Technical Specialist Job in Garowe, Somalia


Technical Specialist – Teachers Education - [Somalia/Somaliland] Country Office

Team/Programme:Technical Support Team   
Location:  [Garowe]
Grade:  TBC     
Post Type: National or International

Child Safeguarding:

Level 3 - the responsibilities of the post may require the post holder to have regular contact with or access to children or young people

Role Purpose: 

The Technical Specialist (TS)– Teachers Education, will provide overall technical advice and support to all projects related to Teachers Education in Puntland. 

He/She will play a leading role in capacity building of Area teams, partners, consortium members and other local actors in Puntland in the areas of teachers’ education. 

The TS will also play a pivotal role in providing adequate technical support to the Area/operations teams to ensure technical quality throughout the project implementation cycle. 

She/he will work with quality programmes and Area teams to promote and disseminate good practices and lessons learned in technical aspects in projects internally and support Area teams in advocacy at Area level on quality teachers’ education.     
 
Scope of Role: 

Reports to: [Head of Education]

Dimensions: Save the Children works in [four] regions in [Somalia/Somaliland] with a current staff complement of approximately [450] staff and current expenditure of approximately [US$60] million each year.

Staff directly reporting to this post: None

Key Areas of Accountability:

Programme Development 
  • Participate in development of thematic strategy in education in line with Save the Children’s Country Strategic Plan for Somalia/Somaliland programme and contribute from teachers’ education perspective 
  • Initiate ideas and support the proposal development  in the area of teachers training and bridge the gap
  • Participate in development of ambitious yet practical education plans as part of the Country Annual Plans and contribute from teachers’ education perspective
  • Provide high quality technical inputs in to developing cost-effective, innovative and sustainable proposals related to teachers’ education for quality children’s education in Somalia/Somaliland 
  • Plan and ensure adequate budgets are available in proposals for staff, partner, community and other stakeholders’ capacity building in technical areas in line with project objectives
  • Work with quality programmes team to provide technical guidance and inputs to the Area/operations teams for them to develop concept notes and proposals related to teachers’ education
  • Forge links, wherever applicable, with other thematic areas of Somalia/Somaliland programme i.e. child protection, child rights governance, health & nutrition, DRR and Food security & livelihoods for developing integrated projects for difficult to reach children in Somalia/Somaliland
Technical Assistance and Capacity Building
  • Develop and implement a relevant and sustainable capacity building plan for Area/operations teams, partners and consortium members in areas of teachers’ education for quality delivery of education projects and enhanced local capacity for sustainable promotion of Save the Children’s education goals for children in Somalia/Somaliland    
  • Build the capacity of teacher education unit from both ministries and the capacity of teachers training institutions we work with
  • Provide continuous and profession technical support to consortium members of Somali Youth Leadership Initiative (SYLI)
  • Support Area/operations teams and relevant project/programme managers in relevant technical capacity of parents, communities, schools, teachers, institutions and government to improve overall quality and relevance of teachers’ education to children in Puntland
  • Build technical capacity in the area teams, partners and consortium members to produce top class donor reports of projects related to teachers’ education, by working with quality programmes team
  • Support the Area/operations team in identifying and addressing technical gaps in planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting of teachers’ education projects, in coordination with quality programmes team
Representation and Advocacy
  • Work with other members in education team and quality programmes team to support Area/operations teams in developing local-specific advocacy strategies and messages in the areas of teachers’ education. 
  • Support Area teams as requested and build their capacity to lead representation and advocacy in technical, government and civil society fora within the Area, related to teachers’ education  
  • Participate as delegated in relevant external fora including donor meetings and clusters related to education   
  • Support SC’s Head of Education in identifying key opportunities and events for Save the Children to position itself as the leading organisation for education issues in Puntland
  • Along with Head of Education, identify and secure potential technical resource persons and organisations for their support in advancing Save the Children’s advocacy in the sector. This involves forging partnerships.
Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation 
  • Work closely with quality programmes and operations teams to ensure that all projects related to teachers’ education have robust monitoring plans, baselines, reviews and evaluations in line with project designs and donor guidelines
  • Assist the Area teams in technical assessments of local/implementing partners
  • Assist quality programmes team technically to support Area teams and partners to carry out regular monitoring and measure and report on achievement and progress towards project objectives and results.
  • Along with quality programmes team, organise periodic technical project review meetings with Area teams (programme/project managers) and consortium partners and internally share progress and action
  • Carry out extensive field visits to document observations and experiences and share them with Area, quality and technical teams and influence management action for improvement of technical aspects in projects. 
  • Work with quality programmes team to carry out relevant studies and document and disseminate good practices in projects related to teachers’ education. 
People Management and Coordination 
  • Work closely with SC consortium partners such as Mercy Corps, CARE and others implementing SYLI and related teacher education programmes along with similar SC’s initiatives in Somaliland in sharing/replicating of good practices/lessons, tested training materials, methodologies etc with a view of creating harmonisation and effectiveness across the programmes
  • Work closely with quality programme and operations team in a matrix management environment for development and implementation of high quality projects in teachers’ education both in development as well as emergency situations. 
  • Functionally line manage relevant technical staff in the Area/Operations teams by coaching, mentoring and providing periodic constructive feedback for learning and development and capacity building 
  • Support the development of an organisational culture that reflects our dual mandate values, promotes accountability and high performance, encourages a team culture of learning, creativity and innovation, and frees up our people to deliver outstanding results for children and excellent customer service for our members and donors.
  • Skills and Behaviours (our Values in Practice)
Accountability:
  • Holds self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
  • Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved
Ambition:
  • Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves (and their team), takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages others to do the same
  • Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
  • Future orientated, thinks strategically
Collaboration:
  • Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, members and external partners and supporters
  • Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
  • Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to
Creativity:
  • Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
  • Willing to take disciplined risks
Integrity:
  • Honest, encourages openness and transparency
Qualifications and Experience
  • Degree in education or a related field. Additional training and experience in teachers’ training and pedagogical methods will be an advantage.
  • Recommended a minimum of six years of relevant technical experience including two years at senior level
  • Proven skills and experience in undertaking assessments and designing/writing quality technical proposals in the sector both in development and emergency contexts
  • Proven experience in writing up high quality project/donor reports
  • Proven experience of developing and managing high quality, innovative and cost-effective technical education projects in fragile and insecure environments, preferably in Somalia context and with International NGOs
  • Proven experience and skills in advocacy and building work relationships with local/national governments and influencing institutional, private and/or corporate donors
  • Solid experience and excellent skills in capacity building of systems, staff, partners and other actors related to teachers’ education
  • Ability to extensively travel for project monitoring and provide on-site technical support to field teams
  • Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills including influencing, negotiation and coaching
  • Highly developed cultural awareness and ability to work well in an international environment with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures
  • Strong results orientation, with the ability to challenge existing mindsets
  • Experience of solving complex issues through analysis, definition of a clear way forward and ensuring buy in
  • Ability to present complex information in a succinct and compelling manner
  • Ability and willingness to dramatically change work practices and hours, and work with incoming surge teams, in the event of emergencies
  • Willingness to be deployed part or full time in to emergency response as per need and as directed 
  • Fluency in English, both verbal and written, required
  • Commitment to Save the Children values
Interested candidates are required to submit a CV and mandatory cover letter quoting the Job Title on the subject line.  

The file name of the CV and attachments must be the applicants name and sent to Somalia.vacancies@savethechildren.org.

Applications close on 28th March 2013.