About the role: This is an exciting opportunity to help the government and people of Ethiopia strengthen the education system and work with experts in a dynamic consortium that is putting together a compelling and innovative bid for the forthcoming five-year “Transforming Education Programme in Ethiopia (TREE)”. As Gender, Inclusion and Social Development Lead, you will be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with frequent visits to specific regions to be covered by the programme and other locations as necessary.

You will report to the Consortium Technical Assistance (TA) Lead. Regular day to day liaison and coordination will be with Regional Leads and Concern Worldwide’s Technical Advisers in Ethiopia and at head office. You will work closely with both local and international consortium members and downstream partners and contractors, the Core Programme Management Team, and the Ministry of Education (MoE).

This role is contingent on funding being secured.

Job Title:                           Gender, Inclusion & Social Development Lead, Transforming Education in Ethiopia Project, Concern Ethiopia

Reports to:                       Consortium TA Lead, Concern Ethiopia

Terms:                               Fixed Term, Unaccompanied.

Salary:                               TBC 

Requirements:                Regular travel within Ethiopia.

About Concern:               Established in 1968, Concern is a non-profit, non-governmental humanitarian organisation, dedicated to the reduction of suffering and the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.

Concern’s vision, our mission and our work are all defined by one goal – ending extreme poverty, whatever it takes. Concern strives for a world free from poverty, fear, and oppression.

Our culture is values driven and we believe that our people are central to all that we do and are key to delivering on our goal of Reaching the Furthest Behind First. We are committed to ensuring a workplace where everybody feels valued and are enabled to succeed in their work and contribute to delivering on our mission.

Concern believes that education is at the heart of development and is key to breaking the poverty cycle, and improving health, nutrition, income, and opportunities for all children. Our education programming aims to improve the lives of extremely poor and vulnerable children in a sustainable way by increasing access to high quality primary education and supporting wellbeing.

Background of the FCDO Transforming Education in Ethiopia Project:

In Ethiopia, many children are out of school or at risk of dropping out, in particular girls and other marginalised groups. Progress has been made in expanding education access for children across the country - however, since 2019 progress stalled due to conflict, climate-induced shocks, the impact of COVID-19 and other challenges which have exacerbated existing inequalities.

In response and building on its previous support to the Ethiopian Education system, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) aims to improve teaching quality and learning outcomes and increase access to education for girls and marginalised children through the ‘Transforming Education in Ethiopia’ project (2024-2028). The programme will focus on three key aspects:

• Teacher and school leader development: Improved quality of teaching and learning with a focus on continuous teacher professional development in targeted schools.
• English Language Teaching and Learning: Selected schools provide better teaching and learning in English Language as a subject, and improved use of English across the curriculum.
• Equity, Inclusion and Girls’ Education: Improved access and retention of the most marginalised children, particularly girls.

Role Purpose:

The Gender, Inclusion, and Social Development Lead will lead in providing technical guidance on gender, inclusion, and social development within the project. They will work closely with the project team to design and implement a programme specific Gender Equality & Social Inclusion (GESI) strategy, ensuring its principles are integrated across all project activities, and linking it to wider organisational GESI strategies. This includes developing relevant indicators and work plans, with a particular focus on the needs of girls, religious and ethnic monitories and individuals with disabilities.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the development and implementation of a comprehensive project GESI Strategy.
• Direct and coordinate GESI-related research and analysis in collaboration with key stakeholders, including MEL (Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning) teams, regional teams, and other specialists, to inform project design and implementation.
• Working closely with the MoE and other key stakeholders at national and regional levels, actively support and influence the development, review and refinement of relevant national policies, guidelines, materials, and tools to ensure robust GESI integration.
• Lead the development, review and refinement of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)/Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and Child Protection approaches, materials and tools.
• Collaborate with MEAL colleagues to establish GESI-specific indicators and targets, supporting the collection, analysis, and reporting of GESI data for effective monitoring, learning, and communication of project outcomes.
• Liaise with experts within the consortium on disability to ensure integration into project.
• Foster and maintain strong relationships with communities, organisations, partners, and other stakeholders to amplify the project's GESI impact and ensure collaborative progress toward shared goals.
• Provide technical GESI insights to project reports, ensuring high-quality communication to donors and stakeholders regarding the integration of GESI, the achievement of results, and the impact across the project.
• Conduct field visits as needed to monitor the implementation and performance of GESI activities, offering practical recommendations for improvement and ensuring follow up on progress.
• Support teams to ensure that project activities or events are designed to remove barriers to participation for marginalised groups, including women, religious and ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.
• Identify and address gaps in GESI capacity across the team through targeted training, technical assistance and other capacity building methods.
• Advocate for and sustain a strong commitment to GESI mainstreaming throughout the project’s lifecycle, ensuring all team members, and stakeholders prioritise inclusive practices and outcomes.
• Within this role, promote and help ensure adherence/compliance with Concern Worldwide’s Code of Conduct & Associated Policies (including Programme Participant Protection, Child & vulnerable adult Safeguarding, Anti-Trafficking policies), Conflict of Interest Policy, Anti-Fraud Policy, and Modern Slavery Transparency Statement.
• Within this role, promote and help ensure accountability to programme participants and wider communities in line with Concern Worldwide’s commitments under the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) and Do No Harm principles and ensure high ethical standards throughout programme implementation.

