Job Details

Job Description

VVOB – education for development is an international non-profit organisation with over 40 years’ experience in strengthening the quality of education systems in Africa, Asia and South America in close partnership with ministries of education and their institutions. Our head office is based in Brussels, Belgium.

We implement our programmes and projects with one shared passion: to ensure the improvement of quality education.

Do you share our ambition to ensure that learners around the world can enjoy their fundamental human right to quality education, without exception? Are you convinced as well that quality education guarantees equal opportunities for everyone and is the key to a better world?

We are looking for an Education Advisor who will operate from our office in Lusaka, Zambia, to contribute to the overall implementation of the Catch-Up projects. Do you want to take on this challenge? Then continue reading!

Education Advisor:

You report to the Education Manager and will be supporting the ongoing implementation of the VVOB Zambia Catch Up projects. This ranges from supporting the material and training development, to supporting training, mentoring and monitoring field visits as well as planning and review exercises at National level.

Your role includes and brings together expertise and competencies of programmes staff working across projects, and you will collaborate closely with the Strategic Education Advisors in Lusaka as well as the Education Advisors and Project Coordinators based in the field offices.

Your role will be to ensure quality is built into Catch Up projects and that clear, well thought through approaches are developed, implemented reviewed and documented.

Focus areas:

• You create and implement strategies to engage with Ministry of Education (MoE) key stakeholders, especially at headquarters level, who have an important role in sustaining our programmes.
• You support the coordinating committees at the Ministry of Education headquarters level to organise and conduct high-level Catch Up activities.
• You coordinate regular reflection and planning meetings with the Ministry of Education headquarters.
• You support VVOB teams in different provinces to design, implement and monitor implementation plans.
• You provide input in meetings and documents related to sustainability and institutionalisation.

Your role:

• You design, develop, coordinate and maintain strategies that enhance close working relationships with MoE staff at all levels and other relevant partners for the implementation, monitoring, institutionalisation and further scaling of Catch Up in particular.
• You contribute to the crosscutting deliverables of each running Catch Up project within VVOB Zambia.
• You prepare and oversee the quality of professional development trajectories for VVOB colleagues and partners with a specific focus on knowledge management.
• You support the development of new project proposals with expertise and experience collected from the field offices.
• You are open to learning, actively formulate lessons learnt and participate and contribute to joint learning cycles with VVOB colleagues and partners.
• You keep abreast with policy trends, new developments and latest research and thinking in education and international development by external and internal networking and share new insights with partners and VVOB colleagues.

If you’re our Education Advisor based in Lusaka, your workweek at the office will include the following highlights:

1) In one of the regular programme team meetings, you give an update on activities and status of implementation in project deliverables you supported, highlighting issues where you need guidance from colleagues, or an action to be taken by the strategic team.

2) You think of adjustments that need to be made to the Catch Up programme in order for it to be driven and sustained by the government. You develop a number of actions that would need to happen for this change to be made, which you put into a presentation to be discussed with VVOB and partners later in the week.

3) You work closely with the project teams, Strategic Education Advisors and MEAL to develop a plan to handover VVOB’s support to ongoing Catch Up programme to the Ministry at provincial and district level and ensure it is shared across the projects.

4) You take part in a Teams meeting with technical experts from Global VVOB to co-design content for an upcoming capacity development training on government-led FLN solutions. You are well prepared with ideas based on your work in the field and experiences from previous meetings with colleagues.

5) You join the SEA to visit a partner to discuss future funding opportunities where you focus on how we ensure sustainability in programmes.

6) You review field reports from different provinces and consolidate recommendations from these to share with the MoE and come up with concrete actions in response.

Who are you?

This is a national position, open only to Zambian Nationals.

Your expertise and experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in education (or similar), with at least 5 years of relevant working experience.
• Registered with the Teaching Council of Zambia
• A Master’s degree will be an added advantage.
• At least 3 years working experience in the international development sector.
• Extensive proven expertise in Catch Up and / or FLN (Foundational Literacy and Numeracy)
• Experience on structured pedagogy is an asset.
• Knowledge and experience with developing and implementing professional development trajectories for a wide range of education stakeholders (teachers, school leaders, and officials).
• Excellent computer skills in a full range of software, including MS office, such as TEAMS and Outlook, and social tools.
• Excellent communication skills in English, including writing, conversing and presenting.
• Excellent knowledge of the Zambian Education system.
• Experience with working in a multicultural team.
• Able and willing to travel occasionally for short periods of time (appr. 1 week per month).
• All professional and academic certificates must be verified by ZAQA.

Matching competences

VVOB core competences:

• Results and goal oriented
• Continuous improvement
• Cooperation within a team and with other stakeholders

Function specific competencies:

• Creativit
• Development Oriented
• 360° empathy
• Communication skills
• Problem analysis and judgement

What we’re offering:

• A dynamic working environment in an international context.
• An exciting job in a growing organisation with varied responsibilities and opportunities for professional development.
• An opportunity to contribute to exciting, evidence-based projects aimed at ensuring the education sector in Zambia is strengthened, by bringing in innovative solutions for professional development of school leaders and teachers.
• A complete remuneration package, which includes a base salary and benefits.
• A national contract to 30/06/2026.

Starting date: 1st September 2025.

What’s next?

Send your motivation letter detailing your match with the profile as well as your motivation behind applying for the vacancy along with your CV by e-mail no later than 31st  May 2025 to [email protected].

Don’t forget to refer to the job title in the subject line of your e-mail.

Before a job offer, shortlisted candidates can expect:

1. A written test
2. An interview process

VVOB firmly believes that quality education can only be achieved if equity is ensured. Qualities of people prevail, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or disability.