Iraq: Education Coordinator - Iraq

INTERSOS is an independent humanitarian organization that assists the victims of natural disasters, armed conflicts and exclusion. Its activities are based on the principles of solidarity, justice, human dignity, equality of rights and opportunities, respect for diversity and coexistence, paying special attention to the most vulnerable people.

1.Terms of reference

Job title: Education Coordinator

Location: Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I) with regular visits to the projects’ locations in Erbil, Kirkuk and Ninewa Governorates, as well as missions to Baghdad, Salah al Din Governorate and other Iraqi Governorates, as necessary

Reporting to: Head of Mission

Starting date: January 2017

Duration of contract: 31st December 2017

Supervision of: 4 International Staffs (1 Education Officer UNHCR, 1 Project Manager COOPITA, 2 Project Managers UNICEF and 1 Project Manager IHPF/OCHA).

Dependents: NO

General context of the project

INTERSOS had been working in Iraq from 2003 till 2010 with programmes aimed at responding to urgent material safety needs and enhancing access to basic social services for vulnerable individuals and communities in Southern Iraq, Baghdad and Kurdistan. Over the years, INTERSOS operations developed encompassing activities in health care, legal protection and assistance, warehousing and distribution of essential goods, mine/UXO clearance, shelter, water and sanitation, psychosocial support and education, targeting internally displaced people and voluntary returnees, as well as host communities, with special focus on most vulnerable groups (children, women, elderly and persons with special needs).

Following the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic and the deterioration of the humanitarian situation which is negatively affecting also the neighbouring countries, in November 2013 INTERSOS has resumed the operations in the Country to contribute towards ensuring emergency relief and social protection assistance for the Syrian refugees fleeing their home in search of safety. Furthermore, since the surge in violence between armed groups and government forces with fighting spreading into Central and Northern Iraq, in July 2014 INTERSOS has extended its operations and is currently providing services aimed at assisting both Syrian refugees and Iraqi IDPs in camp and non-camp settings, with interventions mainly concentrated on the Community Services, Protection, Food Security and Education Sectors. Within the framework of the current Mosul Response Operation, INTERSOS has further expanded the on-going activities in terms of geographical target areas in those sectors, including Education in Emergency, representing the core of INTERSOS programme in Iraq.

Education for Syrian refugee and Iraqi IDP children and youths has been severely disrupted by the war. Lack of access to education directly impacts children and youths' safety and well-being, and will eventually deprive them of future opportunities. Targeted education and psychosocial support activities are therefore crucial in mitigating the impact of conflict and displacement. The interventions designed by INTERSOS intend to contribute towards enhancing the overall protective environment by ensuring that children and youths have increased access to quality learning opportunities and psychosocial support activities, as well as appropriate protection services.

The general purpose of the position is to ensure the proper and effective implementation of all education-related activities and services of INTERSOS Program in Iraq, providing technical inputs, guidance and support, as well as overall operational monitoring and evaluation.

The Education Coordinator will be in charge of the coordination and technical support of all education-related activities and services, ensuring timely and quality implementation and monitoring in compliance with relevant Standard Operating Procedures, INEE Minimum Standards, Good Practices in Education in Emergency Responses, International Principles and Guidelines, INTERSOS Fundamental Charter and Code of Ethics. Moreover, the Education Coordinator is in charge of supporting the Head of Mission in the development, implementation and evaluation of the country strategy and programme in the Education Sector

Specifically she/he is responsible to:

Main responsibilities:

· Supporting the implementation of the education programme, including informal, non-formal and formal education activities for children, adolescents and youths.

· Building the capacity, coordinating and supervising the education staffs and volunteers, as well as the local counterparts, providing ad hoc training sessions and continuous on-the-job coaching.

· Maintaining relations pertaining to the education programme with donors, local authorities, government institutions, partners, key stakeholders, and other relevant actors at the national, regional, governorate and field level.

· Ensuring INTERSOS’ representation in appropriate external programmatic forums and working groups, in particular the Education cluster.

More specifically:

Programme activities planning, coordination, monitoring and evaluation

· Provide inputs, guidance and support to ensure the quality implementation of the education projects’ activities from the technical point of view.

