Lead Advisor, Education Programs (P5)

Staff whose work requires or potentially could require any in-person interaction with Save the Children colleagues, partners, or beneficiaries must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless otherwise required by law. Save the Children complies with federal, state, and local laws with regard to accommodations related to this policy.

Summary

The Lead Advisor, Education Programs will provide strategic and technical leadership for the SCUS Education portfolio in protracted crises and fragile environments, and will bring specific focus on technical excellence in this area to the Department of Education and Child Protection (DECP). You will be the point person for and coordinate technical assistance needed for education awards in fragile environments, and will lead Save the Children US’s thought leadership in this area, representing Save the Children US in relevant internal and external technical forums. You will lead development of the education portfolio and new business development for the “Nexus-to Development” continuum, and will lead the team in defining effective approaches, strategies and learning agenda to have impact at scale in such settings. The Lead Advisor III will also serve as the point of contact for DECP to the One Humanitarian Team within Save the Children International to ensure close coordination and collaboration between these technical teams. This position will report into the Managing Director, Education, in the School-Age Learning and Well-Being team.

Essential Duties, Responsibilities and Impact

Program Development and Leadership (20%)

• Lead Save the Children US’s technical approach to improving access and learning outcomes for children affected by conflict and crisis, including technical guidance and partnership and programming strategies, in line with relevant global and US Government guidance and standards in this area.


• Collaborate closely with colleagues in related technical areas, including early childhood development, education research, gender and social inclusion, and others, to ensure state of the art programming approaches are consistently incorporated across all areas of Save the Children’s program portfolio.


• Lead the development and delivery of a learning agenda around education in conflict and crisis-affected fragile environments, in partnership with colleagues in the education research team.


• Work closely with other SC Members, the One Humanitarian Technical Team, as well as external actors, particularly on areas of technical focus and thought leadership.

Fundraising (25%)

• Collaborate closely with fundraising colleagues to develop and guide the Save the Children US fundraising strategy for education in conflict and crisis.


• Lead the development of funding proposals to the US Government, in particular to USAID.


• Serve as the focal point in DECP for fundraising efforts with private donors (individuals, foundations and corporations) for colleagues in Resource Development for technical focus areas, including acute humanitarian response efforts.


• Through representation, networking and technical leadership, position Save the Children as a partner of choice with potential donors and partners.

Program Delivery (40%)

• Ensure technical excellence across the education portfolio, providing technical assistance and quality assurance to program teams on quality education and strategies and approaches to achieve impact in fragile environments.


• Support country office technical teams in formulating program designs, implementation plans, and country strategies for education in fragile/Nexus contexts.


• Support successful project management, including complex USG awards, working closely with the Awards Management Team and the USG Project Manager to ensure compliance and successful delivery of all activities.


• Maintain up-to-date information on all aspects of the portfolio and provide highest quality communications materials for use by senior Save the Children leadership.


• Collaborate with budget and administrative colleagues for efficient and effective management of the education portfolio.

Representation and Team Membership (15%)

• Participate in internal technical working groups, strategic initiatives, and other structures and processes for the successful delivery of Save the Children’s global and education strategies.


• Represent Save the Children in external groups, as relevant and strategic


• Perform other duties as assigned

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor degree or equivalent years of experience, plus at least 10 years of relevant experience


• Demonstrated experience in education or relevant field


• Proven experience as a trainer of staff in the Education field, with a demonstrated commitment to building the technical capacity of education teams;


• Demonstrated experience with proposal development for donors, including leadership of USAID technical design and writing processes;


• Demonstrated leadership in the education sector with the proven ability to represent organizational priorities and interests.


• Strong interpersonal, oral and especially written communication skills, including strong public speaking skills and experience;


• Ability to think and act strategically to maximize operational effectiveness and to advance the organization’s priorities;


• Demonstrated ability to work within a team setting from a technical, management, and interpersonal perspective;


• Professional proficiency in spoken and written English


• Professional proficiency in MS Office suite


• Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate successfully with individuals and teams at all levels, both internal and external


• Demonstrated commitment to fostering and maintaining an environment of diversity and inclusion


• Willingness and ability to travel internationally up to 25%

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience applying state of the art technical approaches for emergency and nexus programming in the Middle East and North Africa and West and Central Africa regions


• Professional fluency in a second language (French or Arabic preferred)

Why you should join the Save the Children Team…

Save the Children US offers outstanding benefits that include health, dental, vision and life insurances, pet insurance, short-term and long-term disability coverage, an Employee Assistance Program, 403(b), generous vacation, personal sick leave, family leave, parental/adoption leave, commuter benefits, dress for your day, and much more.

Click here to learn more about how Save the Children US will invest in YOU!

About Save the Children

No matter your role when you join Save the Children, each and every day you will challenge yourself to devote your skills, talent and expertise to changing the world for kids. It’s an ambitious goal, and a meaningful one no matter how you see yourself professionally: an accountant, a writer, a data analyst, a teacher, a driver, a designer, or any one of the hundreds of dozens of roles we’re looking to fill every day.

You see, Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.

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