GRADE: 7 
LOCATION:  Kathmandu
TEAM/PROGRAMME: Education/EQ (will be rolled over to Education when team is fully integrated)    
CONTRACT LENGTH: 1 year-June 2017

Child Safeguarding: Level 3 - the responsibilities of the post may require the post holder to have regular contact with or access to children or young people

ROLE PURPOSE:

The primary objective of the Education Specialist is to provide technical leadership on issues facing children in emergencies, as well as disaster risk reduction in schools. S/he will be Save the Children’s point person to the Education Cluster, which is co-led by Save the Children and UNICEF and led by the Department of Education. S/he will provide technical assistance to Save the Children’s education in emergencies initiatives and support the effective implementation of best practices, programs and policies for children in emergencies, leveraging Save the Children’s knowledge for advocacy to ensure sustainable impact at scale.  S/he will represent the organization in education in emergencies networks and forums and with stakeholders, and raise funds for education in emergencies programs.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:
Cluster representation: 

• Serve as Save the Children focal person in all aspects of the Education Cluster, including monthly and quarterly planning meetings with the Department of Education and UNICEF, disaster preparedness exercises and planning with other development actors including the UN and Government of Nepal
• Responsible for follow up activities, amendments and plans in relation to existing Contingency plan in coordination with DOE, UNICEF, SC and other cluster partners
• Lead Education Cluster working group on community mobilization.
• Establish linkages with relevant Government agencies
• Represent Save the Children in the donor community, government and other national and international forums as relevant
• Be prepared for deployment in case of larger scale emergency.  

Strategic and Annual Planning:

• Take lead in developing and maintaining in-depth understanding of education in emergencies themes of the country office, including Education Safe from Disasters, Comprehensive School Safety Framework (CSSF), SC’s Education Global Initiative, and international/national policies 
• Participate in Save the Children’s strategy development and review of the education in emergencies and development work, ensuring it is in line with overall country context, government policies and plans, the SC Education Global Initiative, and latest international developments related to education in emergencies, and regularly update as required. 
• Proactively link and integrate education in emergencies issues with other thematic and cross cutting areas to create synergy and ensure the adoption of holistic approach to address children’s rights and concerns.
• Bring in mechanisms/approaches to ensure that education in emergencies programs reach the hardest to reach and vulnerable children whose rights are violated and who are in need of protection.

Quality Program Design and Proposal Development:

• Support the development of new education in emergencies programs for Nepal, including writing concept notes and/or proposals in close consultation with other departments, the Education team, the proposal team and SC members.
• Support SC’s education team that education programming interventions are designed based on an understanding of gender relations and social excluded groups relations so that programmes seek to support the different needs and opportunities of women, men, boys and girls from disadvantaged families and communities.

Quality and Technical Assistance:

• Be responsible for contributing to the development, design and monitoring and evaluation of a high quality rights-based education in emergencies programs
• Make sure the definition and /or setting Minimum Standard of key educational interventions are established and followed through.
• Provide timely and quality technical support in the education in emergencies program to the country POD, partners, government, private organizations and civil society to develop and implement programs. 
• Make regular field visits (at least 10 annually) to a sample of projects to check the quality, identify best practices, identify issues to be addressed, and give technical advice to POD team.
• Bring in proven educational interventions and experiences from the global level and guide the country office in how to benefit from such experiences
• Identify needs for external national and international TA and mobilize this TA effectively to bring about positive results for the country program

Capacity Building:

• In consultation with the HR Department and Education Advisor, take lead in planning and organizing the delivery of capacity building interventions for the staff of both Save the Children as well as partners in the education in emergencies program

Advocacy and Representation:

• Contribute to the development of Save the Children’s positions on key issues of education in emergencies, drawing upon the proven SC experiences and best practices at country and global level, and be the advocate and voice for required policy changes and their implementation, in close coordination with Advocacy Director and Earthquake response team
• Establish linkages with relevant Government agencies
• Represent Save the Children in the donor communities, government and other national and international forums as relevant

Documentation and Evaluation:

• Take lead in and ensure timely evaluation/review of education in emergencies projects/programs and ensure recommendations are systematically addressed, including through program design 
• Support action research and the documentation and generation of evidence of best practices in education in emergencies and disseminate them to relevant stakeholders nationally as well as internationally

Knowledge Management:

• Take lead in developing and maintaining in-depth understanding of the education in emergencies theme and interrelated sub-themes of the country office, including existing national laws and policies, laws and policies in the making, emerging issues nationally and internationally, key players and stakeholders in the government and their dynamics, the UN system and national and international civil society as relevant, and with SC members. And disseminate this to relevant colleagues.

Reporting:

• Review project reports from the perspective of overall thematic strategies and objectives/results of education in emergencies and provide feedback to the education advisor (i.e. does the information in the report show how the project is achieving the objective).

Dual Mandate:

• Be prepared for deployment in case of larger scale emergency

SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS

Accountability:

• Holds self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages others to do the same
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• Future orientated, thinks strategically.

Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
• Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• Willing to take disciplined risks

Integrity:

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Essential:

• Master Degree in Education or related field with 7 years’ experience of working in similar position in education in emergencies contexts within and/or outside of the country (5 years from GSI group*)
• Previous working experience with or knowledge of the Education Cluster 
• Strong network and linkages with government education agencies  
• Knowledge and working experience of Child’s Rights Programming approach.
• Proven skills in programme development and proposal writing in educational field.  
• Skills and experience in project/programme monitoring review, reporting and evaluation
• Strong analytical and conceptual skills and the ability to think and plan strategically.
• Ability to lead a programme and support a team working from different locations of Nepal.
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Nepali.
• Ability to work with limited supervision.
• Commitment to and understanding of Save the Children aims, values and principles.

Desirable:

• Demonstrated experience in education in emergencies programming 
• Working experiences with multiple donors 
• Experience in promoting children’s participation in programming, design, implementation and evaluation.