Education Cluster Coordination Adviser (Managerial/Senior Specialist level)

The Opportunity – Education Cluster Coordination Adviser (Managerial/Senior Specialist level) Open to applicants currently based in Ramallah/West Bank

Post location:  Country Office in Ramallah. 

Contract Duration and Level of Effort: 12 months with possible extension.

ROLE PURPOSE:

The Education Cluster Coordination Adviser for the West Bank will work as part of the education cluster coordination team in OPT, under the leadership of the national cluster coordinator. The coordinator will work impartially, serving the needs of all members of the Education Cluster, and should work closely with coordination staff from (UNICEF), UN OCHA, and other sub cluster coordinators in the West Bank.  The education cluster is accountable to the Humanitarian Country Team and Humanitarian Coordinators through the lead agencies (Save the Children and UNICEF).

The ‘cluster approach’ was adopted by the IASC as a key strategy to address the gaps in humanitarian response. UNICEF and Save the Children (SC) were designated as Co-Leads of the Global Education Cluster. At country level, the aim of the cluster approach is to strengthen humanitarian response by demanding high standards of predictability, accountability and partnership in all sectors or areas of activity, by clarifying the division of labour among organizations and better defining their roles and responsibilities within the different sectors of the response. It aims to make the international humanitarian community better organised and more accountable and professional, so that it can be a better partner for the affected people, host governments, local authorities, local civil society and resourcing partners

SCOPE OF ROLE: 

Reports to: Director for Programme Quality and Development and to the National Cluster Coordinator (External) 

Staff reporting to this post: None 

Budget Responsibilities: None

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY: 

• Lead the West Bank Sub Cluster and ensure it is guided by a coherent and needs-based strategy developed through consultation with relevant Cluster partners.
• Lead Education Cluster meetings and provide high standard representation of the Cluster in inter-cluster coordination meetings;
• Ensure clear and effective communication occurs between the national and sub-national clusters and amongst cluster partners, including that information from other clusters is made available to cluster members in order to improve planning, integration and implementation Ensure a continuity plan is in place for the maintenance of Sub Cluster functions following the end of the deployment.
• In coordination with National Cluster Coordinator, lead the West Bank Sub-Cluster partners in key activities within the Humanitarian Programme Cycle including development of the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO), development and revision of the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) and, peer review processes for pooled-funding opportunities including Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) and Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).
• Ensure that the Information Management function is fully integrated into the Sub Cluster strategy and approach. 
• Track and monitor cluster members fundraising for Education specific interventions in the West Bank.
• Ensure that inter-agency response strategy for Education reflects key findings from needs assessments, identifying gaps, and formulating a sector-wide interagency response plan, taking into account the cross-cutting areas from other sectors or sub clusters.
• Ensure that information is shared amongst sub cluster members, and that information from other sectors and sub clusters is made available to sub cluster members in order to improve planning, integration and implementation.
• Work closely with key members of the Education Sub Cluster guaranteeing clear communication with school officials, National, Provincial or Local Governments, OCHA, UNICEF and all other cluster members.
• Represent the Education Cluster in all West Bank specific Inter Cluster meetings (ICCG, ECC, Area coordination meetings)
• Support and potentially lead both multi-sector and education specific needs assessments and utilise existing secondary data to inform sector response planning.
• Support the Education Cluster in monitoring and reporting violations against education in West Bank.
• Contribute to regular OCHA and agency-specific sitreps,  and take an active part in OCHA co-ordination meetings.
• Ensure education is explicitly included and prioritized in all multi-sector assessments and reports, including OCHA Sitreps.

Capacity Building:

• Ensure that capacity building of sub Cluster staff, government counterparts and agency staff in order to guarantee on-going sustainability and quality of the response.
• Identify learning and training opportunities for Education sub cluster members and work to increase capacity in preparedness and response within the cluster.

Thematic Areas of Save the Children value add as Education Cluster Co-Lead Agency: 

• Mainstream localization, by encouraging participation and representation of local partners in membership and decision-making mechanisms, and supporting local partners to identify and advocate for opportunities to address institutional capacity gaps 
• Promote active engagement of children in all stages of the HPC as much as possible
• Ensure that Partners are trained on and have child safeguarding policies in place
• Lead the engagement with the Child Protection Area of Responsibility and identification of areas for joint collaboration between CPiE and EiE, including MHPSS 

General:

• Comply with Save the Children policies and practice with respect to child protection, code of conduct, health and safety, equal opportunities and other relevant policies and procedures.
• Display neutrality and act as representative of all education cluster members.
• Develop and maintain a strong and positive relationship with key counterparts at the relevant line ministry/department and UNICEF.

In order to be successful, you will bring/have: 

QUALIFICATIONS   

• College degree in education, social science, development, or any relevant field.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

Essential:

• At least 3 years progressively responsible work experience with UN, government and/or NGO, including in a humanitarian context
• Experience applying relevant interagency humanitarian frameworks and standards in education in
• emergencies (for example INEE Minimum Standards
• Management of Education in Emergency (EiE) programmes may be considered a substitute 
• Understanding of the Humanitarian Program Cycle including experience with Humanitarian Response Planning and/or Humanitarian Needs Overview
• Excellent communication skills, including ability to facilitate diverse groups
• Politically and culturally sensitive with qualities of patience, tact and diplomacy
• Demonstrable ability to work and represent views across different stakeholders taking part in the West Bank Sub Cluster
• Experience of high level co-ordination and chairing of meetings
• Demonstrable understanding of international humanitarian response and co-ordination mechanisms
• Understanding of opportunities to provide integrated or cross-cutting humanitarian interventions with other sectors and Clusters) 
• The capacity and willingness to be extremely flexible and accommodating in difficult and sometimes insecure working circumstances.
• Language skills in English and Arabic
• Currently based in Ramallah/West Bank

Desirable 

• Preferably Palestinians
• Prior experience in cluster coordination 
• Strong information management skills
• Strong influencing skills and experience in advocacy

We offer a competitive package in the context of the sector. Application will be reviewed and selected on a rolling basis. 

Save the Children promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment, women and people with different abilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

The Organisation

Save the Children works in development and humanitarian contexts with children and partners to help families, communities, and governments identify and use innovations to ensure all children survive, learn and are protected.

We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realize the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard.  
 

We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:

• No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday 
• All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
• Violence against children is no longer tolerated 

We know that great people make a great organization, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children.  We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued. 

Application Information:

Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application, and include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations.  A copy of the full role profile can be found at Search Jobs - SCI Career Site Careers (oraclecloud.com).

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.

All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our global anti-harassment policy.