Job Description
Background / General Description:
Established in 2002, the Global Partnership for Education (“Global Partnership” or GPE), formerly the Education for All Fast Track Initiative, has grown and evolved to become the premier partnership focused on basic education in developing countries. Its members include 60 of the world’s poorest developing countries, over 30 bilateral, regional, and multilateral agencies; development banks; the private sector; civil society groups; and teachers organizations. The Board of Directors is the Global Partnership’s governing body, sets its policies and strategies and approves all funding.
The mission of the Global Partnership is to galvanize and coordinate a global effort to deliver a good quality education to all children, prioritizing the poorest and most vulnerable. To that end, the Global Partnership helps its member countries to develop and implement sound education sector plans and has allocated approximately $4.1 billion in education grants to date. The Global Partnership mobilizes international financing and promotes/ efficient use of international and national resources to support developing countries’ education goals and sector strategies.
With about 78 staff, the GPE Secretariat is hosted by the World Bank in Washington, D.C. As a consequence of the partnership taking a greater leadership role in achieving international development goals in education, the Secretariat is developing its capacity to support country-level processes and to meet expectations from the partnership’s stakeholders to achieve concrete results and education outcomes for children in developing countries.
Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 2 year term appointment.
Duties and Accountabilities:
As part of the Strategy, Policy and Performance Team, the GPE is seeking an experienced, entrepreneurial and energetic education specialist to support and extend GPE’s global, regional and thematic initiatives in key areas of strategic focus for the organization. The successful candidate will report to GPE’s Chief Technical Officer/ Director of Strategy, Policy, and Performance. With a strong understanding of barriers that block the achievement of education for all, and of key GPE partners and their activities, the Education Specialist, Global, Regional and Thematic Activities will support a portfolio of existing initiatives and play a key role in responding to new opportunities that enhance the strategy objectives of the partnership. S/he will be charged with the following responsibilities:
- Lead the incubation of special projects and initiatives in key thematic or technical areas aligned to the GPE’s Strategic goals and objectives, including through the development of the business cases for new initiatives.
- Work with SPP and other GPE teams to host working groups, workshops, and events on thematic issues, reaching out to partners at international, regional and national levels.
- Work in collaboration with other task team members to ensure the establishment, maintenance and strengthening of GPE’s activities and initiatives in such areas as gender, humanitarian emergencies, teaching, learning, inclusion/out of school children and others.
- Support and monitor GPE’s portfolio of Global and Regional Activities, ensuring that all GRA tools and knowledge products are available for use by GPE countries and the Country Support team.
- Work with Technical Reference Committees of the partnership on thematic/technical areas on an advisory basis.
- Support the development of GPE’s platform for global and regional policy initiatives.
- Represent GPE at various international forums, and provide overall strategic guidance, direction, and technical leadership.
- Provide policy briefs, reports and analyses in areas of GPE strategic focus.
- Work closely with other teams (particularly the Partnership and External Relations Team and the Country Support Team) in the development of GPE’s technical activities and collaborations.
Additionally it is expected that (s)he will
- Represent SPP in certain Secretariat meetings and tasks;
- Support SPP to prepare materials for presentations and follow up actions;
- Contribute content to the GPE web site;
- Undertake periodic mission travel to support GPE’s global, regional and thematic activities;
- Contribute to other tasks as needed.
The Education Specialist, Global, Regional and Thematic Activities is accountable for performing the responsibilities, modeling the behaviors and maintaining the technical competencies (listed below) in his or her capacity as a member of the GPE Strategy, Policy and Performance Team. Accountability means being answerable for managing quality, risks, results, institutional initiatives and compliance with GPE policies and procedures
Selection Criteria
- Master’s degree in a related discipline (PhD preferred), with training and work experience in education sector policy work in developing countries, basic education, with supporting skills in both quantitative and qualitative policy analysis;
- Five or more years of relevant experience, with at least three years’ experience in a similar function at the international level, preferably in an international development organization that has demonstrated leadership and entrepreneurship in the development of knowledge/best practice initiatives in the education sector.
- Demonstrated ability to design new programs and activities, develop business cases, and prepare strategy and policy related briefs and reports on thematic initiatives.
- Proficiency in French and English, meaning the ability to work (converse, read and write) in both languages;
- Ability to communicate clearly and accurately both verbally and in writing;
- Experience in education sector related research, monitoring and evaluation would be an asset.
Competencies:
- Knowledge and Experience of Education in developing countries- Demonstrates relevant experience in the field of education policy and policy implementation, with a focus on global and national efforts to achieve education for all.
- Policy Analysis - Demonstrates substantive working or functional proficiency level sufficient to apply this competency to all tasks requiring the competency including those with significant challenges.
- Lead and Innovate- Develops innovative solutions.
- Deliver Results for Clients- Proactively addresses clients’ stated and unstated needs.
- Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries- Collaborates across boundaries, gives own perspective and willingly receives diverse perspectives.
- Create, Apply and Share Knowledge- Applies knowledge across WBG to strengthen solutions for internal and/or external clients.
- Make Smart Decisions - Interprets a wide range of information and pushes to move forward.
The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background. Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidentiality.
