Senior Technical Officer – Education

Title

Senior Technical Officer - Education

Location

Harare

Type of Contract

Fixed Term Contract

Deadline

29/09/2022 (Expired)

About

Zimbabwe Health Interventions (ZHI) is a not-for-profit human development organisation which is registered as a Trust under the Zimbabwe Deeds Registries Act (Chapter 20:05). ZHI’s mission is to develop and deliver innovative and sustainable high impact integrated health interventions with local communities while working with and strengthening existing institutions.
The Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe women (DREAMS) Program aims to prevent new HIV infections and reduce vulnerability among OVC, OVC caregivers and Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) in Zimbabwe. The DREAMS program is being implemented in priority high HIV burden districts in Zimbabwe. ZHI’s primary role is to deliver a comprehensive curriculum on HIV prevention, gender norms and social asset building targeted at AGYW in school, out of school and their sexual partners at community level. ZHI’s core thrust in the DREAMS Program is to keep girls and young women HIV Free through supporting them to; Stay in school; Prevent early pregnancies; Prevent sexual violence; Access Post violence care; Reduce child marriage. DREAMS provides a comprehensive, multi-sectoral package of core interventions to address key factors that make girls and young women particularly vulnerable to HIV. These include structural factors, such as gender-based violence, exclusion from economic opportunities, and a lack of access to secondary school. DREAMS layers multiple interventions at once so that AGYW are surrounded with critical support to keep them safe from HIV and other risks.

Basic Function

The post holder will provide technical leadership for the Education Support program and is responsible for strategizing, implementing and coordinating education interventions in school and community in 9 DREAM-RISE districts. (Bulawayo, Beitbridge, Bulilima, Gwanda, Insiza, Matobo, Gweru, Mangwe and Mazowe). He/She provides technical and administrative support to the project field teams. She /He supports the Technical Director to provide the requisite technical leadership for all the DREAMS education activities; including leading and coordinating the non-formal education, program and systems support activities in the targeted districts. The post-holder is responsible for identifying strategic partners, forge collaboration and synergy to improve project efficiency and outcomes. The Senior Technical Officer - Education (STO - E) will actively participate in education-related activities and meetings including participation in strategic platforms. This position works with both formal and non-formal education within the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Ministry, creating linkages between the school and community. The post-holder will work with others to design integrated education activities that will keep vulnerable girls and boys in school, improve educational outcomes and build their social agency.

Job Description

With the support and guidance of the Technical Director, the STO -E will lead the implementation of ZHI’s DREAMS education interventions through provision of Education in development; Coordinate Education activities according to strategy, proposals, budgets, and plans; Oversee training, coaching and on-going support of teachers, and Community School Program Facilitators to improve instructional practices in literacy, numeracy, social and emotional skills; Coordinate the retention of the AGYW in the school at the beginning of each school term using the retention tracker to effect payment; Work closely with district team to track attendance monthly of the AGYW using the attendance tracker whilst tracking progression at the beginning of the year using the progression trackers to establish transition to secondary schools and continued school fees support; Support School personnel to enable them to act as a surveillance and reporting mechanism for children at risk of dropping out; Support OVC needs assessments and develop their care plans, ensuring all case plans are updated to inform service provision; Identify critical program gaps and vulnerabilities, and clarify roles, responsibilities and accountabilities to effectively address those gaps; Ensure quality in the programme by building capacity of the local staff and teachers through trainings in pedagogy, psychosocial support, life skills etc; Provide guidance to district-based team on common standards, innovative strategies and approaches that ensure a capacity to address ZHI’s Commitments for children in development and reflect good practice in developmental education responses; Works with the SIE team to implement the M&E action plan, making sure that M & E data for the Project is collected and MER reports are produced, as required; Support timely implementation of education activities at district level, scheduling activities and monitoring attendance and retention of learners using the standardized program tools; Contribute towards education policy formulation, implementation, keeping abreast of latest government policy guidance, analyze, sensitizing staff and guide implementation; Spearhead development of literacy and numeracy learning curriculum with girl’s empowerment focus; Works closely with the Finance team to monitor project expenses and to ensure accurate Project financial reporting, while maintaining clear documentation of beneficiary information and record keeping; Manages partner relations by supporting the partners, responding to their enquiries/queries and ensuring that there is effective communication regarding Project activities; Arranges trainings for district staff or partners, community cadres and assists in various capacity strengthening activities; Support the development of training materials and staff training on the education interventions; Support the profiling, recruitment and training of Community School Program Facilitators (CSPFs); Support development of training plans for teachers, CSPFs and other community partners based on identified needs; Performs other Project activities as may be assigned from time to time.

Knowledge, Skills and abilities

Excellent interpersonal and time management skills, good analytical skills; Initiative in learning and self-development; Respectful, willing to cooperate with and support Project stakeholders including colleagues, beneficiaries, local community and local leaders.

Qualifications and experience

Master's Degree in Social Sciences (social work, management, child development) public health or any related field; At least 5 progressive years of experience as a development practitioner with a reputable NGO; Thorough knowledge and understanding of project management principles, theories, practices and especially on community and key Government engagement processes; Experience in Result Based Management (RBM) and block grant is a required; Extensive knowledge of OVC, HIV/AIDS, social services management, and child welfare in the Zimbabwean context, including familiarity PEPFAR DREAMS approach and with HIV and Sexual Violence Prevention curriculum; Practical experience and demonstrated technical expertise in PEPFAR-funded Education programming within resource-constrained settings.

Application Procedures

Click here to complete the job application form.
The expression of interest is to be submitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Directors, boardplacements@zhi.co.zw before the close of business on the 13th of October 2023. Shortlisted candidates shall be invited to an interview and the preferred candidate shall be required to consent to an integrity check prior to appointment.

ZHI is a charitable organisation and does not remunerate individuals who sit on the board. Board members will be expected to volunteer their services, and resources for the benefit of the beneficiaries and communities that the organization serves. During the application process, ZHI will not charge any fee, nor will it require any payment for an application to be considered. ZHI is an equal opportunity employer and employs personnel without regard to race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, language, citizenship, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, physical handicap, or financial ability.