Technical Advisor II – Early Childhood and Basic Education

JOB DESCRIPTION

Note: This position is dependent upon funding as well as the donor’s approval of the proposed Education Advisor.

About CRS

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding.

CRS has been present in Jerusalem, West Bank, and Gaza (JWBG) since 1961 and currently supports programs in the sectors of humanitarian relief, livelihoods, civil society strengthening, and social justice promotion through its field offices in Jerusalem, Gaza, and Bethlehem. For further information about CRS, please visit: www.crs.org.

Job Summary:

CRS is seeking applicants for a Technical Advisor for Early Childhood and Basic Education, for an anticipated USAID Basic Education Activity (BEA). The objective is to strengthen non-governmental education services for Palestinian children of KG 1 through Grade 6 that will enable them to thrive and reach their full developmental potential. CRS will work with the private sector, non-formal, non-governmental, community-based, and civil society partners to strengthen non-governmental early childhood and primary educational opportunities through high quality early childhood education services and supplemental support structures to strengthen foundational pre-primary and primary education for children in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.

As the Technical Advisor II, you will provide technical advice, guidance, and support to a wide range of program design and implementation issues with a focus on larger projects in the area of early childhood (ECE) and basic education (BE) in line with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) program quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices to regional and Country Program (CP) teams to advance the delivery of high-quality programming to the poor and vulnerable. Your technical knowledge, advice and guidance will contribute to determining how effective, adaptive, and innovative CRS’ programming is ECE and BE across the globe.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Contribute to the development and implementation of agency-wide strategies, standards, tools, and best practices in early childhood and basic education that effectively engage partners, donors and governments.
• Help ensure a cross-sectoral approach integrating gender, protection mainstreaming, and disaster risk reduction.
• Provide technical solutions to regional and CP teams, remotely and on-site, for strategic planning and how to best apply program design and implementation standards, best practices, partnership principles, tools, and M&E, ensuring high-quality implementation.
• Contribute to regional and CP efforts to pre-position CRS for growth opportunities in early childhood and basic education. Lead or contribute to the development of the technical design for large and/or complex proposals, including defining appropriate monitoring systems and indicators.
• Advise project teams on integrating donor strategies, priorities, and technical requirements into CRS’ approach.
• Contribute to capacity strengthening initiatives in early childhood and basic education programming for staff and partner through helping develop learning and training strategies and agendas/curriculums, conducting trainings and workshops, and mentoring and coaching to CP staff.
• Contribute to knowledge management and learning through collecting and analyzing program data, evaluating strategic projects, assisting with measuring program impact, capturing, and sharing lessons learned and best practices, and research and internal reports.
• Establish and maintain relationships with donors, peer organizations, research, and other institutions. Participate in forums in early childhood and basic education to collect and share best practices and promote CRS’ work.

QUALIFICATIONS

Basic Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree in early childhood and basic education, education or related field required.
• Minimum of five years relevant international working experience in an advisory or management role with progressive responsibilities, ideally with an international NGO, with minimum of three years working for programming interventions in early childhood and basic education
• Previous experience providing technical assistance and developing successful proposals for external donor funding is required.
• Demonstrated application of technical principles and concepts in early childhood and basic education. General knowledge of other related disciplines to ensure proper cross-sectoral approach.
• Experience in business development, project design and proposal development in early childhood and basic education, including technical writing.
• Experience in mentoring, coaching, facilitation and training applying adult learning principles and practices.
• Experience with program monitoring and evaluation, including applying data collection tools and methodologies, data analysis, and data presentation.
• Experience and skills in networking and relations with donors, peer organizations, and faithbased and civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.
• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks.

Required Languages: Fluency in Arabic and English

Travel – Must be willing and able to travel up to 30%, including occasional international travel, when requested.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Excellent relationship management skills with ability to influence and get buy-in from people not under direct supervision and to work with individuals in diverse geographical and cultural settings.
• Strong strategic, analytical, problem-solving and systems thinking skills with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Strong presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills.
• Proactive, resourceful and results oriented.

Preferred Qualifications:

• A PhD from an accredited university in Education, Early Childhood Education, or related field.
• At least 10 years working experience in the field of early childhood education, remedial education, non-formal education, foundational learning, and extra-curricular programming in the areas of extracurricular, or girls’ education programs.
• Significant prior experience with early childhood education programming, and experience working in the education sector and an understanding of the local context.
• Experience working in developing and/or humanitarian contexts.
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Demonstrated application of technical principles and concepts in early childhood and basic education. General knowledge of other related disciplines to ensure proper cross-sectoral approach.
• Experience in using assessment and measurement tools and developing materials for ECE and BE.
• Experience in developing monitoring and evaluation systems for education programs is highly desired.
• Strong leadership skills and the ability to develop relations with technical staff, local counterparts, donors, and other stakeholders.
• At least four years of work experience in the MENA region

Agency REDI Competencies (for all CRS Staff):

Agency competencies clarify expected behaviors and attitudes for all staff. When demonstrated, they create an engaging workplace, help staff achieve their best, and help CRS achieve agency goals. These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

• Personal Accountability – Consistently takes responsibility for one’s own actions.
• Acts with Integrity – Consistently models values aligned with CRS Guiding Principles and mission. Is considered honest.
• Builds and Maintains Trust – Shows consistency between words and actions.
• Collaborates with Others – Works effectively in intercultural and diverse teams.
• Open to Learn – Seeks out experiences that may change perspective or provide an opportunity to learn new things.

Agency Leadership Competencies:

• Lead Change – Continually looks for ways to improve the agency through a culture of agility, openness, and innovation.
• Develops and Recognizes Others – Builds the capacity of staff to reach their full potential and enhance team and agency performance.
• Strategic Mindset – Understands role in translating, communicating, and implementing agency strategy and team priorities.

Supervisory Responsibilities: Program activity team

Key Working Relationships:

Internal: Country Program staff, including Head of Programs, Country Representative, Head of Operations, finance and procurement teams, CRS regional and headquarters teams.

External: Partners and donor counterparts, private sector and relevant government agencies.

Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

***Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. We welcome as a part of our staff people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need. CRS’ processes and policies reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

CRS prioritizes candidates who are citizens/ permanent residents of the countries where we have CRS offices. Women, people with disabilities, and other underrepresented populations are encouraged to apply and to seek CRS support on the application process where additional accommodation is required.

Note: All positions requiring residence or frequent travel outside their home country must undergo and clear a pre-employment medical examination.

ABOUT US

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding.

ABOUT THE TEAM

CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding the rights and dignity of all people – especially children and vulnerable adults – to live free from abuse and harm.

CRS welcomes candidates from the countries and regions in which we work. In the event the successful candidate is an expatriate or global telecommuter, the anticipated duration of the assignment is informed by a term limit, based on the type and level of the job and the needs of the agency.

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer