Senegal: Director of Education & Community Engagement, Equitable Access to Education in Southern Senegal

Director of Education and Community Engagement, Equitable Access to Education in Southern Senegal

Effective with the release of this position announcement, Winrock International is recruiting applicants for the position of Director of Education and Community Engagement for an anticipated USAID Equitable Access to Education in Southern Senegal project. The project will aim to promote increased equitable access to education to girls and boys aged 9-16 living in crisis-affected Casamance regions (Ziguinchor, Sédhiou, Kolda) and Kédougou region. Specifically, this activity seeks to:

• Offer complementary education services that provide basic education that is responsive to communities’ needs,
• Ensure that formal basic education is responsive to communities’ needs,
• Increase transition from primary to middle school, and
• Support efforts that enable families and caregivers to enroll out-of-school children in responsive education services

General: Winrock International is a nonprofit organization that works with people in the United States and around the world to empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity, and sustain natural resources. By linking local individuals and communities with new ideas and technology, Winrock is increasing long-term productivity, equity, and responsible resource management to benefit the poor and disadvantaged of the world.

Salary: The annual salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. Excellent benefits.

Applications: Qualified Senegalese nationals and women are strongly encouraged to apply. Winrock would like to thank all applicants for their interest but only candidates who meet all requisite criteria and are short listed will be contacted. EEOE/AA.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Position Title: Director of Education & Community Engagement, Equitable Access to Education in Southern Senegal

Location: Senegal

Department: Civil Society & Education

Reports to: Chief of Party, Equitable Access to Education in Southern Senegal

Position Summary:

Manage overall basic education technical program work and provide expertise on community engagement to promote equitable access to education in target regions. Responsible for overseeing the development of complementary basic education curriculum for out-of-school youth in line with Senegal’s formal curriculum and MoE policies. S/he will provide technical oversight to the Education & Community Engagement Technical Program Unit as well as teacher trainers in the field and provide guidance to staff and partners in all field offices, implement and monitor technical initiatives, and work with communities, education offices and partners to maximize local capacity.

The position is contingent upon receipt of donor funding.

Essential Responsibilities:

Director of Education & Community Engagement responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Overall management and implementation of basic education program activities. This includes, but is not limited to: planning and budgeting, human resource management and development, communication and coordination with students, parents, teachers, APEs, donor agencies, Ministry of Education, and other organizations supporting development of education in Senegal;
• Strategic direction of program towards enhancing relevance, quality, and accessibility of formal and complementary basic education opportunities in the Casamance and Kédougou regions, to include: community engagement; conflict sensitivity; teacher and learner well-being; school development planning; integrated positive youth development approaches and life skills training; curricula development; teacher/facilitator and head teacher training; APE empowerment; systems strengthening; and other education activities;
• Coordination of complementary basic education and school strengthening team activities with all project areas (field management, monitoring and evaluation, grants and operations and security); ensure education activities are closely integrated with other project activities, including household livelihood development;
• Regular communication and coordination with the Chief of Party and key home office staff on technical and project management issues; Strengthen the technical capacity of staff to implement high quality education programs;
• Evaluate programmatic effectiveness and provide technical assessment reports. Responsible for writing project deliverables -- Quarterly Reports, Annual Reports, and other technical reports, with input from technical team, for review by WI Home Office and final submission to donor.
• Other related responsibilities as may be required to meet project’s technical needs.

Qualifications & Background:

Education:

• Master’s degree in one of the following or related fields: Education, Education Planning, Education Policy, Education Management or other relevant field.

Work Experience:

• Minimum of five (5) years field management experience in West Africa, preferably in Senegal in the field of Basic Education; and eight (8) years of experience in development programs.
• Experience and facility with rapidly changing project designs

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Proven ability to successfully implement multi-faceted education interventions at the community and school level
• Preparation of work plans, budgets and other key project documents. Experience with Do No Harm programming a plus;
• Knowledge and practical experience developing standards for assessment systems, including for student learning outcomes, teacher performance, and school performance;
• Knowledge of USAID project management, evaluation procedures and standards, and requirements
• Knowledge of education policy issues that affect educational access and student learning
• Knowledge of all technical and management aspects required to develop reliable and meaningful assessment tools that can inform complementary basic and remedial education curriculum, program design and teacher practice as well as policy direction
• Must be able to read, write, and speak English, French. Local language (Diola, Wolof et al) knowledge is highly desirable.
• Sensitivity to cultural diversity and understanding of the political, contextual, and ethical issues in Senegal
• Articulate and professional and able to communicate in a clear, positive fashion with clients and staff.
• Proven ability to manage, supervise and motivate a team of multi-cultural professional staff.

https://www.appone.com/MainInfoReq.asp?R_ID=1568889