ABOUT THE JOB
This job is located in Washington, DC.
Description
The successful candidate will report to the Chief of Staff in the Executive Office (EXO). The position
serves as Special Assistant and Advisor to the CEO. As such, the successful candidate will ensure
complete coordination and preparation for the CEO’s internal and external engagements, support
and advise the CEO’s decision-making and facilitate strategic internal communication to partners
and the Secretariat.
Duties And Accountabilities
The Special Assistant and Advisor (SAA) to the CEO will work closely with colleagues in EXO,
particularly the Sr Executive Assistant to the CEO and the Chief of Staff, and across the Secretariat to
provide appropriate and quality support and advice to the CEO. The SAA to the CEO will also provide
strategic support to the Chief of Staff and coordinate efforts to align leadership external
engagements.
Key responsibilities include the following:
- Manage the CEO’s internal and external engagements taking into consideration GPE priorities
- Coordinate efforts to align leadership external engagements by providing a platform to inform
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prioritization
- Participate to external engagements, including mission, and oversee logistics and itineraries in
close collaboration with the Sr Executive Assistant
- Coordinate and review the production of briefing material and talking points to support the CEO’s
engagement
- Support the CEO’s outreach to key partners and internal communication, including drafting,
proofing, and editing high level correspondence in English and in French
- Support and facilitate the CEO’s decision-making by prioritizing and tracking actions
- Advise the CEO on strategic, operational and logistical matters, including gathering data and
conducting analysis to support timely decision-making
- Support other key deliverables for the Executive Office and GPE leadership
- Provide strategic support to the Chief of Staff, including in an acting capacity for the Chief of Staff
when required
- Contribute to the development and implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and Knowledge management.
BACKGROUND
Are you a very passionate advocate for education? Do you want to make a difference in the lives of
children? The Global Partnership for Education Secretariat (GPE) would like to hear from you.
Who We Are
GPE is a shared commitment to end the world’s learning crisis. It is the only global partnership and
fund dedicated entirely to helping children in lower-income countries get a quality education, so
they can unlock their potential and contribute to building a better world.
We bring together governments, teachers, civil society, donors, United Nations agencies,
development banks, businesses and private foundations to transform education systems so that every girl and boy can have hope, opportunity and agency.
What We Do
GPE currently supports more than 80 low and lower-middle-income countries to transform their
education systems so that all children can get the education they need to thrive. We work where
the needs are greatest and focus on reaching the children who are the most vulnerable, including
girls, children with disabilities and those who live in countries characterized by extreme poverty or
conflict.
Our unique approach works. Since 2002, 160 million more children in GPE partner countries have set
foot in classrooms for the first time, more than half of them girls. GPE is also the largest provider of
education grants in the global COVID-19 response, providing partner countries with vital resources
to ensure that learning can safely continue.
How We Work
Now, GPE is working to help governments transform their education systems to get the most
vulnerable children in school, improve teaching and learning, and build equitable, inclusive and
resilient education systems fit for the 21st century. Between 2020-2025, GPE will support
transformative change in up to 90 countries and territories, which are home to 1 billion children.
Transforming education is about creating lasting changes and achieving impact at scale. GPE sets
out to deliver this transformative change by convening partners, mobilizing funds and catalyzing
reforms to help partner countries accelerate access, learning outcomes and gender equality.
Raise Your Hand
In July 2021, the Global Education Summit put GPE firmly on the path to be fully-funded by 2025, by
raising a record US $4 billion from donors for GPE’s Raise Your Hand campaign. At the Summit,
Heads of State and Government from partner countries made historic commitments to education
financing and GPE also mobilized an unprecedented number of pledges from businesses, private
foundations and development banks.
A fully funded GPE would support transformed education systems in up to 90 countries and
territories, enable up to 175 million children to learn and help get 88 million more girls and boys in
school by 2025. In the longer term, this investment could add $164 billion to economies in GPE
partner countries, lift 18 million people out of poverty, and protect 2 million girls from early marriage.
Governance And Organizational Arrangements
The GPE Board of Directors includes ministerial-level board members and alternates representing
20 constituencies that reflect the Partnership’s breadth. The Board Chair is HE President Jakaya
Kikwete and the Board Vice Chair is Christine Hogan. The Board of Directors, with its three standing
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committees, provides policy and strategic oversight and approves or delegates funding decisions.
The GPE Secretariat, with 160 employees and hosted by the World Bank, is responsible for translating
the policies and strategies set by the Board into practical support for partner countries,
coordinating with diverse stakeholders and galvanizing global support for SDG4. The Secretariat’s
headquarters are in the World Bank’s offices in Washington, D.C. and the European office is in Paris
with a satellite office in Brussels.
