Somalia: Technical Specialist – Skills Training & Employment

Technical Specialist – Skills Training & Employment Somalia/Somaliland Country Office

TEAM/PROGRAMME: Programme Development and Quality (PDQ)Team

LOCATION:Hargeisa**/**Garowe

GRADE: TBC (Competitive Package)

POST TYPE:National or International

Child Safeguarding:

Level 3: the role holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently(e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work in country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.

ROLE PURPOSE:The Technical Specialist – Skills Training & Employment (STE), will provide overall technical support to all projects related to STE in Somalia/Somaliland, both in emergencies and development. It will play a leading role in capacity building of Area teams, partners, consortium members and other local actors in Somalia/Somaliland in the areas of STE. The TS will also play a pivotal role in providing adequate technical monitoring support to the Area/operations teams to ensure technical quality throughout the project implementation cycle. She/he will work with other members in PDQ and Area teams to promote and disseminate good practices and lessons learned in technical aspects in projects internally and support Area teams in area level advocacy on STE.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to:Head of Child Poverty

Dimensions: Save the Children International works in Somalia/Somaliland with a current staff complement of approximately 400 staff and current expenditure of approximately 35$ million in 2014.

Staff directly reporting to this post: None

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

Programme Development

· Support the Head of Child Poverty in development of ambitious yet practical education plan as part of the Country Annual Plan and contribute from STE perspective.

· Provide high quality technical inputs in to developing cost-effective, innovative and sustainable proposals related to STE for vulnerable households in Somalia/Somaliland

· Plan and ensure adequate budgets are available in proposals for staff, partner, community capacity building in technical areas in line with project objectives

· Work with quality programmes team to provide technical assistance and inputs to the Area/operations teams for them to develop concept notes and proposals related to STE as mandated under education strategy

Technical Capacity Building and Support

· Develop and implement a relevant and sustainable capacity building plan for Area/operations teams, partners and consortium members in areas of STE for quality delivery of STE projects and enhanced local capacity for sustainable promotion of Save the Children’s STE goals in Somalia/Somaliland

· Support Area/operations teams and relevant project/programme managers in relevant technical capacity of parents, communities, schools, teachers, institutions and government to improve overall quality of STE practices and services in Somalia/Somaliland

· Build technical capacity in the area teams, partners and consortium members to produce top class donor reports of projects related to STE, by working with others in Education team

· Support the Area/operations team in identifying and addressing technical gaps in planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting of STE projects, in coordination with others in Education team

Representation and Advocacy

· Work with other members in Education and advocacy manager to support Area/operations teams in developing local-specific advocacy strategies and messages in the areas of STE

· Support Area teams as requested and build their capacity to lead representation and advocacy in technical, government and civil society fora within the Area, related to STE

· Support the Head of Child Poverty with evidence and information for effective representation in relevant external fora including donor meetings, clusters and civil society forums related to STE

· Support Head of Child Poverty in identifying key opportunities and events for Save the Children to position itself as the leading organisation for STE issues in Somalia and Somaliland

· Support the Head of Child Poverty in identifying and securing potential technical resource persons and organisations for their support in advancing Save the Children’s advocacy in the sector

Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation

· Work closely with the MEAL team within PDQ and operations teams to ensure that all projects related to STE have robust monitoring plans, baselines, reviews and evaluations in line with project designs and donor guidelines

· Assist the Area teams in technical assessments of local/implementing partners

· Support Area teams and partners to carry out regular monitoring and measure and report on achievement and progress towards project objectives and results.

· Along with others in PDQ team, organise periodic technical project review meetings with Area teams (programme/project managers) and consortium partners and internally share progress and action

· Carry out extensive field monitoring visits to document observations and experiences and share them with Area, quality and technical teams and influence management action for improvement of technical aspects in projects.

· Work with others in PDQ team to carry out relevant studies and document and disseminate good practices in projects related to STE both in emergencies and development

People Coordination and Support

· Work closely with quality programme and operations team in a matrix management environment for development and implementation of high quality projects in STE both in development as well as emergency situations.

· Provide coaching, mentoring and constructive feedback for learning and development and capacity building of relevant staff managing STE programmes/projects in the areas

· Support the development of an organisational culture that reflects our dual mandate values, promotes accountability and high performance, encourages a team culture of learning, creativity and innovation, and frees up our people to deliver outstanding results for children and excellent customer service for our members and donors. COMPETENCIES AND BEHAVIOURS (our Values in Practice)

Applying Technical and Professional Expertise (Accomplished)

• Makes decisions based on professional expertise and experience without deferring unnecessarily to others
• Shares knowledge and best practice on technical solutions so that others can make best use of that expertise
• Actively seeks new ways to develop the application of technical and professional standards within the team

Delivering Results (Skilled)

· Delivers timely and appropriate results using available resources

· Takes responsibility for their work and its impact on others

· Plans, prioritises and performs tasks well without needing direct supervision

· Understands the link between their work and the organization’s objectives

Innovating and Adapting (Skilled)

· Suggests creative improvements and better ways of working

· Seeks out and applies successful ideas from others to overcome challenges

· Shifts tasks, roles and priorities to perform effectively under changing or unclear conditions

· Applies lessons learned to enhance future ways of working

Communicating with Impact (Accomplished)

· Conveys complex issues with clarity, brevity and confidence

· Promotes dialogue with key stakeholders through active listening and effective questioning

· Adapts communication style to maximise support and engagement

· Advises others on different approaches to influence key stakeholders

· Seeks out new methodologies for communication to engage new audiences

Networking (Accomplished)

· Actively participates in networks to access and contribute to good practice

· Gathers and distributes organisational intelligence Maintains and develops a range of contacts and keeps them informed

· Knows what is needed from contacts and what they need to benefit from the relationship too QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Degree in education or technical/vocational studies or a related field. Additional training in technical and vocational education and training is needed if the qualification is different
• Recommended a minimum of six years of relevant technical experience including two years at senior level
• Proven experience of developing and managing skills training and employment programmes in both formal and informal settings; and in institutional and private/enterprise- based approaches
• Proven skills and experience in undertaking assessments and designing/writing quality technical proposals in the sector
• Proven experience in programme development, project cycle management and monitoring and evaluation related to the sector including writing up high quality project/donor reports
• Proven experience of developing and managing high quality, innovative and cost-effective technical education projects in fragile and insecure environments, preferably in Somalia context and with International NGOs
• Proven experience and skills in advocacy and building work relationships with local/national governments and influencing institutional, private and/or corporate donors
• Solid experience and excellent skills in capacity building of systems, staff, partners and other actors related to skills training and employment
• Ability to extensively travel for project monitoring and provide on-site technical support to field teams
• Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills including influencing, negotiation and coaching
• Highly developed cultural awareness and ability to work well in an international environment with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures
• Strong results orientation, with the ability to challenge existing mindsets
• Experience of solving complex issues through analysis, definition of a clear way forward and ensuring buy in
• Ability to present complex information in a succinct and compelling manner
• Ability and willingness to dramatically change work practices and hours, and work with incoming surge teams, in the event of emergencies
• Willingness to be deployed part or full time in to emergency response as per need and as directed
• Fluency in English, both verbal and written, required
• Commitment to Save the Children values

Interested candidates are required to submit a CV and mandatory cover letter quoting the Job Title and Vacancy Announcement No. SCI/SOM/31/15 on the subject line.The file name of the CV and attachments must be the applicants name and sent to Somalia.vacancies@savethechildren.org. For more information please visit www.somaliangoconsortium.org

Applications close on 11^th November 2015.