Education Policy & Programme Advisor

View Vacancy – Education Policy & Programme Advisor, Grade-G7, Kathmandu

The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer. We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow.

Job Category: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Programme Roles)
Job Subcategory: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Programme Roles)

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities) 

Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online application form including the employment and educational details, experience-based segment and the behaviours and technical/ professional skills-based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only for all the required details. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.

Main purpose of job:

You will contribute to the implementation of a large new social sectors’ governance programme focused on health and education, called Samartha. The goal of the programme is to expand access to and quality of basic social services, and within the education space Samartha will focus on quality of learning for children, especially girls.

You will understand the Nepal education context and the challenges of transitions to new federal structures, applying political economy analysis and bringing your experience, expertise, and networks to benefit the education sector in Nepal. You will work and think politically to strengthen Nepal’s education systems, and you will strengthen the education policy landscape by representing the British Embassy within the School Education Sector Plan (SESP) as part of the pooling donors’ coordination mechanisms, as well as focal point for the British Embassy for the Global Partnership for Education. You will focus especially on influencing policy work that benefits inclusive access to quality of education in Nepal.

You will support centrally managed programmes that target Nepal by providing outward-facing sectoral policy advice to the Government of Nepal, in particular the Ministry of Education, Science & Technology (MoEST), and you will help BEK deliver on the FCDO Women and Girls Strategy where girls’ education is a key priority.

In addition to the core outward-facing policy and delivery roles described above, you will also provide expertise on education policy and education technical and programmatic work across the British Embassy Kathmandu, working as part of the Systems and Services Team within the Governance and Social Development Group. You will be flexible and pragmatic in providing support as required to the Systems and Services Team Leader, and provide technical and strategic insights to other teams, the Development Director, and the Ambassador on broader areas of basic and higher education.

We reserve the right to review, revise or amend the roles and responsibilities from time to time reflecting the changing needs of business.

Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve:

Contribute to Education policy dialogue in Nepal (50%)

• Representing the British Embassy in the Education sector, you will be part of a vibrant education development partner community engaging with government stakeholders via the Education Development Partner Group (EDPG) and Local Education Group (LEG), and proactively consulting and networking with other key development partners including UNICEF, UNESCO, World Bank, USAID, ADB, EU, bilateral and local NGOs to ensure co-ordination and coherence of programming and policy influencing. As prospective contributors to the funding pool and members of the Joint Financing Arrangement for SESP, you will represent the British Embassy in the relevant meetings.
• You will provide technical and policy input both externally and internally to influence and deliver the UK’s strategic priorities in education in Nepal, for example on the potential for girls’ education, on foundational learning and by working with colleagues from the British Council and Department Business and Trade to understand the opportunities this may present for UK trade and investments.
• You will contribute to the education policy dialogue beyond the Education Sector, seeking opportunities to make 12 years of quality education everyone’s issue.

Technical education lead as part of a programme team to deliver BEK’s future education programme (40%)

• You will lead on the technical education inputs as part of a strong and effective team delivering a social sectors’ governance programme (Samartha) in Lumbini and Madhesh, to achieve greater learning for more students.
• You will build strong relationships with key federal, provincial, and local governments’ educational counterparts to improve basic education service delivery – this may require extensive working presence within government offices.
• You will be an active and vital part of an effective implementation team (programme managers and other sector advisers) to implement this programme and ensure excellence in education delivery.
• You will facilitate independent reviews of the programme and participate to programme and organisational learning initiatives to assess progress towards outcomes and outputs, develop recommendations and ensure timely action.

Provide technical input to the wider education portfolio developed by the British Embassy, and centrally managed programmes operating in Nepal (10%)

• You will engage with complementary programmes on local infrastructure, governance, security & justice, and climate resilience, providing technical input and policy insights to the broader BEK portfolio as required.
• You will provide local oversight to centrally managed programmes either currently being implemented in Nepal (GPE) or in the pipeline, sharing your Nepal education sector experience and knowledge widely across the FCDO Education Network and within the British Embassy Kathmandu, as required.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):
Part of a team delivering up to £38.8 million over 7 years.

Language requirements:

• Language: English and Nepali (knowledge of other local languages such as Maithili and/or Tharu is a plus)
• Level of language required: Fluent (both English & Nepali), including excellent writing and briefing skills.

Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):
Formal Learning & Development options and on-the-job opportunities

Working patterns:
Full-time post with possibility of home-working up to 2 days a week (depending on business need)

Any other information (or specific local Post requirements):
The assessment for this role will include a full FCDO Education Adviser assessment against the following competencies:

• Education Policy
• Education systems
• Global Education Systems
• Education, Equity, and Inclusion

Please find further details regarding the Education Technical Competency information at following link Education_Technical_Competency_Framework_-_Jan_2023.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk) for answering the behavioural, technical/professional based questions.
All applicants are advised to use the STAR method to describe your example (for guidance see amongst others here: A brief guide to competencies – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Essential qualifications, skills and experience 

Essential on arrival:

Education Technical Expertise: the candidate should hold 7+ years of relevant experience in the sector that can demonstrate knowledge of and experience in:

• Education Policy including supporting education policy analysis and development through monitoring education trends especially among the poorest and providing recommendations; technical knowledge in key areas such as girls education, education financing, education governance, improving learning outcomes, teachers’ professional development, inclusive education, preventing violence in schools and resilience of education systems in the context of disasters and climate change.
• Education systems particularly in developing country contexts and including understanding of smart investments for improving learning outcomes that maximise VfM.
• Global Education Systems and experience of priorities and operating procedures of key global development partners including UNICEF, World Bank, EU, and Global Partnership in Education.

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience 

Desirable:

• Relevant post-graduate education and qualification (e.g. Masters’ in International Education), or equivalent sector experience with self-directed study.
• Experience with political economy analysis (with a focus on social sectors)
• Previous experience working in a multicultural donor organisation.
• Experience in interacting with political and bureaucratic counterparts, including at the subnational level.
• Experience in multisectoral approaches and in social development programmes.

Required behaviours 
Seeing the Big Picture, Making Effective Decisions, Delivering at Pace, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together, Developing Self and Others

Application deadline: 7 March 2024
Grade: Grade 7 (G7)
Type of Position: Fixed Term, Full-time
Working hours per week: 36
Duration of Post: 36 months
Region: South Asia & Afghanistan
Country/Territory: Nepal
Location (City): Kathmandu
Type of Post: British Embassy
Number of vacancies: 1
Salary Currency: NPR
Start Date: 1 April 2024

Other benefits and conditions of employment 

For British Embassy candidates, the Country Based Staff BHC Terms & Conditions will apply.

Basic Salary will be NPR 365,677 per month plus 10% provident fund Contribution.

The successful candidate will be provided with annual leaves, maternity/paternity and membership in the Embassy medical benefits scheme as per the Terms & Conditions of Services. The British Embassy in Kathmandu is part of a world-wide network of 240 Posts, representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas.

This is a good opportunity to be part of a strong, diverse team, working in the biggest network that FCO has anywhere across the globe. We are aiming to make it the best. The British Embassy is an equal opportunities employer and does not discriminate on grounds of ethnic origin, race, religious beliefs, age, disability, gender or sexual orientation.

Please note – BHC does not deduct tax at source and employees are required to ensure that any requirements of local income-tax law are complied with in full. Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary, e.g. Some non-local national staff and some spouses or partners of UK diplomatic staff will have their salaries abated by an equivalent amount.

Additional information 

Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online application form including the employment and educational details, motivational segment and the behaviour-based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only for all the required details. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.

To Apply:

Please note applications without (a) and (b) will not be considered. Point (c) to be adhere strictly.

• Complete the Online Application Form.
• Complete the Experience, Behaviours, Technical/Professional skills-based segment in the Online Application Form.
• Applicants need to answer the questions based on their professional experience. Kindly refrain from use of AI based tools to avoid application from getting rejected/disqualified.

To ensure a successful application it is important that you explain how you demonstrate these behaviours and technical/ professional skills, basis your experience. You are strongly advised to read the Success Profiles Civil Service Behaviours Framework which provides a detailed guidance on how these behaviours are defined for each position.

Please go through the technical competency framework before completing the technical questions: FCDO technical competency frameworks – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) for the Governance Cadre of FCDO.

Applicants are encouraged to use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) technique to prepare specific examples of when and how you have demonstrated these behaviours in your application, by evidencing a structured response, including your skills and experiences. You briefly describe the situation in which you demonstrated the behaviour, and then explain your task in addressing the situation, what action you took and the result of this.

We will accept only online applications by 7th March 2024 – 23:55 hrs (Kathmandu Time Zone)

Internal candidates applying for this position need to inform their current line managers, else the applications will not be considered.

Please note that all the applicants will be required to strictly adhere to the security guidelines for British Embassy

• Applicants who do not have the required qualification & experience should kindly abstain from applying, as their applications will not be considered.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, and no telephone enquires will be dealt with. Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful may be placed on a ‘reserve list’. If during the reserve period of 6 months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate.
• The appointment will be subject to Police Verification and other checks including references, educational and professional.

We welcome all applications irrespective of age, race, colour, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief or creed. We are also open to applications from people who want to work flexibly.

Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.

Tagged as: British Embassy, Kathmandu