E T Consultant

E T Consultant

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.

The WBG’s education strategy highlights the need for a more comprehensive systems approach to education reform, investments, and service delivery. This approach is about increasing accountability and targeting results, as a complement to providing inputs. It also requires strengthening the knowledge base on education, to highlight where systems are achieving results, where they are falling short, and what the most effective solutions are. These efforts are increasingly guided by the need to invest early, invest smartly, and invest for all. Through high-quality analytical work, collection and curation of evidence, and practical know-how in these three areas, the WBG is helping its partner countries accelerate their educational progress. 

Regional context

The East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) Region comprises more than 20 countries, including MICs, LICs, and fragile states (EAP has the second highest number of fragile states amongst all the Bank regions). In the education sector, while many of the countries in EAP have achieved much in terms of getting their children to attend school at basic levels, they face ongoing challenges regarding the need to provide access at post-basic levels, improve the quality of schooling at all levels and enhance the relevance of education to labor market needs.

The EAP Region’s education strategy is consistent with the Bank’s own education sector strategy, with a focus on the following areas: (a) to strengthen education systems by helping develop institutions that enhance accountability, build information for effective decision-making through M&E and assessment systems and benchmarking; (b) to tailor our approach to country circumstances, specifically by responding to fast-growing countries’ requests to engage in upper secondary and higher education, skills development and vocational training, as well as to those from fragile and small states still trying to complete the EFA agenda; and (c) to use multi-sector approaches, such as conditional cash transfer programs, to achieve educational outcomes. 

The education program in the Philippines

The Education and Skills Global Practice currently engages in a variety of activities, including project preparation, implementation and supervision, trust fund implementation, scientific research, technical assistance, and a broad spectrum of advisory services. In particular, the Philippines Education Team is currently supporting two projects and preparing another one. The ongoing operations are the Teacher Effectiveness and Competencies Enhancement Project (TEACEP) and the Project for Learning Upgrade Support and Decentralization (PLUS‑D). Both operations combine targeted interventions and system‑wide reforms, underpinned by various analytical tasks.
 
TEACEP, a $110 million initiative scheduled between August 2023 to July 2028, is designed to improve education quality in three disadvantaged regions in Mindanao. TEACEP emphasizes strengthening teacher effectiveness through continuous professional development, coaching, and leadership training for school heads and supervisors. It also promotes inclusive and resilient education by supporting gender‑sensitive instruction, climate and disaster preparedness, and alternative delivery modes for remote schools (such as digital tools and radio‑based instruction). The project targets improvements in foundational literacy, numeracy, and socioemotional skills, especially in areas with low enrollment, high dropout rates, and weak learning outcomes, thereby contributing to broader human capital development.

PLUS‑D has been prepared to address the learning crisis that faces the Philippines’ education system. It aims to improve the foundational literacy and numeracy of primary education learners, as well as the learning outcomes in reading and mathematics of lower secondary education learners in public schools nationwide. It is a US$660 million investment project approved by the World Bank in April 2026, which will be implemented by the Department of Education between 2026 and 2032. It finances a massive learning recovery program, teacher professional development, the enhancement of assessments, a large school grant program, as well as the Department of Education's (DepEd) decentralization and digitalization agendas, among other interventions. It will benefit 21 million K–10 learners and their teachers nationwide.

This Philippines System Capacity Grant (SCG), which the World Bank manages as a Grant Agent, aims to strengthen DepEd’s institutional capacity in strategic planning, evidence-based policymaking, and monitoring and evaluation, in support of the 5-Point Reform Agenda, and the Quality Basic Education Development Plan. Under Window 1 (Gender-responsive planning and policy development), activities include supporting research and M&E, establishing a Delivery Unit, setting evidence-based infrastructure investment criteria, supporting partnership models, and administering the PISA for Schools assessment. Window 2 (Mobilize coordinated action and financing) centers on a new Public Expenditure Review to assess whether public spending effectively advances access, quality, equity, and learning outcomes. Window 3 (Strengthen capacity to adapt and learn at scale) provides technical assistance on learning recovery and acceleration, as well as builds data-driven decision-making capacity across central and regional offices.

The Early Childhood Education and Development (ECED) Grant Facility for Project Preparation (GFPP) is being implemented by DepEd with the overarching objective of strengthening the Department’s capacity, and ensuring technical, fiduciary, and environmental and social safeguards readiness for a potential future investment project, ultimately accelerating the delivery of a holistic, quality-focused ECED investment aligned with the Quality Basic Education Development Plan and the 5-Point Reform Agenda. It is a World Bank’s grant in the amount of US$ 1.7 million that supports activities such as: analyzing demand- and supply-side barriers to ECED access; assessing the capacity of Local Government Units to deliver ECED services; conducting feasibility studies with economic analysis; undertaking procurement and financial management assessments; facilitating knowledge exchange on international best practices for ECED delivery models; building DepEd’s and Local Government Unit’s capacity for program design and management; and developing alternative service delivery models and private sector partnership frameworks.

