The Organisation
Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.
We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination and it’s girls who are most affected.
Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.
We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.
We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 80 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries.
The Opportunity
Plan International seeks an outstanding Education and Girls Learning Expert [Position ****Contingent upon the pending and full ToR being published by the donor and *Contingent upon successful securing of the funding by Plan International*] to provide overall technical support (in thematic area of Education and Girls Learning) to the design and implementation of the anticipated UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s (FCDO) funded programme in Sierra Leone which will aim to improve access to education, learning, and sexual and reproductive health information for over 800,000 adolescent girls and children with disability in Sierra Leone. The programme will be delivered over 5 years (TBC). Further details including budget and geographical scope are yet to be confirmed.
Responsibilities
Technical delivery
Lead the quality planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting of the programme’s education and girls’ learning interventions.
Develop a framework for the design process of girls education/ learning interventions over the inception period, that draws on internationally recognised gender-transformative education planning and guidance. This will be done in collaboration with Government of Sierra Leone stakeholders.
Provide technical support to Government of Sierra Leone staff working with the consortium in the implementation of programme activities
Provide technical support to Plan Sierra Leone field staff, consortium partners and local implementing partner organisations to ensure project activities are being delivered in accordance with agreed minimum standards related to gender equality and social inclusion
Ensure programme design directly aligns with/ supports delivery of relevant government strategies to address gender inequalities and girls’ education
Support and contribute to the writing of the inception report to the donor and other regular reports to be produced throughout the programme
Support the development of costed annual workplans, as needed.
Ensure that Plan Internationals global policies for Child Protection (CPP), Safeguarding, and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI) are fully embedded across all project activities
Ensure documentation of case studies, best practices and lessons learned.
Support M&E colleagues in formulating indicators to measure the effectiveness of interventions to ensure girls are learning, staying in school and progressing to secondary education
Support M&E colleagues in the development of the M&E Framework
Based on M&E findings, support the process of adapting programming to ensure that interventions most effective/ relevant to context are applied across the programme
External representation and relationship building:
Represent Plan International Sierra Leone at project management committee meetings, consortium and government partner meetings at district, regional and national levels on behalf of the consortium, as needed
Build strong relationships with national, regional and district level Ministry of Education (and other relevant line ministries) officials responsible for addressing gender inequalities in education and coordinate regularly to ensure close alignment and complementarity of Government activities with those of the programme
Work with relevant Government representatives to ensure project activities are focused on sustainability post project implementation
Engage with key national, regional, and community stakeholders, including government representatives, donor, civil society, and academic institutions as needed
Present to various audiences on the technical aspects of gender-transformative education programming and support the process of dissemination of learning.
Support and capacity building to delivery teams:
Provide hands-on support to the Plan Sierra Leone project delivery team.
Promote mutual understanding and the sharing of ideas, information and experience on girls’ education issues among team members
Carry out capacity gap assessments and analysis with Plan International UK for Plan Sierra Leone project staff and coordinate training sessions based on gaps identified by the project.
GENERAL ACCOUNTABILITY
Ensure that Plan International’s global policies for Child Protection (CPP) and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI) are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.
Ensure staff understand Plan International’s commitment to driving a feminist agenda within the organisation, and the ambition for gender equality and gender transformative leadership is embedded in our value- based leadership framework.
The Person
In order to succeed in the challenging and varied role, you will have extensive experience in the following areas:
Extensive technical knowledge in the thematic area of girls’ education, including knowledge of current trends pertaining to social and gender norms in Sierra Leone
Knowledge of various strategies and interventions to support girls’ retention, progression and learning is essential
Experience of liaising with and supporting government to deliver education strategies at different levels of the education system (systems level and policy level)
Experience in implementing community-level interventions to promote positive gender norms and girls’ education and/ or acting as a technical advisor to such programmes
Experience of working on large, complex, donor-funded programmes. Preferably FCDO-funded contracts with results-based delivery on projects
Experience working with/ through partners, including building technical capacity of implementing partner organisations and government staff
Strong understanding of the contextual challenges faced by communities in Sierra Leone as well as solid working experience in the country
Strong public presentation skills and ability to represent the programme to a variety of audiences ranging from government representatives, donor, academic institutions, civil society, community representatives, and other as required.
Experience managing teams to deliver quality and meet deadlines
Familiarity with girl-centered, participatory approaches to data collection
Experience in supporting the design of both qualitative and quantitative M&E tools to capture changes in girls’ perceptions and experience of education
Strong passion and commitment to championing girls’ right to education and to challenging harmful gender and social norms and behaviours
Advanced report writing skills.
Education and language
Degree in a relevant field, for example, Education, Gender and Education, Gender Studies, Gender and Development, Development Studies, or Sociology
Fluency in English - both spoken and written
Knowledge of languages spoken in Sierra Leone would be an advantage
Type of Role: Fixed term contract (number of years TBC). Contract will be renewable on annual basis depending on performance, funding etc.; Unaccompanied position
Location: Freetown, Sierra Leone. Travel to programme field locations required (frequency TBC)
Salary: Competitive salary available
Reports to: Project Team Leader; Plan Sierra Leone Country Director (TBC)
Closing Date: 21st Dec 2021
How to apply:
Qualified candidates should send their CV and cover letter to programmeresourcing@plan-uk.org. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and only short-listed candidates will be contacted.**
Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert early.
Please note that only applications and CVs written in English will be accepted.
A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International's Child Protection Policy.
As an international child centred community development organisation, Plan International is fully committed to promoting the realisation of children's rights including their right to protection from violence and abuse. That means we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with.
Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. We must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.
Plan International operates an equal opportunities policy and actively encourages diversity, welcoming applications from all areas of the international community.