Education Strategic Planner for CERD

OPM TA Team short term
technical assistance ToR

Title: Education Strategic Planner for CERD

Working with

CERD President

Reports to

OPM TA Project Director

Contribution to
Output:

Output 1

Background

In recent years, Lebanon has become the country with the highest refugee per capita in the world. Officially, there are more than 1.5 million registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon, a third of which are school going aged children. In 2013, the Government of Lebanon (GoL) opened a second-shift in its public education system to cater for the enormous numbers of refugee students. In 2017/2018,
non-Lebanese students outnumbered Lebanese students in the public education system. The responsibility for educating all these students resides with the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) who, alongside external donors, launched the Reaching All Children with Education II (RACE II) programme in 2016.

The World Bank (WB) and GoL, especially the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) and the Centre for Education Research and Development (CERD), designed Support to RACE II (S2R2) to deliver on significant parts of RACE II as the strategy relates to the formal education sector. S2R2 is designed to complement other work developed to support RACE II, such as activities planned and implemented with UNICEF, UNHCR and UNESCO.

The UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in Lebanon’s contribution to the education sector includes support to S2R2 as well as the provision of a technical assistance team to MEHE and a separate team to CERD. In March 2018, a three-year technical assistance project was awarded to Oxford Policy Management, which expanded an existing TA facility to serve MEHE priority areas to achieve the objectives of RACE II. The TA team supports the GoL to deliver the immediate objectives of the S2R2 programme while building the capacity, systems and processes which underpin a medium-term sector development strategy.

Level of effort

1.   Role

Senior Education Strategic Planner, the ongoing role of the post holder for the duration of the contract.

The role holder reports to the Project Director of the TA Programme. They shall support and/or work in close
collaboration with all the assigned teams, as directed by CERD President. The consultant will be contracted for 6 months.

2.   Objectives and deliverables

1)   To strengthen and support CERD’s ability to design, plan for, implement, and communicate to partners, S2R2 and associated sector strategies.

2)   To deliver support to CERD’s President on strategic planning, as requested.

3)   To work with other CERD staff (as requested) to build capacity, develop links between departments and translate strategic plans into action plans and the delivery of services.

4)   To strengthen and support the use of evidence and data in strategic planning and results monitoring at CERD.

5)   To coordinate the TA to CERD with the TA project director.

Indicative tasks

Detailed tasks to be worked out with CERD President and the OPM Project Director. 

Indicative outputs for this post

Planning

i.  Support CERD to deliver on its 2020 S2R2 workplan and assist in the development of 2021 CERD S2R2 workplan, as requested.

      
ii. Support CERD to bring other planned projects and programs into alignment with the broad sector framework afforded by S2R2 in order to maximize the benefit form the existing and future partnerships. This will include work with USAID, AFD, KFW, JICA, UNICEF, French Institute as well as ECW.

    
iii. Support programmes on data for decision making with a view to strengthen and support the use of evidence and data in strategic planning and results monitoring at CERD.

    
iv. Be knowledgeable and up to date about the sector and use this information to develop CERD’s strategies.

      
v.  Support CERD in mapping existing projects/programmes
and align them with CERD strategy. At the immediate term, as of January 2021,
support in developing, one CERD  Action Plan consolidating all the interventions planned by CERD as well as partners and donors for 2021. At the medium term, set the detailed plan with SOPs for the Strategic Plan 2021-2025, in collaboration with concerned stakeholders and as
agreed by CERD President.

    
vi. Provide support on CERD educational crisis response strategy and operational plan.

   
vii. Support CERD in the human & institutional capacity development strategy & plan

Aid Coordination

        
i. Support CERD to strengthen its approach to aid coordination, through improved communications, provision of relevant data, and increasingly clear asks on issues such as joint missions and improved alignment of investments.

Working effectively in CERD

       i.   Provide support to CERD President and other stakeholders, in coordination with CERD President, on a range of areas including presenting briefings, writing strategy plans, emails, draft speeches as requested.

     ii.        During planning processes, identify where other members of OPM TA team can be brought into
ongoing work to support S2R2 progress and link with UNICEF and CERD work planning, as directed by CERD President.

    iii.        Provide advice to build and shape CERD’s Capacity Needs Assessment into a Capacity Development Plan with clear action steps and a roadmap.

    iv.        Lead the TA to CERD and coordinate with the project director on necessary reporting and other necessary project tasks.

3.   
PROFILE AND SKILLS

·      
      Master’s degree in education, management, public administration, planning or any relevant field. PhD is a
      plus.

• At least 10-years’ experience in strategic planning advisor for complex projects, including experience with donor-funded projects;
• Demonstrated ability to interact at the most senior levels of government;
• Extended experience of public service delivery in Lebanon or other similar context;
• Expertise in the capacity development of government officials, including senior civil servants;
• Theoretical and practical knowledge of designing, developing and monitoring sector strategies;
• Knowledge of the current structure and challenges facing the education system in Lebanon;
• Demonstrated ability to stimulate focused and productive dialogue at government senior level;
• Strong leadership skills and team management abilities;
• Excellent inter-personal skills and emotional intelligence
• Fluency in English is required
• Arabic or French is desirable

APPROACH & SKILLS TRANSFER PLAN

1)   WORKING RELATIONSHIP: The Consultant will work in close coordination with the CERD President and build on
work that they have already started.

2)   STATION: All the necessary introductions to CERD staff, access to CERD and to the required documentation
to perform the task will be granted by the President of CERD.