· In cooperation with the Project Managers, elaborate and/or contextualize already available support tools to monitor and evaluate the education projects’ activities.

· Undertake field visits to the projects’ locations as needed to continuously monitor the progress and the quality implementation of the projects’ activities as well as to obtain solid findings to be shared with other stakeholders and the Education cluster.

· Continuously assess, analyze and evaluate the impact of the projects’ activities to inform and adjust the program accordingly.

· Work closely with the PMs to ensure an adequate integration of the different intervention sectors.

Programme saffs, volunteers and local counterparts capacity building

· In cooperation with the Project Managers, carry out the identification and selection of the national staff and volunteers, as required.

· Train, coordinate and supervise the national staff and volunteers, and contribute to evaluate their performance.

· Ensure that national staff and volunteers respect INTERSOS rules and regulations, and adheres to INTERSOS Fundamental Charter Values and Code of Ethics.

· Continuously assess the training needs of staff and local counterparts, design the training program and developing the related material for enhanced education response capacity and service provision according to international standards and principles.

Programme reporting

· Ensure that all data related to projects’ activities is disaggregated by sex and age, in order to develop profiles on the different needs and realities of women, girls, boys and men.

Coordination and representation

· Establish and maintain collaborative relations with relevant donor officers, local authorities, government institutions, partners, key stakeholders and other humanitarian actors.

• Contribute to the maintenance of an up-to-date service mapping of the different actors operating in the area and take proactive steps to remain informed about the available services.

· Participate in meetings with relevant donor officers, according to the guidelines of the Head of Mission.

· Advocate in the education sector, identifying gaps and sharing needs to different donors

· Support donors' field visits upon PMs requests

· Proactively participate in relevant coordination meetings at national, regional, governorate and field level, as required.

· Co-chair the Erbil Education Cluster Working Group.

· Leading the internal Working Group on External Communication and Visibility, in consultation with the Head of Mission.

Programme development

· Undertaking field visits to identify education needs and gaps.

· Promoting integration of activities with other INTERSOS projects, as well as supporting the coordination with other actors intervening in the same area.

· Representing INTERSOS in education working groups as well as other coordination meetings, as needed.

· Continuously assess the education needs and gaps of target populations in current and prospective areas of operations, periodically update the education situation analysis and adapt the program accordingly.

· Continuously assess the education response capacity of potential partners.

· Support the development, implementation and evaluation of the country education strategy and program, providing technical inputs, suggestions for improvements and recommendations for future actions.

· Support the design and elaboration of new education interventions.

· Support the integration of psychosocial support activities and protection services, as well as mainstreaming of key cross-cutting issues, into the education strategy and program, promoting age, gender and diversity sensitive approaches.

· Follow up the start-up of new interventions, as required.

2.Required profile/experience

· Advanced university degree in education or social science related fields such as Pedagogy, Psychology, Political Science, International Relations, International Development Cooperation, Sociology or similar subjects. A first level university degree with a relevant combination of academic qualifications and experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

· At least 3 years of professional work experience in management/coordination of education-related activities and services in humanitarian and/or development contexts, including at least 1 year in emergency settings.

· Ability to set high standards for quality of work

· Ability to administrate funds, logistics and human resources

· Ability to develop and maintain collaborative relationships

· Ability to analyze and integrate quantitative and qualitative information from a wide range of sources

· Ability to propose innovative approaches and cost effective solutions

· In-depth knowledge of EiE, as well as CP and PSS, fundamental concepts and principles

· Good communication skills, both oral and written

· Mastery of IT tools (MS Office package, internet, e-mail, etc.)

· Previous experience in designing and coordinating education in emergency interventions with large staff teams

· Previous experience in designing and conducting education in emergency training programmes with a variety of stakeholders

· Proficient knowledge of English is required.

· Knowledge of Arabic is an asset.

Qualified applicants are requested to submit their curriculum vitae, motivation letter and 2 references to: Recruitment@intersos.org with subject line:

"Education Coordinator – Iraq”

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for the first interview