Regional Education Coordinator JRS WEST AFRICA AND THE GREAT LAKES

Organisational Context

The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is an international non-governmental organisation with a mission to accompany, serve, and advocate for the rights of refugees and forcibly displaced people. The organisation was founded in November 1980 and has a presence in over 50 countries. JRS undertakes services at national and regional levels with the support and guidance of an international office in Rome. The style of JRS service is human and spiritual, working in situations of greatest need, seeking the long-term wellbeing of refugees and displaced persons, while not neglecting their immediate or urgent needs. JRS offers opportunities to a wide variety of staff, local and international, while maintaining a realistic and localised scheme of salary/stipend, insurance, etc.

With a regional office in Yaoundé, JRS West Africa (WAF) and Great Lakes (GL) was set up in 1995 in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide and other widespread ethnic violence (in GL region) and in 2006 in WAF region in Chad (JRS biggest operation: 13 Camps and 181 305 people served).

Efforts in this region focus on education, protection, psychosocial support and livelihood. The education programs cover formal education (kindergarten, primary, secondary and post-secondary education), teacher training, and non-formal education, such as adult literacy and vocational training.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Under the direction and supervision of Fr Eric GOEH-AKUE, SJ, Regional Director of JRS West Africa and Great Lakes, the Regional Education Coordinator will be responsible for the following functions and responsibilities:

General objective of the position

· Educational support for JRS educational projects in the two regions. Coordination with members of regional offices, country offices and field teams for effective support in the implementation of quality education.

· Strengthening the quality of JRS education programs through continuous investigation and proposing improvements in education, within the framework of international standards on emerging education.

· Alignment of the JRS Education Strategy for the two regions based on the JRS Values ​​and International Strategy for Education.

· Support for refugees in this process of integration into the various national education systems.

· Build the capacities of educational institutions in refugee camps and forcibly displaced persons sites as well as JRS teams with a view to exiting JRS projects.

· Regular coordination with the various education actors in the countries of the two regions, UNHCR, partners, education cluster, Ministries of National Education and administrative authorities to ensure the effective exchange of information, technical support and advocacy within the framework of humanitarian education action in the countries of the two regions.

Main responsibilities of the position

1

Planning of activities

§ Under the supervision of the Regional Director, help the field teams to plan and prepare the monthly activities to be carried out for an effective support of the school programs in the camps and sites according to the established projects.

2

Project implementation

• Define and harmonize the pedagogical criteria for JRS.

• Joint planning, technical support and supervision in the implementation of the educational activities of the projects.

• Provision and development of reference materials and documents for the work of field teams.

• Support to national directors, project directors and national program officers in the development of annual projects.

Ø Build the capacities of teachers.

• Evaluate the training needs of teaching staff to improve performance

• Supervision and coordination of continuous training plans for projects.

• Implementation and improvement of the educational monitoring plan for projects in the region.

• Design and development of monitoring and evaluation tools for quality education

• Organize training in adapted methodologies

• Technical support for skills training projects.

Ø Support the self-care process

• Provide technical support for the smooth running of the process of integrating schools in refugee camps into the education system of the host country.

• Accompaniment of the work of accompaniment of Parents of Students Associations, supporting and strengthening the process of community participation.

• Technically support the JRS team in the development of the project exit strategy.

Ø Coordinate with the various players in Education.

• Regular participation in education coordination meetings with UNHCR and partners, education cluster and coordination meetings with the Ministry of National Education.

• Support the field teams in the technical coordination work with the decentralized state services.

• Ensure the effective exchange of information, technical support and advocacy within the framework of humanitarian education action between JRS and other actors.

3

Reporting

• Contribution to the development of reporting tools

• Write and share with program managers monthly activity reports.

• Report to JRS teams on agreements made in meetings with other education actors (UNHCR and partners, MEN, etc.).

4

Evaluation

• Participate in the identification of educational needs in the camps and new opportunities

• Propose or develop useful outlines for the evaluation of indicators concerning the impact of our projects on the quality of education in the camps.

• Take stock of the results of annual reviews of project beneficiaries.

• Support program managers in the monitoring and evaluation process

• Plan and coordinate meetings of program managers to promote an exchange framework

• Collaborate with national offices specializing in the field to facilitate the understanding and monitoring of educational tools

• Prepare, in collaboration with the program managers, an assessment of the level of implementation of projects and share with the national directors and the Regional Director, the impact of these projects on academic performance.

5

Others

• Technical support on the development of concept notes and proposals, especially those ones prepared for our main donors such us UNHCR, BPRM, Unicef and ECHO.

• Participate in the recruitment process of Education Specialist at national level.

Profile soughtSkills and qualifications**
Master in Educational Sciences.

Proven work experience of at least 3 years for the same position in a Humanitarian organization or have at least 5 years of experience in the field of teaching

Experience working with refugees or forcibly displaced persons. Knowledge of the reality of life in camps for refugees and displaced persons.

Knowledge of the education systems of the people served

Knowledge of the functioning of educational centers and training of teachers.

Knowledge of international standards on emerging education.

Be perfectly bilingual in French and English (oral and written).

Attitude and professional behavior: dynamism, capacity for coordination and teamwork, autonomy in the performance of one’s duties, leadership, honesty, sense of organization.

Master computer tools, especially software: Word, Excel.

Qualities

Adhere to the values of JRS and respect the code of conduct.

Ability to take initiatives and bring innovative ideas.

Communication skills.

Sense of discretion and responsibility.

Ability to adapt to working conditions and tasks that may change with the reality on the ground.

Leadership capacity and work organization

Ability to work in a pressurized environment.

Openness to a different culture

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The contract is for 1 (one) year, renewable with an initial probationary period of three months. The JRS remuneration policy is aligned with the JRS ethos of offering effective and professional services and at the same time expressing solidarity with the people served. The salary is calculated with the use of a post-adjustment multiplier and takes into account years of relevant experience and the degree of responsibility of the role. Details will be discussed with short-listed candidates.