Job Details

Contract

Full time

Lusaka, Zambia

Job Description

For the past 40 years, Mott MacDonald’s education consultancy Cambridge Education, has been transforming the lives of children and young people around the world and at the heart of our work is a passionate team, dedicated to ensuring that all children have the opportunity to receive a high-quality education. We do this by being a facilitator, an advisor, a catalyst for change and a critical friend to our partners and clients. In the last 10 years, we have led programmes that have worked with thousands of schools and supported the professional development of nearly half a million teachers – ultimately improving the learning outcomes of over 10 million children.

Cambridge Education is currently preparing to tender for the upcoming USAID-funded Zambia Foundational Learning Activity, which will work in collaboration with the Zambian Ministry of Education to support the delivery of foundational learning in the early grades to improve learning outcomes. There are three primary objectives:

1. Scale the Primary Literacy Program
2. Support the Ministry of Education to institutionalize PLP and early learning reforms/provide technical assistance to direct Government-to Government Education Sector Assistance
3. Enhance the delivery of remedial and catch-up education.

This five-year, $10 – $25 million program is forecasted for procurement in March 2024, and is expected to be awarded by October 2024.

As part of our preparations, we are inviting expressions of interest from experienced senior technical experts that would be interested in working with us as a part of this initiative.

The Technical Lead will be responsible for providing leadership and experience in the design and implementation of the technical program areas and daily oversight of project activities. They will provide guidance and supervision to technical staff and ensure clear roles and responsibilities and maintain clear lines of communication with project team members.

They will oversee and monitor technical outputs of all partner organizations through regular field visits and facilitate work planning and regular technical meetings for all consortium partners and provide support to the leadership and management, ensuring strategic direction and compliance with relevant policies, procedures and donor regulations.

Candidate Specification

• Master’s degree in education, or another closely related field is required.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in the field of Education, with at least 5 years providing senior technical assistance and leadership in the development and delivery of Education programming in primary education and foundational learning including basic literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills.
• Previous experience of working with USAID is a strong asset.
• Strong experience in at least one of the core areas of the activity, and knowledge of others: Scaling of Primary Literacy, Systems strengthening, Supporting Ministry of Education to institutionalize early learning reforms and providing technical assistance to direct Government-to Government Education Sector Assistance, and enhancing the delivery of remedial and catch-up education.
• Experience in and/or deep understanding of the Zambian education system and delivery chain is highly desirable. This will include an ability to engage with Ministry and other government officials from the policy to the implementation levels.
• Long-standing experience in Zambia in the education sector is a strong asset, as is experience working across all levels (national and local) in-country.
• Fluency in English is required.

Job Profile

The Technical Lead will collaborate with in-country technical advisors and headquarter-based technical staff to ensure the project is implemented according to organization and industry best practices, frameworks and regulations. They will represent the project in technical meetings, conferences, and coordination platforms, and serve as the primary technical program representative in the absence of the Chief of Party.

Other Information

Equality, diversity and inclusion
We put equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of our business, seeking to promote fair employment procedures and practices to ensure equal opportunities for all. We encourage individual expression in our workplace and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels they have the opportunity to contribute.

Agile working
At Mott MacDonald, we believe it makes business sense for you and your manager to choose how you can work most effectively to meet your client, team and personal commitments. We embrace agility, flexibility and trust.

More about Mott MacDonald
We’re a global engineering, management and development consultancy.
Our purpose is to improve society by considering social outcomes in everything we do, relentlessly focusing on excellence and digital innovation, transforming our clients’ businesses, our communities and employee opportunities.
A fundamental part of this is respecting each person’s differences and striving to meet their needs.
Our values: progress, respect, integrity, drive, excellence