Role Holder Requirements:

Required:

• Advanced degree (master’s or equivalent experience) in gender, social work, education, international development or related field.
• Minimum of 5-7 years’ experience in directly delivering gender equality and social inclusion support into large scale programmes, ideally in the education and/or protection sectors, in similar contexts.
• Experience conducting GESI-related research, including barrier analysis, and using data to inform project design, implementation, and policy development.
• Experience in developing, implementing, and revising policies, strategies, and frameworks related to GESI (Gender Equality and Social Inclusion) in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.
• Extensive experience in designing and delivering capacity-building initiatives and training, particularly in gender, inclusion and social development.
• Extensive technical knowledge of key gender, inclusion and social development topics.
• Deep understanding of the cultural, social, and political context of Ethiopia, including knowledge of the specific challenges and opportunities related to gender, inclusion, and social development.
• Ability to work effectively, collaboratively and develop constructive relationships with government, at both strategic/policy and service delivery levels including positive influencing skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex information in a clear and concise manner to diverse audiences with different backgrounds.
• Fluency in English.

Desirable:

• Experience with FCDO-funded and familiarity with these donor GESI requirements and standards
• Fluency in one or more Ethiopian languages.

We encourage all eligible candidates, irrespective of gender, ethnicity or origin, disability, political beliefs, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status to apply to become a part of the organization. Concern is against all forms of discrimination and unequal power relations and is committed to promoting equality. 

To apply:  CVs should be submitted through our website at https://jobs.concern.net by the closing date.

Due to the urgency of this position, applications will be shortlisted on a regular basis and we may offer posts before the closing date. 

If you have any concerns about our recruitment process and need particular assistance - for example if you have a visual impairment or are neurodivergent - please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you. 

Concern has an organizational Code of Conduct (CCoC) with three Associated Policies; the Programme Participant Protection Policy (P4), the Child Safeguarding Policy and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Policy accessible here. These have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation, and to clarify the responsibilities of Concern staff, consultants, visitors to the programme and partner organization, and the standards of behavior expected of them. In this context, staff have a responsibility to the organization to strive for, and maintain, the highest standards in the day-to-day conduct in their workplace in accordance with Concern’s core values and mission. Any candidate offered a job with Concern Worldwide will be expected to sign the Concern Staff Code of Conduct and Associated Policies as an appendix to their contract of employment. By signing the Concern Code of Conduct, candidates acknowledge that they have understood the content of both the Concern Code of Conduct and the Associated Policies and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these policies. Additionally, Concern is committed to the safeguarding and protection of vulnerable adults and children in our work. We will do everything possible to ensure that only those who are suitable to work or volunteer with vulnerable adults and children are recruited by us for such roles. Subsequently, working or volunteering with Concern is subject to a range of vetting checks, including criminal background checking. 

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Concern Worldwide is an Irish-based non-governmental, international, humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.