Job Description

The British Council is seeking expressions of interest from experienced education experts for a major EU-funded programme which is focused on improving the quality and equality of the primary and secondary education systems in Iraq through capacity building at Ministry and school level. The programme’s main objectives include:

• Increasing enrolment rates by analysing the main causes of low enrolment and developing strategies to address the differential rates.
• Raising the quality of education at primary and secondary school level by building capacity to enhance the curriculum, particularly in the areas of human science and peace education, and to support children with particular needs, including those with disabilities, children with special needs, Internally Displaced People (IDPs), refugees, and children with psychosocial support requirements, potentially including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
• Increasing access to education for children with disabilities through the collection of baseline data, updating legislation and the curriculum, capacity building and awareness-raising.
• Raising the quality of education through enhanced quality assurance of schools against standards.

About the role

Research has been undertaken under the first objective to examine the causes of drop out from school. Interviews with students who have dropped out and those in danger of dropping out have highlighted that difficulty in the learning of English, Mathematics or Science is one of the major causes. We are therefore focussing on improving the teaching of these subjects in 1,000 schools in nine Governorates and are seeking experts who can work with our national experts to:

• further analyse the effect on dropout of the teaching of English, mathematics and science at primary level
• make recommendations on possible strategies to improve the teaching of English, mathematics or science, based on this analysis
• following acceptance of the strategies, work with a group of Iraqi educators to develop a teacher training programme in the area of English, mathematics or science, within the constraints of the programme
• in collaboration with Iraqi educators design and develop materials for the training of trainers in English, mathematics or science
• deliver training in English, mathematics or science to cadres of trainers who will then run courses for teachers

Location: Home-based with occasional travel to the region. Please note that travel to the region will be required for meetings and workshops to be held in Erbil, Kurdistan, however during the current situation it may be necessary to move these to Beirut, Lebanon.

Start date: May 2018

End date: May 2020

Qualifications and experience required

Interested candidates should have the following qualifications, skills and professional experience:

Essential

• At least five years of professional experience in designing and delivering training of trainer programmes to develop the capacity of teachers of English, mathematics or science.
• More than five years’ experience of working within large-scale programmes in the area of education reform.
• Proven track record of providing technical assistance and capacity building on at least one donor funded programme in developing countries in the area of education reform.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with a proven ability to work as part of a team.
• Excellent writing and analytical skills, combining a high degree of competence in writing technical reports.

Desirable

• Experience in and/or understanding of the Middle East and North Africa, with proven knowledge of the challenges facing the education system in Iraq an advantage.
• Excellent and effective (verbal and written) communication skills in Arabic.

How to apply

Applications should include:

• a cover letter tailored to the above requirements
• a CV
• expected fee (cost will be a consideration in appointment of a consultant).

Please send the above to enquiries.development@britishcouncil.org with the title Short-Term Expert for school enrolment and indicate your preferred subject - English, Mathematics or Science by 26 April 2018

CVs will be pre-selected according to the criteria listed above. We will only contact those candidates whose profiles correspond most closely with the person specification and only within 5 working days of the application deadline.

About the Organization

Our purpose is to build mutually beneficial relationships between people in the UK and other countries and to increase appreciation of the UK's creative ideas and achievements. This work is driven by our strong belief in internationalism, a commitment to professionalism and an enthusiasm for creativity. These qualities, coupled with our integrity and our conviction that cultural relations can help individuals and the world community to thrive, make the British Council a good partner and a special place to work.