Education Director

CHILD SAFEGUARDING: 

Level 2: either the role holder will have access to personal data about children and/or young people as part of their work; or they will be working  in a ‘regulated’ position (accountant, barrister, solicitor, legal executive); therefore a police check  will be required (at ‘standard’ level in the UK or equivalent in other countries).

ROLE PURPOSE: 

As the Education Director for Save the Children Sudan CO, you will hold a pivotal position in leading and shaping the educational landscape of the nation. Managing a diverse portfolio exceeding 70 million dollars, generously funded by esteemed donors including the European Union Delegation (EUD), Education Cannot Wait (ECW), Global Partnership for Education (GPE), European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), and various other contributors, your role encompasses strategic oversight, program management, and stakeholder coordination. Operating within the intricate context of Sudan, characterized by unique challenges and opportunities, your leadership will be instrumental in driving sustainable progress, ensuring equitable access to quality education, and fostering the development of resilient and empowered communities.

SCOPE OF ROLE: 

Reports to: Deputy Country Director - Program Operations

Staff reporting to this post: 

Direct: CoP of EUD -inclusive education, CoP for ECW MYRP, EiE Senior Program Manager and GPE Program Manager

Key working with teams: Working closely wit Key Staff in CP, FSL as well as, DDPOs, HPIs, RoS and GK Education Manager, ACCM and  MEAL Teams

Budget Responsibilities:  70 + Million Dollars

Role Dimensions: This position will be based in Port Sudan with frequent field visits

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY: 

Strategic Direction, Program Design and Development 

• Take lead role in formulating CO’s vision for long term programming in Education in Sudan
• Introduce innovative ideas and approaches to support children’s education in Sudan; Identify needs and opportunities for potential programs, through situation analyses/feasibility studies, networking, and leveraging research and evaluation findings from both internal and external sources. 
• Work with Save the Children staff to develop funding strategies and proposals to expand the Education portfolio in line with strategic priorities and technical best practice from a range of sources. This will involve continuously developing concepts and innovations and packaging them for a range of donors, both for proactive and reactive fundraising efforts
• Continuously assess staffing patterns and competencies to ensure that right staff are in place to support sector needs and development
• Identify and pursue opportunities for synergistic, inter-sectoral programs to address the holistic needs of children, especially the most deprived
• Ensure that Education activities (as relevant) contribute to overall education sector goals and meet agency significant benefit standards
• Recognise MoE of Sudan as a key stakeholder and undertakes policy level influencing, relationship building & positioning of Save the Children 
• Oversees the Education portfolio by maintaining close coordination, regular communication & strategic engagement in relation to adaptation imposed by conflict emerged in Sudan in April 2023 and it is still ongoing.

Programme Management:

• Direct line management and supervision of COP/Program/Manager overseeing Education programmes, and ongoing support, guidance and leadership to managers and staff working on those programmes.
• Ensure that Save the Children complies with donor and SCI regulations on all projects, including submission of high quality and timely reports. 
• Lead in the development of a planning cycle for the Education sector, including annual, quarterly and monthly planning and work plan follow up.
• Ensure that all programs have an effective Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning (MEAL) practices throughout the program cycle.
• Ensure tight financial oversight of project and thematic budgets, maintaining timely expenditure in line with agreed priorities and donor guidelines.
• Build the capacity of staff in programme management, technical excellence and policy analysis and influencing related to Education
• Build and nurture effective teamwork within education sector both at central and field levels and ensure a cohesive workplace environment for optimum staff retention.
• Supervise team and provide necessary guidance to ensure that program targets are met. 

Programme Quality:

• Identify internal and external capacity building opportunities and resources to provide high quality technical assistance to Education projects, supporting technical staff, partner agencies and others to build knowledge and technical competence.
• Integrate programme learning across the Education sector, ensuring coherence of technical approaches across programmes, identifying best practice, and ensuring inter-sectoral complementarity.
• Ensure that regular field based project review meetings take place and are attended by the relevant staff;   Ensure that monitoring systems provide information in the appropriate form and at the right time (in different levels) to allow for effective decision making
• Provide on-going and one-off technical support and advice to programs and partners as needed
• Organize workshops, seminars, Program Learning Group meetings at local, national, regional and international levels.
• Develop and implement strategies to ensure gender equity, child participation and beneficiary accountability in all Education programmes.

