success and how these can be translated into the Ethiopian context

REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

This will be a full-time consultancy role, based on a rolling contract.  This is a senior-level role, with a reflective competitive salary. The aim is for the successful candidate to eventually transition into a full-time, permanent Country Director role, dependent upon the successful completion of a threshold interview process.

Job Requirements

• REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
• Ability to be highly entrepreneurial and drive a ‘start up’ to sustained success
• Strong implementation focus, ‘can-do’ attitude and ability to rapidly adapt
• Knowledge and experience in delivering complex programmes within a government context
• Proven experience in forming collaborative relationships with governments and diverse stakeholders at all levels of seniority, and the ability to inspire a sense of possibility within these groups
• A commitment to developing people into leaders
• Ability to proactively build and maintain a dynamic culture of high expectations and learning
• Humility, no ego and open to feedback
• Excellent influencing and written/verbal communication skills
• Strong planning, budgeting & financial and project management skills
• Evidence-based decision making and data-driven alignment practices
• Creative and critical thinking – from adaptive design to problem-solving
• Spoken and written fluency in both English and Amharic

How to Apply

APPLICATION PROCESS

If your skills, experience & priorities align with STiR’s vision, mission & values, we welcome you to apply for the role of Senior Programme Consultant, Ethiopia. The full interview process will include a variety of additional tasks & assessments. We look forward to taking the next step with you. Apply here.

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STiR is an equal opportunity employer. We accept and celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.