Regional Coordinator Consultancy – Europe and Central Asia Region

Position title: Regional Coordinator Consultancy – Europe and Central Asia Region

Organization: Aflatoun

Location: Remotely with willingness and ability to travel extensively in the region

Job type Consultancy/Full time: – (36-40 hours per week)

Remuneration: Depending on the type of contract and which location you are based in

Comment: Inclusive, holiday allowance, National taxes and health insurance, and communications – Necessary equipment will be provided

Deadline: 07/02/24

The Organization

Aflatoun International is a non-profit organization, which offers social, financial & entrepreneurship education to children and young people worldwide, empowering them to make a positive change for a more equitable world. Aflatoun creates high-quality curricula for different age groups, which are contextualized to local needs and circumstances, and are implemented by over 300 partner organizations in 101 countries. Aflatoun programmes inspire children to discover their talents and put them to use, to stand up for their rights and those of their communities through active learning and problem solving. They learn how to save, how to budget, and how to set up social and financial enterprises that benefit themselves, their families and their communities. Aflatoun has been recognized globally (Brookings, Harvard, HundrEd, Million Lives Club) for its high-impact, low-cost model, which has shown to be effective in changing behaviors of participants across the globe.

By using a social franchise model, Aflatoun transfers curricular content, monitoring and evaluation tools, and training capacity to partner organisations, helping them enhance their existing expertise and create an efficient learning ecosystem. Aflatoun’s programmes follow an active-learning, participant- centered methodology, which combines social and financial education (SFE) through engaging participants, educators, government institutions and civil society organisations.

We are currently looking for a dedicated and enthusiastic Regional Coordinator – Europe and Central Asia to join us in our mission.

Purpose of the consultancy

Aflatoun International’s network across the world is expanding and we are looking for a qualified candidate for the role of Regional Coordinator for the Europe and Central Asia region. In this position, you will play a key role in coordinating Aflatoun’s Regional Hub; which is a newly established setting that serves Aflatoun’s partners in the Europe and Central Asia region, offers technical support, facilitate the coordination of the partners’ activities and coordinates implementation of projects and initiatives in the Europe and Central Asia region.

The Regional Coordinator will work closely with the programme manager for the Europe and Central Asia region and the Regional Representative of the Global Board. She/he is responsible for coordinating and monitoring the delivery of main initiatives and activities across implementing partners and ensuring effective engagement with other key stakeholders. The successful candidate will demonstrate her/his capacity to be a key facilitator, who can lead several regional initiatives, build successful partnerships and liaise with multiple implementing partner organizations to ensure operational and programmatic efficiency and success.

Deliverables (including dates)

• Partner Network
• Lead Aflatoun’s Regional Hub and coordinate its activities.
• Coordinate Aflatoun activities/events on a regional level.
• Facilitate partners exchange activities in the region.
• Provide technical support to existing Aflatoun partners.
• Liaise with the Europe and Central Asia regional representative to further strengthen the network
• Support Aflatoun in growing the partner network by identifying and recruiting new partners.
• Conduct due diligence based on Aflatoun’s requirements.
• Support the implementation of strategic projects & initiatives in the region.
• Write reports and provide regional updates.
• Support the partners in fundraising efforts.

Advocacy

• Advocate with regional bodies and national governments to mainstream the social financial education in school curricula and major government programs for child and youth empowerment.
• Advocate with non-governmental entities by identifying key partners to support in the mainstreaming of the social financial education in their programme areas.
• Plan and implement advocacy events: conferences, webinars etc.

Capacity building

• Organize and deliver trainings and workshops to key partners.
• Support the capacity building for key partners such as governments and non-governmental organizations

External Representation

• Represent Aflatoun externally and present work in regional events, meetings and conferences.

• Reach out to UN regional bodies, other regional networks and initiatives in the field of social and financial education (such as SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization), OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), CAREC (Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation), European Investment Bank, European Commission, HCNM (High Commissioner on National Minorities), OECD and Eurojust) and engage with their initiatives and events.

• Identify regional funding opportunities and building consortiums for projects proposals.

  Non-technical responsibilities as Aflatoun staff

• Positively contribute to team discussions and the effective running of the organization;

• Cross-departmental collaboration, compliance with organizational policies and procedures including submitting monthly timesheets;

• Facilitate the regional group on the Aflatoun Interactive Network Platform;

• Maintain contacts’ details and key communications in the organization’s relationship management system, Salesforce;

• Promote Aflatoun’s work on social media;

• Perform other duties and tasks, consistent with the skills and expertise, as required in non-routine circumstances;

• Be willing to adapt to different tasks and different cross-organizational tasks, this includes but is not limited to helping deliver Aflatoun events such as the International Conferences and staff retreats.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in international relations, economics, social science, human rights, education or related field required, with 3-5 years of work experience; or Master’s Degree in relevant fields with at least 2 years of experience.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience coordinating projects in relevant areas such as education; youth employability and entrepreneurship; improving quality and access to financial services; development of community participation in the improvement of livelihoods and food security.
• Fluent written and spoken English and Russian is required. Knowledge of additional languages such French, Spanish or Arabic would be an advantage.
• Currently lives in one of the Europe and Central Asia region’s countries.
• Experience or knowledge of international child development, including regional and multilateral initiatives, NGOs and working directly with adolescents and Youth.
• Excellent interpersonal and presentation skills, and comfort moderating or managing public engagements (meetings and trainings).
• Advocacy experience with government bodies at local, national or regional level.
• Capacity to work well under pressure, and the ability to communicate appropriately and effectively cross-culturally is critical.
• Ability to work remotely and independently with minimum supervision.
• Understanding and willingness to conduct work and demonstrate behaviours in line with Aflatoun International’s values and policies.
• Strong computer skills, including sound knowledge of Windows and Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Ability and willingness to travel locally, regionally and internationally.

Hiring details

The position is for a Consultancy. We offer a dynamic and pleasant multicultural working environment.

Due to the nature of Aflatoun’s work with children around the world, specific attention is drawn towards Aflatoun’s Child Protection Policy and its Policy on the Protection of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA). These two policies are required to be signed by consultants and forms part of the consultancy contract. The applicant commits to zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse. An additional written test may be required.

Screening for integrity is part of the recruitment process. Aflatoun considers it important to ensure the reliability, professionalism and the Integrity of its organization and its team. By applying for this position, the candidate accepts to be screened by Aflatoun which involves conducting a background check with 2 referees from the professional environment of the candidate, submitting a self-declaration of good conduct along with the CV and cover letter, and submitting a declaration of good conduct issued by the Judicial Documentation system in their home country in case they reach the final stage of the hiring process. The screening will cover up to 10 years. Only the data relevant for the screening of the position will be collected. In case the candidate is not selected for the position, the data will be destroyed 4 weeks after the closing of the position.

For technical positions, an additional written test may be required.