Research and organizational learning:

• Ensure that interventions are evaluated using appropriate methods, including process and impact evaluations, and that evidence is rigorously maintained, documented and disseminated internally and externally, to contribute to improvements in programme quality and advocacy efforts.
• Identify and pursue opportunities to disseminate technical materials, learning and best practices, such as workshops, targeted communications materials, etc. 
• Support teams to identify and carry out operational baselines/evaluation/research related to education.
• Ensure that Save the Children’s regional and global experience is reflected in our Education program
• Share CO’s experience and organizational learning with COs as well as with relevant organizations over the globe 

Policy and Advocacy:   

• Coordinate closely with the Policy, Research and Governance sector on policy and advocacy work relating to education
• Lead on policy and advocacy for the education sector, ensuring that education technical interventions are designed to inform relevant policy concerns. Develop policy briefs and position papers, ensuring the inclusion of technical input from the relevant project managers. 
• Lead in networking and articulating Save the Children’s position, policy and strategy in national forums and meetings.  Engage in key debates related to national education sector policies and programs, in coordination with technical colleagues and other relevant staff.
• Identify appropriate strategic partnerships for joint advocacy initiatives on education issues

Representation and Networking: 

• Maintain Save the Children position as Education Cluster Co lead agency through well representation of the organization in the Cluster and taking leadership role in all technical and operation cluster initiatives and interventions.
• Support the Sub National Cluster Coordination to ensure Save the Cjildren is having as 
• Maintain trusted working relationships with relevant Ministries, especially the Ministry of  Education.
• Identify partnerships/collaborations and build strong networks with other NGOs, CSOs, donors, UN agencies and academic institutions and the private sector working on education to collaborate on programs, joint learning, analysis and advocacy initiatives
• Ensure that the country office has effective representation on national, regional and international networks and fora related to education, and that we participate in conferences/meetings that will enhance our reputation and programming
• Actively participate in technical coordination meetings to ensure synergies with other agencies in our development work and emergency responses 
• Maintain excellent relationships with donors, both in terms of strategic positioning and program delivery
• Ensure that CO has effective and appropriate representation on national, regional and international Education related forum and participates/contributes to conferences, workshops and meetings that will enhance our programs.
• Represent CO on the Regional and Global meetings on education, both internal and external.

Participate in CO leadership, planning and reporting:

• Participate in SMT meetings and attend other meeting both within and outside SC; represent SC whenever requested by the Supervisor
• Participate actively in the Country Annual Planning and Country Annual Reporting, as well as on the Country Strategic Plan(CSP)providing oversight and compiling the reports for the education sector. Ensure that the annual program planning and budget for Education is prepared according to SCI requirements
• Provide planning, general oversight and leadership to development of the Country Strategic Plans
• Support the Save the Children Humanitarian responses where appropriate, ensuring timely and quality responses in line with international standards and technical best practice. 
• Other tasks as requested by the Deputy Country Director – Program OperationsBEHAVIOURS (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

Academic: Master’s degree, preferably in Education, Development Studies,  or relevant discipline of social sciences

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

EssentiaL : 

• At least 15 years of working experience in relevant field including at least 10 years in senior management position in hamartian and development context with minimum 6 years in Education Program Senior role.
• Strong technical background and knowledge on Education on all its spectrum of Emergency, Nexus and Development
• Excellent understanding of key education issues and strategies in Suad, or courtiers with similar complex context
• Strong leadership abilities, leading and inspiring others
• Excellent skills on process facilitation and coordination with high standard.     
• Excellent inter-personal communication skills
• Strong analytical capacity of contexts and programmes
• Good presentation skills including policy briefings 
• Good supportive supervision skills, developing self and others
• Good English communication skills

• Leading and inspiring others, 
• Delivering results, 
• Developing self and others, 
• Problem solving and decision making, 
• Innovating and adapting

Desirable: Additional professional certificates: Certificate or diploma in Education or relevant field.

• Advanced knowledge about the Education policy and context in Sudan 
• Excellent English language proficiency in written & oral skills
• Arabic language is strongly desirable

Attitude: 

               To effectively collaborate with cross functions

               To protect children in connection

               To be non-discriminatory and gender sensitive

Additional job responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience

Equal Opportunities 

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Child Safeguarding:

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Health and Safety

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.