Team Leader – Regional Facility for Teachers in Africa (RFTA) (M/W)

Mission description

Based in Expertise France coordination office in Paris, with regular travels to MS coordination offices in Europe and Africa, the Team Leader will be in charge of the overall supervision, coordination and representation of the Facility to achieve the project objectives in an efficient and effective manner.

He will oversee the day-to-day management of the Facility Implementation Team (FIT), comprised of 12 staff in charge of providing technical, financial, administrative and cross-cutting support to the 3 EU Member State operational teams in charge of delivering the 3 windows of the Facility.

In close cooperation with the Liaisons Officers in charge of the overall monitoring and support to the project in each MS agency’s headquarters, the Team Leader will be in charge of coordinating all governance bodies established to steer and follow progress in the implementation of the Initiative (Initiative Steering Committee, the Technical Coordination Committee and the Partnership Meeting).

He/she will maintain regular and frequent information exchange with Steering Committee and Technical Committee Members, MS administrations, EU Delegations, beneficiary institutions and other stakeholders of the project (mainly UNESCO and African Union).

Under the supervision of the Director of the Human Capital and Social Development Department at Expertise France’s headquarters in Paris/France, the main tasks entrusted to the Team Leader are:

Responsibility 1: Strategic Management and Oversight

• Assume overall responsibility and provide strategic guidance for Facility implementation.
• Coordinate with EU Commission services and engage with international education stakeholders to secure their involvement in defining the Facility’s strategic objectives.
• Prepare and facilitate the ISC (Initiative Steering Committee), the TCC (Technical coordination Committee), Partnership and the FIT (Facility Implementation Team) meetings.
• Ensure continuous alignment of the Facility with EU policies and strategies for Africa, AU’s Continental Education Strategy, SDGs, and any other relevant international framework or initiative for Teacher’s policy development in Africa.

Responsibility 2: Team Leadership and Coordination

• Lead, manage, and guide the Facility Management Team, through a direct (EF) or a functional link (MS agencies)
• Facilitate team coordination mechanisms through regular and ad hoc meetings.
• Lead the process of preparing consolidated work plans and annual budgets for the Facility
• Ensure all programming, financial and administrative matters related to the Facility comply with donor and EF policies and procedures and are transparently, expediently and effectively managed in line with established processes, rules and regulations, in coordination with the Support Services Coordinator.
• Allocate duties and coordinate timely processing of technical assistance requests submitted by eligible Sub-Saharan states.
• Set goals, objectives, and deliverables for team members.
• Coordinate continuous development and revisions of program procedures and tools (including the IT based Project Management Tool)
• Supervise implementation of the Facility information management system(s).
• Ensure that agreed measures for safety and security are in place and adhered to by all staff, in coordination with the Support Services Coordinator.

Responsibility 3: Reporting, Knowledge Management and MEAL

• Coordinate and review contributions of MS agencies to contractual and ad hoc reporting.
• Elaborate and consolidate donor (interim and final reports) and internal (RPP, THEMA, etc.) reporting.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive knowledge management and learning strategy, in close collaboration with the Knowledge Management Coordinator.
• Define and coordinate the goals, resources and activities related to the MEAL strategies, with support from the MEAL Coordinator.
• Supervise any necessary monitoring, learning or evaluation exercise conducted by Expertise France (or by a body engaged by Expertise France) or the donor.

Responsibility 4: Communication and Visibility

• Contribute to the development and implementation of the operational communication strategy and 3-year action plan of the Facility, in close link with INTPA 02.
• Participate actively in communication, visibility, and knowledge management events.
• Promote visibility and best practices of the Facility in collaboration with MS agencies.

The described tasks involve the necessity to network and interact with a multiplicity of institutions from EU and Sub-Saharan countries and require readiness and ability to travel abroad when necessary.

Project or context description

The Regional Teacher Initiative for Africa (RTIA), a programme funded by the EU/EC via the Education section (G3) of DG INTPA aims to improve learning outcomes and the socio-emotional development of children in Africa, by having a more competent, motivated and inclusive teacher workforce in basic education.

The RTIA will especially seek to achieve the following outcomes over the next 6 years:

1. Improve the governance, management, attractiveness, and gender balance of the teaching profession, with a strong focus on increased digitalisation and innovation.

2. Enhance the quality, relevance, and effectiveness of initial and continuous teacher professional development, notably through digital education, peer-to-peer learning approaches and regional collaboration.

Within RTIA, the Regional Facility for Teachers in Africa (RFTA) will support teacher policy and improve teacher education and professional development systems by i) providing capacity building at country level through technical assistance, ii) promoting innovation and scaling of effective teaching solutions; iii) increasing the production and use of data and evidence, and iv) promoting the use of regional frameworks, evidence-based practices, and joint learning at regional level.

The Regional Facility for Teachers in Africa (RFTA) will reach the above-mentioned objectives through 3 types of instruments or “windows”:

• one window to deliver technical assistance on teacher governance and teacher education and professional development based on the demand from eligible partner countries ,
• one window on testing and scaling effective programs for teacher education and professional development in the thematic areas of digital skills, gender, green skills, and pedagogical skills, including in the context of refugees and displaced populations,
• a research window to create new evidence and support the integration of evidence in the policy making process and in the design of teacher education and professional development programs.

In addition to these windows the Facility’s knowledge management and communication activities will further contribute to the sharing of knowledge, evidence, and best practices related to the overall Initiative outcomes.

The Facility will be funded by the European Union and be co-implemented by the Partnership formed by 3 member state agencies: Expertise France for France, Enabel for Belgium, EDUFI for Finland. Expertise France has been designated the Coordinating Agency for this Partnership. With the Facility governance scheme serving as the Initiative’s governance scheme, it is expected that the Partnership will work closely with UNESCO and UAC, in charge of the other 2 components of the EU Initiative.

The duration of the action is scheduled from 01.02.2024 to 31.01.2027 (36 months) with a budget of 46.000.000 EUR.

Required profile

Required Skills:

• Fluency in French and English (spoken and written) is essential. Other languages desired: Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic.
• Minimum Master diploma in Educational Sciences, Educational Policy and Planning, Economics of Education, Teacher Education, or equivalent by experience. A postgraduate degree in education related issues would be an asset.
• Profound understanding of teacher policy, teacher questions, teacher competency framework, and teacher education and professional development (including good practices).
• Profound understanding of international aid architecture in Sub-Sahara Africa.
• Working knowledge of education and teacher education systems and stakeholders in Sub-Sahara Africa.
• Excellent project management skills with good command of EU administrative, project management and financial procedures.
• Excellent project planning, organisational, interpersonal and communication skills.
• Strong analytical skills, excellent leadership competences, strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Proven ability to cooperate and negotiate with local and institutional partners as well as government representatives. Politically and culturally sensitive with qualities of patience, tact, and diplomacy.
• Full command of standard computer applications (Microsoft Office)

Required Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years’ professional experience in education project or programme management, preferably in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Demonstrated experience as project manager or a team leader of projects providing policy advice and capacity building to public institutions (eg. technical assistance, peer-to peer exchanges among civil servants, etc.) on education related issues.
• Experience managing large complex projects (> 10M€) preferably funded by the European union or other international donors.
• Ability to successfully manage and develop staff as demonstrated by past experience.
• Ability to manage partners, sub-contracts and grant programs with all required reporting requirements.
• Experience in working and coordinating with international and national partners, government and donor agencies.
• Working experience with the promotion of inclusivity of vulnerable groups, in the broad sense of the word.
• Work experience in a multi-lingual/international environment and ability to accommodate cultural differences to interact effectively with people of different cultures.