Program & planning officer

Description

Are you a hardworking advocate for education? Do you want to make a difference in the lives of children in the world’s poorest countries? The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Secretariat would like to hear from you.

Who we are

GPE is a shared commitment to ending the learning crisis. It is the only global partnership fund dedicated entirely to helping children in lower-income countries get quality education, to unlock their potential and contribute to building a better world. With nearly 20 years’ experience helping partner countries to get more children in school and learning, we convene teachers, civil society, donors, United Nations agencies, development banks, businesses, and philanthropists behind partner country leadership to finance and support solutions so that no child is left behind.

What we do

GPE convenes partners and mobilizes funds to help governments in 76 lower-income countries build and finance strong and sustainable education systems that deliver quality learning to more children, especially those who are marginalized by poverty, gender, disability, or displacement. GPE focuses on driving transformation at scale to get the most vulnerable children in school, improve teaching and learning, and build resilient education systems capable of withstanding shocks and adapting to new challenges. GPE’s approach achieves lasting impact by convening partners behind country leadership. We support government efforts to advance teaching and learning for the 21st century, mobilize more and better financing, and scale up proven solutions for the poorest and hardest-to-reach children.

GPE recently approved a new strategy and operating model, GPE 2025, which is grounded in a “system transformation” approach and seeks to support and sustain education reforms with the potential for impact at scale. Within this framework, it was agreed to work with developing country partners to catalyze progress in four system transformation enabling factors: Equity, efficiency, and the volume of domestic financing of education; Gender responsive sector planning, policy, and monitoring; Use of data and evidence; and Sector coordination.

Raise Your Hand

GPE is currently calling on world leaders to “Raise Your Hand” and pledge at least US$5 billion to help GPE transform education in up to 87 countries, which are home to more than 1 billion children. Over the next five years, this funding will help ensure that 175 million children can learn and enroll 88 million more. In the longer term, this investment could add $164 billion to economies in the developing world, lift 18 million people out of poverty, and protect two million girls from early marriage.

Location

With over 100 staff, the GPE secretariat is hosted by the World Bank and has headquarters in Washington D.C and Paris plus an office in Brussels. The selected candidate may be based in the Washington, DC office. This is an international recruitment subject to compensation on the local pay scale for the selected duty station, and global mobility benefits may apply as per World Bank Group policy.

Role:

The candidate will be mapped to GPE’s Country Engagement and Policy team and within the Strategy and Coordination (SCT) sub-team. The SCT facilitates agenda setting in CEP and coordinates inter-Secretariat collaboration to address country needs.

The successful candidate will provide assistance managing and streamlining annual work processes, strengthening internal communication, effectively tracking CEP’s budget and leading CEP’s knowledge management efforts. This is a new position intended to bring a central focus to operations planning and coordination activities within and across CEP. This role will help ensure the team is functioning as effectively and efficiently as possible; that knowledge around GPE 2025 and the new operating model is adequately documented; and that the CEP leadership group is supported to make strategic decisions about resources and priorities.

In addition to supporting the effective management of CEP, the candidate will help coordinate relevant cross-team activities and represent the SCT in assigned Secretariat cross-team work.

The position would suit someone who is able to work independently on challenging, multi-stakeholder problems and with a strong interest and demonstrated experience in organizational planning, budget tracking and knowledge management.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Work planning, budgeting, and monitoring.
• Facilitate the annual work program and budget (WPB) process for CEP, ensuring transparent planning, monitoring, and reporting on activities, in collaboration with the centralized WPB function in the Secretariat Operations Team.
• Be the designated WPB focal point for CEP, ensuring that communication from CEP and to CEP is concise, timely and relevant.
• Innovate to help improve the relevance and use of the WPB within CEP and within the Secretariat.
• Collect and report on key metrics that indicate how effectively and efficiently the team is executing its workplan and achieving results.

Team Coordination and Change management:

• Organize CEP Team meetings and CEP Leadership meetings, including agenda setting, reviewing, and circulating notes.
• Support team building activities, including team retreats, surveys, well-being activities and new processes related to inter-team cooperation.
• Support the roll-out of the GPE operating model, including coordinating training opportunities, coordinating documentation and knowledge management, convening meetings and keep a track record of notes and frequently asked questions.
• Coordinate inputs to respond to requests to the SCT and other Secretariat teams by liaising with CEP team leads.
• Support the development of Standard Operating Procedures and protocols to ensure consistency in team processes and planning.
• Provide coaching and other support to users of new processes and tools.
• Support the roll out of corporate projects, systems, and initiatives.

Knowledge Management:

• Support and facilitate knowledge and information management related to implementation of GPE’s new operating model, including documentation of all key activities and learning points and producing knowledge products accordingly to facilitate replication of good practices and learning across GPE country teams and the wider Secretariat.!
• Design and lead the implementation of CEP’s knowledge management efforts, ensuring that internal systems (Teams, filling systems, MyGPE, Team calendar, GPE Engage!) are set and up to date, and that CEP staff are modeling business practices around those systems.!
• Manage internal team communications to ensure staff are all updated regularly, including team newsletters and other channels.
• Ensure that the work of CEP and how it contributes to the mission, vision, and goals of the GPE Partnership are profiled in appropriate vehicles of communication (e.g., the Friday Note) and contribute to evidence gathering for success stories and learning in GPE.
• Support development, review and approval of knowledge management efforts including blogs, webinars, participation in research conferences.!
• Support Secretariat-wide knowledge management efforts.

Selection Criteria

• Master’s degree (or an Undergraduate degree and further experience) in Political Science, Public Policy, International Relations, Management or Development, or a related field.
• At least six years of relevant experience, preferably within an international organization or equivalent.
• Excellent organizational skills honed through experience supporting management/executive staff or working in a high-pressure environment (political/diplomatic environment). 
• Experience leading an annual planning process (work program and budget)
• Change management experience; a relevant certification such as Prosci would be a plus
• Knowledge management experience: ability to organize information using shared platforms such as MSTeams, OneDrive, intranet etc.
• Well-honed communication, interpersonal, relationship management and influencing skills; able to relate to people at all levels of an organization.
• Highly collaborative, but also able to work effectively with considerable autonomy under pressure to deliver in a timely manner.
• Resilience and flexibility, with a high level of energy, drive, and persistence.
• Proven analytical and problem-solving skills and proven ability to apply these in carrying out complex research and operational tasks, identifying issues, presenting findings/ recommendations, and contributing to bottlenecks/issues.
• Proficiency in English. French is a strong plus.
• Capacity to work simultaneously on a variety of issues and tasks, independently adjusting to priorities and achieving results with agreed objectives and deadlines.

Our benefits

Staff Mobility

Staff appointments include, but are not limited to, medical benefits, including dental and vision, Staff Retirement Plan, financial assistance program, life & disability insurance, comprehensive leave policy (minimum 26 days/annum) and parental leave policy (50-100 days).

Diversity and inclusion statement

Poverty has no borders. Neither does excellence. This is why we continually search for qualified individuals with a diverse set of backgrounds from around the globe. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups, and persons with disabilities, as well as nationals from under-represented regions are equally encouraged to apply. We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, creed, race, color, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

GPE has a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment in line with its PSEAH policy. Individuals with disabilities may be provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential functions of the role and support in receiving other workplace accommodations. Please contact the DAF-Disability Accommodation Fund at disabilityfund@worldbank.org for further information and support.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

Learn more about working at the World Bank and IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.