The key duties and accountabilities 

The Extended Term Consultant will report to the Practice Manager for Education in East Asia and Pacific and will play a key role in the strategic management, implementation, and development of the World Bank’s education portfolio in the Philippines. Responsibilities will include, but not be limited to:

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for the Philippines education portfolio, maintaining a strong understanding of the work program, operations, analytical and advisory activities, institutional context, and key counterparts, including DepEd, TESDA, CHED, DILG, and the ECCD Council. Oversee portfolio performance, implementation progress, milestones, risks, results, and compliance with World Bank corporate requirements, while ensuring fidelity to project design and timely escalation of issues requiring management attention.

• Lead technical assistance, institutional capacity building, and implementation support to government counterparts, particularly DepEd and, as relevant, TESDA, CHED, DILG, and the ECCD Council, covering education systems strengthening, service delivery, institutional effectiveness, education financing, and implementation capacity. Proactively identify and resolve implementation bottlenecks related to budgeting and expenditure, procurement, financial management, internal controls, institutional coordination, and other operational constraints, including through timely just-in-time support for emerging and unforeseen challenges.

• Strengthen portfolio-level implementation, coordination, and results management by identifying cross-cutting operational issues, facilitating solutions across projects and institutions, coordinating government agencies, implementing entities, World Bank teams, and other stakeholders, and translating implementation experience and lessons learned into stronger project performance, institutional systems, policy dialogue, portfolio strategy, and future operations.

• Build and maintain strategic partnerships and lead cross-sectoral collaboration with government institutions, development partners, civil society organizations, research institutions, academia, and other local, national, and regional stakeholders. Work proactively with the Human Development/People team, Country Management Unit, other Global Practices, and regional and global teams to leverage complementary expertise and resources, identify synergies and entry points, and advance education and skills development as drivers of inclusive, equitable, sustainable, and resilient growth in the Philippines.

• Provide substantive leadership and contributions to analytical, advisory, knowledge, and policy work by generating, synthesizing, adapting, and disseminating global, regional, and local evidence; preparing high-quality analytical products and actionable policy recommendations; and supporting strategic dialogue with senior government counterparts and development partners. Promote good practices and lessons that reduce learning poverty, improve learning and human capital outcomes, expand equitable and inclusive access to quality education and relevant skills development, and strengthen institutional effectiveness, accountability, and education system resilience.

• Contribute to the strategic development and effective management of the education program, identifying emerging priorities, operational opportunities, institutional constraints, and areas for future financing, technical assistance, and analytical engagement. Promote strong team coordination, communication, and knowledge sharing; prepare high-quality management briefings, reports, presentations, and materials for missions, reviews, and stakeholder engagements; and respond effectively to priority and ad hoc requests from World Bank management and colleagues, government counterparts, development partners, and other stakeholders. The role requires a high degree of autonomy, judgment, initiative, and leadership, including the ability to anticipate and resolve complex operational issues and build trusted relationships with senior counterparts bottlenecks include slow budgetary processes, slow procurement activities, and deficient financial management and internal controls.

Selection Criteria

• A Master’s degree in education, economics, public policy, business administration, or a related field, with at least 8 years of professional experience in the education sector, including experience in the preparation or implementation of education and skills projects and/or analytical work on education or skills. The candidate should have deep knowledge of the Philippine education sector; experience working with DepEd and/or TESDA would be an advantage.

• Extensive experience working directly with the Government of the Philippines, including supporting institutional strengthening and capacity-building initiatives and navigating government systems, processes, operational constraints, and implementation priorities.

• A proven track record of at least 5 years of conducting policy dialogue and formal negotiations with government counterparts and development partners, including the ability to maintain productive client relationships amid competing priorities and conflicting demands and to exercise sound political judgment, diplomatic acumen, and negotiation skills. Experience working with development organizations is an advantage, while experience with World Bank-supported projects is highly desirable.

• Demonstrated extensive direct experience guiding clients and/or development partners in identifying and addressing key operational issues, priorities, and solutions, including the ability to reconcile diverse perspectives and build consensus. Strong analytical skills and experience in evaluating education and skills projects are required, together with the ability to think independently and strategically and to rapidly analyze and synthesize information from diverse sources.

• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple and competing priorities effectively in a high-pressure environment, prioritize tasks within a demanding work program, meet deadlines, and consistently deliver high-quality work with strong attention to detail and the highest standards of professional ethics.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and Filipino, including the ability to prepare clear, high-quality documents on complex subjects in both languages and present ideas clearly and concisely. Demonstrated ability to work effectively and collaboratively in teams, exercising empathy and mutual respect, and to navigate multicultural environments involving diverse perspectives, priorities, and interests.

WBG Culture Attributes:

1. Sense of urgency: Anticipate and quickly respond to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
2. Thoughtful risk-taking: Challenge the status quo and push boundaries to achieve greater impact.
3. Empowerment and accountability: Empower yourself and others to act and hold each other accountable for results.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

As per WBG policy, an Extended Term (ET) appointment is subject to a lifetime maximum of three (3) years. Former and current ET staff who have completed or are in the process of completing their third-year ET appointment are not eligible for future ET appointments.

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