Deputy Chief of Party,Technical - Ethiopia – Early Childhood Care and Education

  • Full-time

Company Description

EDC is one of the world’s leading nonprofit research and development firms. Established in 1958, EDC designs, delivers and evaluates innovative programs to address some of the world’s most urgent challenges in education, health, and economic opportunity. Our services include research, training, educational materials, and strategy, with activities ranging from seed projects to large-scale national and international initiatives.

Job Description

The Deputy Chief of Party, Techinical (DCOP-T) will be a member of the Activity’s senior management team and report to the COP. The DCOP-T will provide technical leadership, leading the design and implementation of play-based, holistic ECCE activities. The DCOP-T will manage a team of ECCE content experts and trainers, located in Addis Ababa and in field offices, and lead and guide partner activities in support of ECCE programming. The DCOP-T will liaise with GOE partners and other agencies/organizations engaged in ECCE in Ethiopia to facilitate coordination and sustainability of the ECCE Activity. The DCOP-T will lead efforts to build the capacity of state and non-state actors to manage and provide cost-effective and play-based ECCE. The ideal candidate will be a dynamic individual with demonstrated knowledge of primary education sector work in emergency contexts, adaptive pedagogy, early grade learning approaches, experience working with government specialists in the development of training modules, assessment, and supplementary materials, and will possess the ability to respectfully collaborate with individuals from diverse backgrounds. Knowledge of the Ethiopian national and sub-national education system is preferred, experience implementing ECCE programming in emergency contexts is required.

Functional Responsibilities

  • Provide overall strategic guidance and technical leadership to advance the Activity’s main objective
  • Together with the COP and the DCOP-Operations, serve on the ECCE Activity’s senior leadership team, representing the project to GOE stakeholders, USAID and the broader donor and ECCE stakeholder community; participate in technical working groups
  • Guide technical staff on essential components of holistic ECCE programs in EiE contexts, including lesson planning, teacher professional development, materials development and distribution, classroom-level assessment, universal design for learning, and social and emotional learning, to develop and integrate highly effective and accessible activities to maximize outcomes
  • Guide staff and partners in contextualizing ECCE programming and delivery so that it is inclusive and conflict and gender sensitive
  • Develop and lead capacity building initiatives for state and non-state actors in the management, regulation and provision of high-quality ECCE services
  • Supervise the production of activity-supported materials, trainings, teacher and classroom supervision and monitoring, and student assessments;
  • Contribute to the design and implementation of the project’s learning agenda;
  • Build community and host country government (at all levels) awareness regarding the importance of ECCE
  • Work with home office experts and local partners to ensure activity relevance and quality;
  • Other duties, as assigned.

Qualifications

The candidate for the position of Deputy Chief of Party-Technical shall have at a minimum the following qualifications:

Education:

Master's degree (or foreign equivalent) in education, literacy, early grade reading, early childhood development, or a related field, PhD preferred.

Skills and Experience:

  • A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in education,  preferably in early childhood education and education in emergency contexts;
  • Expertise in teacher training, curriculum design, classroom assessment required;
  • Experience with  universal design for learning, inclusive education, and gender-sensitive pedagogy highly desired;
  • Familiarity with common education tools and approaches to improving education outcomes;
  • Familiarity with USAID education tools and approaches is preferred;
  • Understanding of the education systems in Ethiopia preferred.
  • Experience supporting development programming in East Africa desired, with experience working with Ethiopian populations impacted by crisis and conflict preferred.

Language:

Fluency in English in required. Proficiency in Amharic is desired.

Additional Information

EDC is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to enhancing the diversity of its workforce and ensuring an equitable and highly inclusive work environment. EDC is a smoke-free workplace, and offers a supportive work environment, competitive salary, and excellent benefits. Women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.