JOB TITLE:  Education Officer

TEAM/PROGRAMME: Program Operations

LOCATION:  Lusaka

GRADE: NAT 4

POST TYPE: National

Safeguarding:

Save the Children does not tolerate any form of exploitation, abuse, or harassment against any person. It is the responsibility of all employees and representatives to protect all people who come in contact with our organization. Save the Children commits to applying the same standards to all its employees and subject them to the same processes regardless of their position, influence, or reputation within or outside of the organization.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Save the Children International’s Diversity Policy, aims to promote equal opportunity in employment and to ban any kind of discrimination based on sex, age, social class, disability, HIV status, religion, race and ethnicity.

ROLE PURPOSE: 

The Education Programme Officer will support the implementation, coordination, monitoring, and quality delivery of education programmes in line with organisational strategies, donor requirements, and national education priorities. The role will contribute to programme planning, implementation, stakeholder engagement, reporting, monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) activities to ensure effective delivery and measurable impact for children, adolescents, schools, and communities. The Project Officer will work closely with MEAL team to update progress in SCI data systems (PRIME) and monitor education programs in target areas to support data management, project reporting including tracking and accountability

The postholder will work closely with the Ministry of Education and other government counterparts, schools, communities, local partners, and internal teams to strengthen access to quality, inclusive, safe, and equitable education services.

The incumbent will participate in and represent Save the Children at national-level education meetings, technical working groups, and policy discussions, as assigned.

SCOPE OF ROLE: 

Reports to: Education Lead – GPE Project Director – Education

Dimensions: The role is expected to coordinate Education programs and foster relationships with a wide range of internal stakeholders including Save the Children Country Office Programme Development & Quality team, Program Operations and advocacy colleagues. The role is also expected to engage with internal technical working groups and communities of practice.

Staff directly reporting to this post: None

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

• Support partners and implement programmes and budget tracking.in the education thematic area.
• Coordinate and provide programme support for Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD), Basic Education (BE), and Inclusive Learning interventions with partners and key stakeholders.
• Ensure timely disbursement of funds to implementing partners and Government including ensuring efficient funds utilisation
• Represent save the Children in key strategic coordination meetings and contribute to policy debates and national education strategies as assigned
• Support localisation and responsible partnering approaches in programme delivery.
• Conduct routine field monitoring visits to schools, communities, and partner sites.
• Working with MEAL, establish MEAL tools, Update of progress in SCI data Management Systems and be accountable for all tasks related to the Monitoring, Evaluation and Accountability and Learning of Education and GPE grants
• Coordinate with the MEAL Manager to ensure the effective implementation and functioning of MEAL systems across Education projects and the GPE programme, in close collaboration with other programme teams.
• Consolidate; in coordination with implementing partners for Education and GPE; ensure timely, reporting data reporting and make sure they are aligned with donor requirements.
• Support documentation of lessons learned best practices, success stories, and case studies.
• Promote accountability mechanisms, including beneficiary feedback and complaints response systems.
• Support programme learning and adaptive management processes by identifying trends, gaps, and improvement areas.
• Support baseline, midline, endline, assessments, surveys, and evaluations.
• Prepare activity requests, procurement plans, and supporting documentation.
• Ensure appropriate utilisation and accountability of programme resources.
• Support logistical arrangements for trainings, meetings, and field activities.
• Ensure safeguarding, child protection, gender equality, disability inclusion, and Do No Harm principles are integrated into programme implementation.
• Promote safe, inclusive, and child-friendly learning environments.
• Report safeguarding concerns in line with organisational policies and procedures.

SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS (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 AND EXPERIENCE

• Degree in Education or related field with a minimum of 3 years work experience in development or humanitarian programmes with non-governmental organizations
• Experience of working in education sector, especially Foundational Learning and systems strengthening, is a plus.
• Ability to travel to the field with short notice. 30% of the working time may be dedicated to field travel.
• Experience of working with funding from major institutional donors such as USAID, Swedish SIDA, EU and GPE
• Demonstrated skills in MEAL and design of ECCD/Basic Education programs
• Good analytical and report writing skills
• Strong communication (verbal and writing skills), interpersonal and representational skills
• Flexible and adaptable to dynamic changes and fast-paced work environment
• Ability to work with minimum supervision
• Zambian National preferably
• Knowledge of word, Microsoft excel and power point