Education economist. Extended term consultant

Description

Are you a passionate 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 Secretariat (GPE) would like to hear from you.

Who we are

GPE is a shared commitment to end the world’s learning crisis. It is the only global partnership and fund dedicated entirely to helping children in lower-income countries get a quality education, so they can unlock their potential and contribute to building a better world. We bring together governments, teachers, civil society, donors, United Nations agencies, development banks, businesses and private foundations to achieve our shared vision that every child deserves to learn.

What we do

GPE currently supports 76 low- and lower-middle-income countries to transform their education systems so that all children can get the education they need to thrive. We work where the needs are greatest and focus on reaching the children who are the most vulnerable, including girls, children with disabilities and those who live in countries characterized by extreme poverty or conflict.

How we work

Transforming education is about creating lasting changes and achieving impact at scale. GPE’s new strategic plan, GPE 2025, sets out to deliver this transformative change by convening partners, mobilizing funds and catalyzing reforms to help partner countries get more girls and boys in school, improve teaching and learning, and build equitable, inclusive and resilient education systems fit for the 21st century.

Our unique approach works. Since 2002, 160 million more children in GPE partner countries have set foot in classrooms for the first time, more than half of them girls. In 2020, GPE was also the largest provider of education grants in the global COVID-19 response, rapidly providing partner countries with vital resources to ensure that learning could safely continue.

Raise Your Hand

In July 2021, the Global Education Summit raised a record US$4 billion from donors for GPE’s Raise Your Hand campaign. This put GPE firmly on the path to achieving its fundraising target of at least $5 billion over the next five years to transform education systems in up to 90 countries and territories. At the Summit, Heads of State and Government from partner countries made historic commitments to domestic education financing and GPE also mobilized an unprecedented number of pledges from businesses, private foundations and development banks.

A fully funded GPE would enable up to 175 million children to learn and help get 88 million more girls and boys in school by 2025. In the longer term, this investment could add $164 billion to economies in GPE partner countries, lift 18 million people out of poverty, and protect 2 million girls from early marriage.

Governance and organizational arrangements

The GPE Board of Directors includes ministerial-level board members and alternates representing 20 constituencies that reflect the Partnership’s breadth. The Board Chair is HE President Jakaya Kikwete and the Board Vice Chair is Dr Susan Liautaud. The Board of Directors, with its three standing committees, provides policy and strategic oversight and approves or delegates funding decisions.

The GPE Secretariat, with over 120 employees and hosted by the World Bank, is responsible for translating the policies and strategies set by the Board into practical support for partner countries, coordinating with diverse stakeholders and galvanizing global support for SDG4. The Secretariat’s headquarters are in the World Bank’s offices in Washington, D.C. and the European office is in Paris with a satellite office in Brussels.

Job Description

We’re seeking an Education Economist / E T Consultant to be part of the Quality Assurance sub-team (QA) of the Finance and Grant Operations Team (FGO). FGO focuses on fiduciary matters, grant processing, monitoring and administration, risk, innovative financing, and trustee finance. The QA sub-team is the hub for the GPE Secretariat’s quality assurance function related to key GPE processes and grants, including the new System Transformation Grant and Girls Education Accelerator. Secretariat quality assurance facilitates country progress towards successful grant applications in support of education systems transformation. It also facilitates the Board’s review and decisions related to grants and the new Partnership Compacts. The QA team coordinates the Secretariat quality assurance function and works with other teams to assess quality, provide feedback, support grant processing and portfolio planning, and maintain the suite of QA tools and assessment methodologies.

In line with GPE’s new strategy—GPE 2025—and operating model, the Quality Assurance sub-team will also coordinate a newly established Independent Technical Advisory Panel (ITAP). The ITAP will provide an assessment of country status against a set of factors that are considered enabling for education system transformation – organized into four areas: (i) data and evidence, (ii) gender-responsive sector planning, policy and monitoring, (iii) sector coordination, and (iv) volume, equity, and efficiency of domestic public expenditure on education. The ITAP assessment will feed into country dialogue on system transformation priorities and bottlenecks and inform GPE Board decision-making on grant financing of country education reform agendas.

Duties and Accountabilities

The education economist / E T consultant will be tasked with the following responsibilities under the overall guidance of the Quality Assurance Team Lead:

• Working with QA/FGO colleagues and other Secretariat teams, support a variety of quality assurance tasks focusing on partner countries’ domestic public financing of education, as relevant to the steps of the operating model (i.e., both leading up to as well as after the ITAP assessment).
• Contribute to the monitoring of each partner country’s progress related to volume, equity and efficiency of domestic public financing of education, and regularly update related risk framework indicators.
• Overall, contribute to ensuring a systematic and rigorous approach to GPE’s review and monitoring of domestic public financing of education. Contribute to the development of indicators and the strengthening of methodologies and guidance. 
• Contribute to learning activities in this area.
• Participate in Secretariat cross-team initiatives as relevant.
• Assist with other QA activities, time permitting.

Selection Criteria

The successful candidate is expected to have the following educational background and demonstrated skills and competencies:

• Minimum of a master’s degree in economics or public finance with five years of relevant experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• A strong background in quantitative skills.
• Experience working with a government and/or in a developing country is a plus.
• Ability to understand and work with education sector and public finance data.
• Proven proficiency in writing clear analytical reports.
• Ability to read and communicate (written and spoken) fluently in English
• Ability to read and communicate in French and/or Spanish is a plus.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Ability to work flexibly in a fast-paced environment.

Competencies

• Knowledge and Experience of Education in developing countries - Demonstrates relevant experience with a focus on global and national efforts to improve sector performance.
• Knowledge, Learning and Communication - Actively seeks knowledge needed to complete assignments and shares knowledge with others, communicating and presenting information in a clear and organized manner. Delivers information effectively in support of team or group work. 
• Lead and Innovate - Develops innovative solutions with others.
• Deliver Results for Clients - Achieves results and identifies mission-driven solutions for the client.
• Collaborates Within Teams and Across Boundaries - Initiates collaboration across boundaries and broadly across the GPE/WBG bringing different ideas to the forefront.
• Create, Apply and Share Knowledge - Creates, applies, and shares knowledge from across and outside GPE/WBG to strengthen internal and/or external partner solutions.
• Makes Smart Decisions - Recommends and takes decisive action.

Benefits

ETT/ETC appointments include medical benefits, paid holidays, and comprehensive leave policy (24 days/annum). 

Diversity and Inclusion

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. 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.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

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. 

Note: The selected candidate will be offered a one-year appointment, renewable for an additional one year, at the discretion of the World Bank Group, and subject to a lifetime maximum ET Appointment of two years. If an ET appointment ends before a full year, it is considered as a full year toward the lifetime maximum. Former and current ET staff who have completed all or any portion of their second-year ET appointment are not eligible for future ET appointments.