Job Detail

About Save the Children

We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realize the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard. 

We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:

•             No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday

•             All children learn from a quality basic education and that,

•             Violence against children is no longer tolerated

We know that great people make a great organization and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children.  We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive workplace where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.

SCI - Afghanistan

 Save the Children has been working in Afghanistan since 1976. Our way of working close to people and on their own terms has enabled us to deliver lasting change to tens of thousands of children in the country. The UN Convention of the Rights of the Child is the basis of our work.

We are helping children get a better education, we make it possible for more boys and girls to attend school, we help children protect themselves and influence their own conditions. We work with families, communities and health workers in homes, clinics and hospitals to promote basic health in order to save lives of children and mothers

Job Description

ROLE PURPOSE:

The Cluster Approach: The ‘cluster approach’ was adopted by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) as a key strategy to address the gaps in humanitarian response. UNICEF and Save the Children (SC) were designated as Co-Leads of the Global Education Cluster. At country level, the aim of the cluster approach is to strengthen humanitarian response by demanding high standards of predictability, accountability and partnership in all sectors or areas of activity, by clarifying the division of labour among organizations and better defining their roles and responsibilities within the different sectors of the response. It aims to make the international humanitarian community better organised and more accountable and professional, so that it can be a better partner for the affected people, host governments, local authorities, local civil society and resourcing partners.

Current Context in Afghanistan: Prior to 15 August 2021, Afghanistan’s protracted crisis was characterised by widespread armed conflict between government forces and armed opposition groups, political instability and corruption, earthquakes, droughts, floods, and other natural disasters, and poor infrastructure and inequitable access to basic services. 15 August marked the change of power which has triggered the suspension of all on-budget aid to Afghanistan, including capacity building support to the Ministry of Education. The de facto authorities indicated that their education budget in 2021 is less than 30 percent of all educational needs. Teacher and education personnel salaries have not been paid since August 2021, which has led to teacher absenteeism and, subsequently, student absenteeism or drop-out. In addition, other supply side barriers remain. Repairs to school buildings which were damaged during the escalation in conflict in 2021 are yet to be completed, making buildings unsafe for children and personnel to return. Lack of funding has interrupted the supply of teaching and learning materials (including computers and laboratory equipment), teacher trainings, and other administrative functions of the public system, including the Education Management Information System (EMIS).

Despite these circumstances, the Education Cluster continues to coordinate integrated humanitarian education delivery amongst approximately 30 active partners. Increased coordination and alignment with development partners has also been critical to preserving humanitarian space and operating along principled lines. The Cluster recently led the development of the Afghanistan Education Sector Transitional Framework, which will act as the guiding technical reference for structuring off-budget investment. In

addition, the Cluster plans to reach 1.5 million girls and boys with EiE assistance through the Humanitarian Response Plan 2022, a 50% increase from last year’s targets.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

• Co-lead the Education Cluster (together with national SC-hosted Coordinator and UNICEF-hosted Coordinator co-leads)
  • Co-facilitate Education Cluster meetings and provide high quality standard representation of the Cluster in Inter-Cluster Coordination Team (ICCT) meetings
  • Represent the Education Cluster and undertake advocacy through/to Humanitarian Coordinator (HC), HCT, the broader humanitarian community, donors, and de facto authorities to ensure education is prioritized in the humanitarian response and equity remains foundational
  • Guide  multi-donor  pool  funds  (i.e.,  Education  Cannot  Wait,  Global  Partnership  for Education), bilateral donor investment and partner implementation and advocacy in alignment with the Afghanistan Education Sector Transitional Framework to achieve sector-level results
  • Engage with de facto authorities, where indicated, and Development Partners to operationalise the Afghanistan Education Sector Transitional Framework, emphasising Humanitarian-Development Nexus entry points and alignment
  • Secure funding commitments to the Education Cluster from bilateral/multilateral donors, including pooled funding mechanisms, and ensure that partners are aware of funding opportunities
  • Work closely and collaboratively with the Development Partners Group (DPG) to ensure EiE response provides linkages to longer-term support and continuity of education
• Contribute strategically to the periodic revision and development of Humanitarian Programme Cycle documents and Education Cluster strategy, including the following activities:
  • Reinforce and progress approach to EiE in Afghanistan with a specific focus on the needs of children most impacted by inequality, including those with disabilities, those in hard-to- reach areas and those discriminated by gender or other issues (utilizing secondary data and coordinating education-specific needs assessments to inform sector response planning)
  • Strengthen the quality of the response, including through the harmonisation of response activities (ensuring that activities prevent overlap and duplication) and lead on promoting interagency coordination on key approaches, taking into account the cross-cutting areas from other sectors or clusters (i.e., WASH, Protection, Health, Nutrition, etc.)
  • Systematically and intentionally engage with the Humanitarian Access Group and other relevant clusters and working groups to align with and guide other sectors, preserve humanitarian space, and enable adherence to shared operating principles
  • Support the revision of costing frameworks and funding targets based on market and operational realities and partners’ contributions
  • Facilitate partners’ inclusive participation in Education Cluster strategy and advocacy approach
• Guide the revision of the Cluster architecture to improve localized and evidence- based EiE response coordination

