Plan International is hiring Education Specialist based in Moldova

The Organisation

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organization that advances children's rights and equality for girls.

We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it's girls who are most affected.

Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

We support children's rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 85 years, and are now active in more than 80 countries.

Plan has been present in Moldova since March and has established partnerships with civil society organizations, ensuring national actors are equipped with technical support, best practices and flexible resources, with a primary thematic focus on Child Protection, Education and Mental Health & Psychosocial Support.

At present, Moldova is hosting over 100 thousand refugees from Ukraine and, over half expressed the intention to remain in Moldova, making integration through education and social cohesion key priorities.

48,817 refugee children from Ukraine are currently estimated to be in Moldova, their education and protection needs including access to quality education, language needs and provision of teaching and learning materials remain unmet.

What can you bring?

The Education Specialist will provide a key understanding of the current Moldovan context and framework, supporting and advising education, early childhood, disability inclusion and VET projects, ensuring quality intervention in these areas and contributing to the development of the sectoral strategy. Moreover, the Education Specialist will support programming in Moldova, ensuring that assessments are carried out and inform project and strategy development, capacity building to partners is provided and International Plan is a key actor in the education arena in Moldova. 

Assessment of the education sector, scoping new partners and networking with key stakeholders 

• Lead the assessment of the education sector and needs based on ToRs agreed with Head of Program, BDM, Partnership Manager and other specialists in the country. Child participation as well as engagement of other key stakeholders must be a key component of any assessment. 
• In close coordination with the Partnership Manager, identify civil society organizations and other governmental or private sector actors, active in the field of education, non-formal education, early childhood education and Vocational Education Training. Carry out scoping visits and meetings keeping detailed notes, and working closely with Program team to secure new national partnerships 
• Engage with local education authorities, maintain positive and fruitful cooperation and coordination 

Participate in coordination groups 

• Participate actively in monthly coordination meetings of the education working group led by UNICEF, UNHCR and governmental authorities, as well as in forums/working groups set up by national partners for the education response 
• Collaborate with Plan International's relevant technical teams at the Ukraine Response Hub level and GH to ensure an organized and coordinated regional response. 
• Raise the profile of Plan International's Education in Emergencies approach in Moldova, in collaboration with Plan Internationalis's Advocacy team.  
• Promote the rights of excluded groups, refugees in line with the country's advocacy strategy. 

Contribute to the development of Moldova's Education strategic plan 

• Support the development of Plan International's regional response plan and contextualization for Moldova country strategic plan as part of the country program unit 
• Contribute to the development of concept notes and project proposals, as part of the program unit. Under the coordination of the BDM, participate to strategic project discussions, coordinate with partners, discuss their submission, support the writing of narrative project description, development of logframes and review of budgets against proposed project and operational activities 
• Providing support to policy and influencing activities at national, regional, and global level in close collaboration with Plan International and in-country teams 

• collaboration with Plan International and in-country teams 

Monitoring and reporting 

• Regularly visit field activities of education partners to assess progress and quality implementation of activities. Activities should be monitored at least once per month. The specialist will also participate in monthly calls with partners management team in coordination with Partnership Manager, Head of Program and Program Manager.
• Develop monitoring reports after each visit using available templates. Monitoring reports will include action points discussed and agreed with partners. 
• Review interim and final reports from partners and contribute to the development and writing of interim and final reports to donors 
• Review and endorse data submitted from partners in collaboration with MERL teams for accountability and learning purposes. 
• Ensure that key learning is extracted from program implementation and incorporate them in program and partner staff development processes

Provide technical support to partners through training, mentoring and coaching 

• Supporting partners with technical capacity-strengthening training and co-learning opportunities 
• Visiting partners, schools, non-formal education programs, early learning centers and intervention sites  

Technical Expertise & Skills required:

• University degree in one of the disciplines relevant to the following areas: Education, Economics, Social Sciences, or a field(s) relevant to international development assistance or humanitarian work. 
• In depth knowledge of the national education system and Moldovan context 
• Experience with working in an NGO at Field and/or Country Office level. 
• Experience of, and well-developed skills in supervision and capacity building.  

• Demonstrable understanding of the humanitarian and development sector and ways of working 
• Knowledge and experience working in Early Childhood Education and VET is highly preferred. 
• Experience designing and implementing programs which consider gender and inclusion 
• Working knowledge of written and spoken English and Romanian.  
• Solution focused; able to prioritize, deliver on time and cope with ambiguity. 
• Team player, values ​​interculturality and diversity 

What are we looking for?

We want Plan International to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with, offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. 

Plan International is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas. 

This is a national position, and we are accepting applications from Moldovan nationals.

For details, please apply via our website:  https://jobs.plan-international.org/job-invite/46491/  by 16th  May 2023.