SEND CV to: ausaid.washington@gmail.com

Principal Sector Specialist (Education)

Reports To: First Assistant Director General, Policy and Sector Division

Location: Canberra

Role

As Principal Sector Specialist (Education) you will be Head of Profession for education for Australia’s international development program.

You will play a key role in shaping an expanded aid program to meet the Government’s objectives by setting the direction for and driving change in Australia’s education sector investments and providing leadership and policy advice to meet agency goals. Your professional advice will be authoritative and inform the analysis, design and implementation of our bilateral and multilateral investments in education. You will guide, foster and co-ordinate the development of a strong sectoral knowledge base to underpin evidence-based decision making about them.

With the support of the Education Thematic Group you will lead quality assurance processes and facilitate the provision of high quality technical inputs across the education portfolio to assist country programs to improve their development effectiveness in the education sector.

You will lead and develop the education community of practice, and build education capabilities across AusAID by facilitating the development and delivery of a range of learning options for AusAID staff working or aspiring to work in the education sector.

You will also play an important influencing and advocacy role and lead policy dialogue with key stakeholders in other Australian Government agencies, regional and global partners, and in partner governments.

You will work collaboratively with other Principal Sectoral Specialists and with other Divisions to increase the focus, coherence, effectiveness and value of the Australian aid program.

You will be accountable to the First Assistant Director General, Policy and Sector Division for strengthening the performance and quality of the education portfolio. You will work alongside and collaboratively with the Assistant Director General, Education and Health Branch who is responsible for leading and managing the development and implementation of sectoral policy and managing the human and financial resources of the Branch.

The education program

Promoting opportunities for all through education is one of the five strategic goals of Australia’s aid program to help people overcome poverty. Australia’s education priorities are to improve access to education opportunities, especially for the marginalised and hard to reach; improve learning outcomes so that all children and young people achieve the basic skills necessary for productive lives; and drive development through better governance and service delivery.

Australian Official Development Assistance to Education in 2010-2011 was AU$727.7m and is expected to increase as the aid program expands. This includes supporting partner government education systems through bilateral programs, mostly in the Asia-Pacific region, and also funding global programs such as the Global Partnership for Education and contributing to global public goods such as UNESCO Institute of Statistics. Australian investment will continue to be primarily in the Asia-Pacific region. Australia provides direct education support to 21 developing countries and around 90 per cent of our assistance is bilateral. AusAID’s education sector priorities are set out in the Promoting opportunities for all – Education strategy.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

To be a strong contender for this high profile and challenging role you will thrive in a dynamic and intellectually stimulating environment.

You will have expert level knowledge in relation to education systems, sector analysis, specific education sub-sectors and/or education thematic areas, and be able to share and communicate that knowledge with non-specialists across AusAID.

You will also have a strong commitment and a proven ability to create organisational capacity in the area of education

You will have excellent public sector management skills and well developed international networks. Your impressive personal drive, leadership skills, intellectual rigor and professional credibility will be complemented by strong interpersonal skills, good judgement and a strong achievement orientation.

Duties

In this role you will be required to:

1. Provide high level technical advice to the agency in developing sectoral policy and in monitoring its implementation across the education portfolio.

2. Lead and undertake strategically focused sectoral analysis and reporting for education across the Australian aid program, including reporting of results

3. Lead the further development and application of AusAID’s quality assurance processes to improve the effectiveness of bilateral and multilateral education

investments including through analysing and advising on situational analyses, delivery strategies, investment concepts and program design and implementation and, as appropriate, leading strategic policy dialogue work and interactions with government officials, donor partners and other education leaders.

4. Lead and quality assure education sector resource facilities and expert panels providing external technical inputs to the education portfolio

5. Lead the development of education expertise within AusAID by facilitating knowledge-sharing activities, leading and nurturing AusAID’s education community of practice and supporting recruitment, retention and learning and development strategies that build organisational capability in education.

6. Contribute to education knowledge management in Australia’s aid program

7. Strengthen strategic and technical relationships with key international and partner government institutions, including undertaking high level policy dialogue with selected partner governments and international leadership roles that help to extend Australia’s influence on the overall effectiveness of global development efforts.

Qualifications/Experience

You will have globally recognised tertiary qualifications in a relevant discipline such as teaching, education assessment, economics, development, psychology or statistics and extensive international development experience in education. You will understand the role of aid in development and ideally have extensive practical experience with a range of different aid instruments.

The Person

To be successful in the role you will need to meet the seven core selection criteria. In addition, you will have the following attributes:

An exceptional results orientation;

Be a skilful communicator with personal presence;

Have outstanding stakeholder engagement skills;

Have excellent strategic management and leadership skills;

Have a strong commitment to customer service;

Be committed to quality processes and outcomes;

Be forward-looking;

Be self-motivated;

Have a demonstrated capacity to build and maintain relationships;

Be able to manage several high profile issues simultaneously;

Have the ability to identify and assess emerging issues;

Have strong people management skills, both in leading a team and in liaising with stakeholders;

Have an understanding of the importance of AusAID’s role within the Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio; and

Have an understanding of the importance of audit, risk and compliance functions in underpinning an effective regulatory framework.

Core Selection Criteria

1. Shape Strategic Thinking

Relevant capabilities and behaviours:

Inspires a sense of purpose and direction Strategic focus Ability to recognise opportunities, harness information Shows judgement, intelligence and common sense

2. Achieve Results

Relevant capabilities and behaviours:

Organisational capability Professional expertise Implements change Ability to clarify ambiguities Closure and delivery

3. Exemplify Personal Drive and Integrity

Relevant capabilities and behaviours:

Professionalism and probity Risk-taking and personal courage Action orientation Resilience Self-awareness Commitment to personal development

4. Cultivate Productive Working Relationships

Relevant capabilities and behaviours:

Nurtures internal and external relationships Facilitates co-operation and partnerships

Values differences and diversity

Guides, mentors and develops people

5. Communicate with Influence

Relevant capabilities and behaviours:

Communicates clearly Listens, understands and adapts to different audiences

Negotiates persuasively

6. Awareness of Aid Management and Development

Relevant capabilities and behaviours:

Awareness of the Australian Government’s priorities for international development Understanding of international and domestic political, economic, social and cultural

issues affecting the attainment of the Government’s international goals and the Australian aid program objectives.

7. Specific Specialist/professional knowledge, skills and experience

Relevant capabilities and behaviours:

Demonstrated understanding of education in the development context Demonstrated experience in developing the expertise of sectoral teams Evidence of leading contribution to international sectoral networks and alliances.