• • Support sub-national strengthening, with support from Cluster Lead Agencies, and define funding needs for the Cluster set-up at national and sub-national levels, prioritising localization
  • Contribute to the development and strengthening of the sub-national cluster focal points, including designing planning, implementation, and evaluation processes which generate inputs from the field towards programmatic decision-making and advocacy
  • Support the capacity building objectives of the national SC-hosted Cluster Coordinator to independently fulfil the full scope of the role (i.e., the expectation is for this role to become obsolete as to fully handover to the national Coordinator)
  • Coach and build capacity of the SC national Cluster Co-Coordinator

Thematic Areas of Save the Children value add as Education Cluster Co-Lead Agency:

• Mainstream localization by encouraging participation and representation of local partners in membership and decision-making mechanisms and identifying and addressing their institutional capacity gaps
• Ensure that children’s perspectives are solicited and included in all stages of the HPC and that the cluster and members have systems to institutionalise child participation
• Ensure that child safeguarding protocols are streamlined across the Education Cluster membership and are a pre-requisite for receiving endorsement for funding by the Cluster
• Lead the engagement with the Child Protection Area of Responsibility and identification of areas for joint collaboration between CPiE and EiE

General:

• Comply with Save the Children policies and practice with respect to child safeguarding, code of conduct, health and safety, equal opportunities and other relevant policies and procedures
• Display neutrality and act as the representative of all education cluster members
• Develop and maintain a strong and positive relationship with UNICEF, the education cluster co- lead agency
• Develop    and    maintain    a    strong    and    positive    relationship    with Cluster    partners in country and colleagues at regional and global levels.

BEHAVIOURS (Competencies and Values in Practice)

Leading and Inspiring Others (leading and inspiring others, delivering results)

Engaging (Networking, communicating with impact, working effectively with others)

Thinking (Problem solving and decision making, applying technical and professional expertise)

Accountability:

• Holds self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved
• Demonstrates commitment and accountability to the cluster, partners and affected populations and independence from employing organisation

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and the Education Cluster, embedded in the Cluster Strategy and Humanitarian Response Plans
• Future orientated, thinks strategically and represents Education Cluster ambitious goals to others, engaging and motivating others to contribute to these goals

Collaboration:

• Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength and makes a specific effort to engage and build the capacity of local partners
• Builds and maintains effective relationships with Cluster Partners and a wide range of stakeholders, from Humanitarian actors, Government counterparts and donors
• Approachable, active listener

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions to Education Cluster identified needs, by identifying individual organizations´ innovations and supporting experience sharing amongst cluster partners

Integrity:

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

Skills Required

• English Fluency

Submission Guideline:

Qualified applicants are highly encouraged to apply for the position by filling in the online application form. In addition to the online application form, they can also attach their CV and cover letter in the online system. Please note that only the applications received through the online portal will be considered for this position.

Applicants can login to the online application system by copying and pasting the following link intro their web browser. Returning users will need to enter their username and password, first time users will need to create a user account.

It is recommended that you save your username and password for future job applications through the online system.

https://stcuk.taleo.net/careersection/ex/jobdetail.ftl?job=220006ON&tz=GMT%2B04%3A30&tzname=Asia%2FKabul 

               “Save the Children strongly encourages applications from women. Minimum country requirements for potential female applicants will be followed”

Submission Email: