Education Specialist

Reporting to: Education Director
Terms: FTE
Location: Cambodia, Myanmar and/or Nepal

About the Organisation

United World Schools is dedicated to improving the educational opportunities of poor and marginalised children around the world. By providing children with a basic education, we are striking at the heart of long term poverty and deprivation – a long game but one we are tackling head on and with ambition and commitment. UWS provides a flexible education model that is simple yet effective in remote regions. The model follows the national curriculum, whilst supporting teachers to implement educational programmes that are appropriate for the contexts in which they are working.

Role Summary

The Education Specialist role is a new and important one for UWS, based within the in-country Education Team, but working collaboratively across our teams in Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal and London. We are looking for 2-3
qualified (UK or equivalent) teachers to work across the UWS school network (200+ learning sites) to drive up educational standards and ensure that a ‘basic and effective’ quality of provision is achieved across the board.

This is an exciting opportunity to help improve the life chances of children from rural and marginalised communities across Cambodia, Myanmar and Nepal. You will work closely with a passionate and committed in-country team (including the Education Director, Education Officers, principals and teachers) as well as the Global Programmes Director based in London. The Education Specialist will promote the development of progressive ‘child-centred’ teaching strategies and ensure that safeguarding and child protection procedures are fit-for-purpose. Ultimately the aim of the role is to support and grow the capacity of the UWS in-country Education Team, to enable them to operate independently and sustainably in the future.

Responsibilities (including, but not limited to):

• Work with the Education Director to develop and deliver the Pre-Teacher Training Programme for new community teachers and the Training Programme for all UWS teachers.
• Improve the effectiveness of Education Officers in their work with principals and teachers – leading their training, implementation, monitoring, support, accountability and professional development.
• Support curriculum development in UWS schools, as well as enrichment provision.
• Support the efficient, effective and imaginative use of resources in UWS schools.
• Ensure the necessary standards of safeguarding and child protection practices are in place in all UWS schools and the required procedures for monitoring, referral and intervention.
• Ensure the successful implementation of the new data management system for in-country monitoring, evaluation and reporting and its effective use by the in-country Education Team. This will include overseeing the production of effective and robust monthly attendance data and the ‘At Risk’ interventions, the quarterly
  school evaluative monitoring reports and annual school reviews and development plans.
• Work closely with and support the in-country SLT (mostly education work, but also for example supporting trips, partnership building, fundraising work etc, as required).
• Work closely with and support the Global Programmes Director and the Programmes team and act as an ambassador for UWS at all times.
  

Knowledge and core competencies

We are looking for a successful, confident and adventurous teacher who is ambitious and willing to grow and develop with the organisation. This means that above all, we are looking for someone who is adaptable, resilient and open to learning new skills and can take a proactive approach to new tasks and responsibilities.

• A qualified (UK or equivalent) teacher with a successful track-record
• Ability to produce, develop and deliver training programmes
• Understanding of and ability to produce, adapt and implement fit-for-purpose safeguarding and child protection practices
• Ability to lead, inspire and professionally develop a range of staff across in-country teams (with the key objective being the team’s eventual sustainability and independence)
• An understanding of the complexities and sensitivities required in working within an in-country team, as well as being part of the UWS (Global) Programmes team and the ability to communicate, liaise and develop sound working relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders
• Ability to think and work strategically and to take the initiative
• Strong digital and technical skills and confident in working with and reporting on data
• Strong skills in monitoring, analysing and evaluating information - and a broad understanding of the issues around impact evaluation in development education
• Ability to produce high quality reports, proposals, presentations and other communications to a range of current and potential stakeholders
• The ability to work in a fast-paced environment and prioritise work and juggle multiple things at once
• Determined, persuasive, ambitious, flexible and a proactive team player … which means you commit and deliver for the cause
• Willing to be mobile and to spend time in remote and marginalised areas, to travel on the backs of motorbikes and in jeeps and boats, to adapt to challenging conditions and (occasionally) to jump on a plane to London, or visit other UWS programmes

How to apply

To apply for this position, please send a comprehensive CV (max 2 pages) and a supporting statement (no more than 2 pages) to ollie@unitedworldschools.org. The deadline for applications is 9am on 20/12/2019.

You should give the names, positions, organisations and telephone contact numbers of two referees, one of whom should be your current/most recent employer. References will only be taken once your express permission has been granted.

United World Schools is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are only able to accept applications from candidates that have the permanent right to work in the UK.

UWS is committed to the safeguarding of children and ensuring we recruit safely is central to this commitment. All applicants will be required to undertake a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check as a condition of employment.