Catholic Relief Services EMECA Region Egypt Country Program Job Description

Catholic Relief Services EMECA Region Egypt Country Program Job Description

Position Title: Project Assistant for Quality Education

Functional Group: Egypt Country Program

Location: Cairo

Project: Education Project

Reports to: Education Officer

Supervisory Responsibilities: None

Compensation Band: B

Background

The CRS Egypt country program began in 1956 at the invitation of the Egyptian president Nasser by providing relief assistance to the victims of the Suez War. Over the following few decades, CRS Egypt moved from large-scale food relief to long-term poverty alleviation and development programs. CRS Egypt works in a wide variety of areas within the development field.

Currently, CRS Egypt has three main programs: the livelihoods program, interfaith peacebuilding program and the education assistance program for refugees. Projects under these programs range from the provision of technical assistance and capacity building to partners, and promoting peace and tolerance, to educational grants for refugees, and the protection of children who are victims of trafficking. Additional programming includes Emergency Preparedness and Response projects that arise as need be. A regional Management Quality unit assists the CP support department in developing and maintaining the highest level of operations standards.

CRS Egypt currently holds a main office in Cairo, and one sub-office in Maadi.

CRS’ educational assistance for refugees and asylum seekers provides over 7000 children with access to education through a financial grant program and improves the quality of education received by students through a variety of non-formal educational activities and initiatives to improve the learning environment of students. These two components of the annual program require a substantial full-time staff as well as volunteers who assist in project implementation periodically throughout the year.

Job Summary

Under the supervision of the Education Officer, and in close collaboration with other program staff working in CRS/Egypt’s Education team, the Project Assistant for Quality Education will be responsible for enhancing the quality of education delivered to refugees. The PA will work closely with African and Syrian community schools to improve the quality of education by working on the below components as assigned to him by the education officer.

1-  School Assessment and Assistance

A.  Carry out assessment for community schools that includes the safe learning environment, school finance and governance, and the teaching and learning environment.

B.  Manage the financial assistance granted to RCSs (Direct assistance and assessment based financial assistance)

C.  Design an improvement plan for each school based on assessment with a proposed budget.

D.  Follow up with the schools to ensure implementation of the improvement plan.

E.  Identify areas that needs improvement in school governance and consequently tailor a governance program for RCSs to address those needs.

F.  Follow up with schools managers and provide on the job coaching when needed.

G.  Conduct the appropriate reporting on the activity

2-  Access to textbooks

A.  Acquire from each school list of needed textbooks across all grades.

B.  Identify a competent service provider that can meet the deadline at the highest level of quality.

C.  Communicate regularly and efficiently with the schools to be aware of any sudden changes and take the necessary corrective measures.

D.  Ensure textbooks are delivered to students.

E.  Acquire schools managers’ feedback on the textbooks delivered.

F.  Conduct the appropriate reporting on the activity

3-  Teachers Training:

A.  Identify the needed training for refugees’ community schools teachers based on the teaching and learning assessment and EGRA/EGMA results and teachers needs assessment.

B.  Design teachers training based on the results of the assessment.

C.  Mobilize teachers for each training round based on their level of skills.

D.  Follow up on teachers by attending classes inside the school and provide the needed coaching

E.  Conduct the appropriate reporting on the activity

4-  Non-Formal Education Activities portfolio:

A.  Develop a training curriculum to build the capacity of the schools on designing and implementing NFEAs.

B.  Deliver the NEFAs training to the selected schools providing tools for training application.

C.  Follow-up the schools implementation process to make sure that the project objectives are met and target is achieved.

D.  Reflect with the schools on their application of the training to ensure maximum learning from the experience.

E.  Conduct the appropriate reporting on the activity

5-  Community Engagement

A.  Create relationships and engagement networks within the refugees’ community for the purpose of communicating the project’ activities.

B.  Put an action plan for working with the Parents Teachers Association in a way that builds their capacity and activate their role in the education of the refugees’ children.

C.  Follow up with schools on PTAs and provide any support needed in the form of training, workshops, coaching..etc.

D.  Conduct the appropriate reporting on the activity

6-  Nurseries Assessment

A.  Map nurseries where refugees’ students are allocated in Cairo, Alexandria and Damietta.

B.  Develop an assessment tool and conduct assessment for nurseries in three governorates.

C.  Identify areas that needs improvement and suggest possible interventions.

D.  Conduct the appropriate reporting on the activity

7-  Study Clubs

A.  Identify schools where the study club initiative will be implemented.

B.  Conduct agreements with community based centers to host the study club.

C.  Follow up on the implementation and the attendance of students.

D.  Provide the study clubs with technical and monetary support needed.

E.  Conduct the appropriate reporting on the activity

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning Support:

 Contribute to the design and implementation of the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Systems/Plan/Binder in accordance with CRS EMECA MEAL standards and priorities.

 Participate in development of MEAL Systems/Plan/Binders that is in harmony with CRS EMECA MEAL priorities.

 Implement MEAL activities to capture project progress, ensure accountability and the support of a learning environment

 Implement and if applicable support partners in the regular quantitative and qualitative data collection according to the timeframe and methods specified in project MEAL System/Plan/Binder.

 Support accountability mechanisms

 Use data for decision making, project communication and the capturing of lessons learned and best practices

Internal Coordination and Communications:

 Take part in regular team meetings, staff meetings, and program (technical) meetings with other implementing NGOs/Government agencies and institutions.

 Coordinate with other peers all activities in support of the grant/project.

 Undertake donor liaison in the field as required in support of senior management.

 Implement the MEAL activities to capture project progress, accountability and learning environment and it applicable work with partners to ensure consistent understanding and implementation of MEAL activities.

 Mediate as necessary among local actors during project life.

Protection:

 Complete the Protection training module through CRSLearns (Staff Only);

 Familiarize themselves with the Protection Policy;

 Sign the updated Code of Conduct and Acknowledgement of the Policy on Protection from Abuse and Exploitation;

 Report concerns of suspected exploitation or abuse in accordance with the Reporting Procedures.

Key Working Relationships:

Supervisory: All projects staff and volunteers who works on schools’ assessment, textbooks, teachers training and non formal education activities

Internal: Deputy Head of Programming , Field Office Manager, Access Officer, MEAL Taskforce members, IT Officer, RETS Database consultant, Project clerks, Admin officers & admin assistants.

External: Refugee schools, local organizations or vendors, other local organizations working with refugees.

Agency-Wide Competencies:

These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results:

 Serves with integrity

 Models stewardship

 Cultivates Constructive Relationships

 Promotes learning.

Program Quality Competencies:

 Builds and Leads Effective Teams

 Supervises and Develops Program Staff

 Leads Growth in Programs

 Focus on Quality

CRS/Egypt Band C1 JD Page 5 of 6 Septeber 2016

Position Requirements and Qualifications:

Professional Qualifications:

 5 years of experience in related field.

 2-3 years of experience in research and development.

 Working knowledge of the Education in Emergencies Int’l best practices (INEE, UNICEF, UNHCR, and World Bank tools).

 Hands on experience working with refugees community schools.

 Familiarity with the Sudanese community schools.

 Prior experience with international, bilateral or multilateral organization.

 Strong ability to read and interpret policies and regulations.

 Fluency in written and spoken English with strong drafting skills.

 Ability to make oral presentations and write clear reports and guidance in English and Arabic.

 Skilled in MS Office Suite, including Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Internet.

 Seek and apply knowledge, information and best practices from within and outside Development Agencies.

Education:

 Graduate degree in a directly related field, such as education, arts or any other related fields.

 Post degree in related field is preferable

 Significant work experience in a directly related field will be considered in lieu of a graduate degree

Personal Competencies:

 Communicative and dynamic/skilled in obtaining information from staff and/or external partners and potential sponsors as necessary to accomplish duties.

 Strong representation, presentation and communication skills.

 Able to work diligently and independently.

 Strong ability to analyze data, identifies gaps, and makes recommendations.

 Maturity and discretion.

 Excellent Reporting skills in English and Arabic.

 Demonstrated experience in community mobilization, organization and mediation among local actors

 Special analytical skills and sensitivities toward the most vulnerable

 Familiarity with gender, protection and SGBV a plus.

 Excellent writing and communication skills.

 Comfortable working as part of a team and under time and work pressure.

 Skilled in obtaining information necessary to accomplish duties

 Well organized, able to plan, prioritize work, multi-task and meet deadlines

 Personal ability to deal, in a humble and dignified way, with a vulnerable segment of beneficiaries.

 Capacity to initiate, sustain and deepen relationships with key partners.

 Good interpersonal skills and ability to work smoothly in a multi-cultural environment while building good teamwork spirit.

 Ability to communicate sensitively and effectively across different constituencies.

 High tolerance rate for working under pressure and dealing with diversified cultures and tense situations.

 Customer Service approach.

 Strong ability to analyze data, identifies gaps, and makes recommendations.

 Position requires flexibility and the capacity to deal with ambiguity and change

Physical Requirements/Environment:

 Normal conditions of an office environment.

 Regular travel to field offices.

 Job requests travel to field/Upper and Lower Egypt in order to assist partners and follow up projects (Approximately 15%).

CRS/Egypt Band C1 JD Page 6 of 6 Septeber 2016

 Position requires flexibility and the capacity to deal with ambiguity and change until regional systems and standards are in place.

Disclaimer:

This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position. Employee / Name / Signature / Date
Supervisor / Name / Signature / Date
CR or Designate / Name / Signature / Date