Senior System Strengthening Officer

Education for Development Division

Position Location: Aden, Yemen 

Background:

Creative Associates International is a dynamic, fast-growing global development firm that specializes in education, economic growth, democratic institutions and stabilization. Based in Washington, D.C., Creative has a field presence in more than 25 countries with a strong client portfolio that includes the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department, among others. Since its founding in 1977, Creative has earned a solid reputation among its clients and is well-regarded by competitors and partners alike. 

Project Summary:
This position is for a USAID-funded Gateway to Education project being implemented in three governorates of Yemen, Aden, Lahj and Al Dhale’e to ensure safe and equitable access to quality education. Intermediate Results 4 is to strengthen institutional capacities for more effective and efficient implementation and coordination of education activities that primarily address new education challenges resulting from the Yemen crisis.

Position Summary: The Senior System Strengthening Officer will be responsible for overseeing all systems strengthening and policy-related activities to improve education quality and management. The Senior Systems Strengthening Officer's work will be primarily concentrated in the areas of support and capacity building for national and sub-national level education authorities to adopt and implement evidence-based data driven policies and approaches to effectively leverage and use their financial, human and materials resources.

Reporting & Supervision:

This position reports to the Senior Technical Advisor and will directly supervise program staff. 

Expected Outcomes: 

• Strategic objectives co-created for education service delivery and aligned with TEP goals.
• Development of priority systems and procedures/ protocols for education quality and management, including operations and administration, school quality and support, and monitoring and accountability.
• Increase institutional capacity to implement systems for service delivery at all levels.
• Strong collaborative working relationships established among key government officials.
• Data management systems strengthened.
• Data dissemination and utilization improved.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Facilitate a process with governments and other stakeholders to map and review existing education policy frameworks, especially for access to, quality instruction for, and better management of primary schooling.
• Work with government agencies to provide systems and procedures to sustain existing policy initiatives and facilitate development and implementation of new policies, particularly in the areas of operations and administration, school quality and support, and monitoring and accountability.
• Support development, implementation and monitoring of policy action plans.
• Facilitate policy review meetings regarding systems strengthening and develop tools to assess impact.
• Improve the capacity of government education officials to develop leadership, managerial, and supervisory skills to effectively manage and monitor education service delivery.
• Provide coaching on various issues including data analysis and evidence-based decision making, monitoring, and staff mentoring.
• Support dissemination of new policies and opportunities for bottom-up feedback at all levels through workshops involving government education officials; community meetings; IT; paper publications; and ongoing media campaigns.

Required Skills & Qualifications:

• At least 5+ years of experience in a leadership position responsible for developing policy frameworks, preferably in the field of education.
• Must have 2+ years of supervisory experience.
• Demonstrated experience working with government agencies, actors, and other stakeholders at the national and governorate levels.
• Demonstrated expertise in national system planning and budgeting.
• Demonstrated expertise in systems development and roll-out.
• Demonstrated capacity to lead workshops, trainings, and strategic planning sessions.
• Experience in developing and using monitoring and accountability systems.
• Knowledge in data management, analysis and report writing.
• BA degree required. Master’s or PhD degree or in Education, Public Policy or related field preferred.
• Arabic and English language fluency required.