Inclusive Education Policy Development Officer H/F

Humanity & Inclusion (HI) is an independent and impartial aid and development organisation with no religious or political affiliations operating in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. We work alongside people with disabilities and vulnerable people to help meet their essential needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights.

Since the organisation was first founded in 1982, we have set up development programmes in more than 60 countries and responded to many emergencies. Today we have a budget of around 150 million euros, with 3500 employees worldwide.

The HI network is an organisation made up of a Federation (with 2 operational HQs in Lyon and Brussels), 8 national associations (Germany, Belgium, Canada, United States, France, Luxembourg, United Kingdom and Switzerland) and the HI Institute on Humanitarian Action. All these entities work concertedly to implement HI’s international aid and development mandate.

The Federation is responsible for implementing the network’s social missions in around sixty countries. It operates under the names “Humanity & Inclusion” or “Handicap International” depending on the country.

The national associations are known as “Handicap International” in continental Europe (Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and Switzerland) and “Humanity & Inclusion” in Canada, United Kingdom and United States. Each association has its own board of trustees.

CONTEXT:

HI works alongside people with disabilities and vulnerable groups taking actions and bearing witness in order to respond to their essential needs and to improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights.

For more than 35 years, our teams and partners have demonstrated that solutions can be found, by working with the individuals, their families, and their communities, and by taking into account the human resources, expertise and equipment available locally. The organization proposes a comprehensive approach to improve the living conditions of people with disabilities as well as vulnerable persons.

Within the inclusive education (IE) sector, there are 3 specialists across 27 countries with one specialist managing the overall team and sector. As Policy and Development Officer, you would bring new skills and expertise to this expanding area and support the IE team with the development of new projects, leading specifically on larger scale project development especially with newer donors. Now that disability mainstreaming is becoming more popular amongst general education partners, you will help to build new partnerships and consortiums. There will also be a specific focus on developing HI’s expertise on Technical Assistance, in the field of Inclusive Education. In addition, you will directly support field staff implementing inclusive education projects in key programmes and provide ad hoc support where the needs arise to other programme teams.

You will be a member of the inclusive education team under the management of the Inclusive Education Manager, based in London, under the wider Social & Inclusion Division , whose director is in Lyon. The successful candidate will also report to the office where you are based.

OBJECTIVES:

You will provide technical support and engage in communication and advocacy in inclusive education, respecting HI’s mandate, policies and technical positioning. The main aim is to develop and expand the HI’s profile and impact through:

• Developing new business development opportunities and promoting HI’s inclusive education technical positioning approaches, know-how and expertise in relevant mainstream networks with the objective to form alliances and consortia. Inclusive Education is one of the two main pillars within the new Social & Inclusion technical strategy and as part of this strategy, HI aims to promote it’s “ added value” and niche areas of expertise to external stakeholders in the wider education sector.
• To support on the development of key materials for the wider IE sector ( both internal and external documents)
• Establishing key relationships with external agencies through networking ( both in academia and policy contexts)
• To support on the development of technical assistance to mainstream organizations, policy makers, and states, by developing the content of new projects, and providing technical expertise and capacity building to HI staff to support implementation ).
• Contributing to influencing donor and stakeholder policies including states , practices and budget priorities to improve inclusion of children and young people with disabilities and vulnerable children in education in international development ;

This is a full-time position. You will regularly travel internationally, including to Europe/North America as well as to countries of intervention. In all the areas of responsibility below, you will work closely with the other members of the IE team, but will take a lead on the overall business development aspect.

In this part, your main responsibilities will be:

• Expertise in Inclusive Education ( at sector and field level):
• Business Development and Technical Assistance opportunities
• Policy influence and Networking

DESIRED PROFILE:

• You hold a Masters University degree in education or education related degree
• You demonstrate practical hands on experience in working in inclusive education, ideally for children with disabilities, and a range of ages.
• You already had technical support position and oversight to education programs
• You have experience in developing technical materials including tools, guidance, and training materials
• You have already worked collaboratively with other services (e.g. protection, health, rehab etc…)
• You have experience of working in low/middle income country contexts.
• You have strong understanding and experience of grant and business development proposal processes.
• You have background experience in networking, building partnerships and policy development in the field of education
• You did work with the private sectors and know about commercial contracts on tenders for technical assistance
• You know how to communicate key ideas to a wide audience (e.g. developing briefs)
• You have excellent written and oral communications and networking skills, capacity to transfer skills and train or coach others
• You are Fluent in English and have basic knowledge in French – Other languages (arabic, Spanish …) would be an asset

CONDITIONS OF THE POSITION:

• Type of contract: open-ended contract
• The position can be in HQ and in national associations of HI : France, Canada, United States, and United Kingdom
• HI is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. HI is committed to maintaining a work environment that is free of discrimination based on any grounds. These grounds generally include race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, genetic information or carrier status, pregnancy, victims of domestic violence, military status, alienage, citizenship status, or any other legally protected status. Applicants for employment are recruited and hired based on their qualifications for the job. Promotion decisions will be made without discrimination and based on performance and qualifications.