Purpose of the function

• To design and support implementation of educational and capacity development trajectories for the establishment of language-rich learning environments that are context-specific for Vietnam

• To coach the Organization Vietnam content team to acquire a deep understanding of language development and early literacy approaches – capacitating them to be drivers of change in relation with local government partners

• To harvest evidence of successful capacity development and contribute to Organization’s body of knowledge on emergent literacy

Responsibilities

• Lead capacity development of Organizations operational (ministry) partners on early multilingual language development and early literacy in ECE.

• Lead the development and implementation of various teacher and school leader professional development packages and trajectories on language development and language-rich learning environments for emergent literacy.

• Coordinate, develop and support communication and outreach campaigns to relevant stakeholders (including parents) on multilingual language development and emergent literacy in ECE.

• Keep abreast with policy trends, new developments and latest research and thinking in education and international development, focused on emergent literacy.

• Network and cooperate with relevant development, structural and strategic partners to contribute to the continuous improvement of Organization’s programmes.

• Manage donor communication and relations and fulfil programme reporting requirements in coordination with the Country Programmes Manager and Early Childhood Education Manager.

• Ensure high quality standards in terms of partnership, relevance, efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the programme.

• Act in accordance to Organization’s vision, mission, values, policies and guidelines, as well as its approach to capacity development of its government partners

• Advise on capacity development trajectories by Organization for partners and effective teacher professional development by partners for schools.

If you’re our Strategic Education Advisor, your workweek at the office will include the following highlights:

You will have a meeting with officials of the ministry departments on ECE, Teacher Professional Development to discuss the integration of language-rich learning environments in the ECE system.

You have an online meeting with technical Organization’s staff from other country offices and head-office who have experience on similar programmes.

You urgently need to work with colleagues on the procurement and distribution plans for the learning materials that need to be in the schools (some of them very remote) before the training trajectories start. With two months to go there is no time to lose!

You have a meeting with the M&E advisor to agree how to collect the evidence of the changes and their impact. You may use that information to amend the programme implementation plan in order to deal with some delays.

You finalize the annual progress report that needs to be submitted to the donor by the end of the month.

You have a workshop with a communication agency to develop the outline and key messages for the outreach component of the programme.

You advise colleagues who will join an emergency meeting with ministry partners to reschedule the upcoming teacher trainings due to new training guidelines issued by the ministry of education.

You have a call with colleagues in South Africa and at head office to prepare a presentation at an international conference.

Your expertise and experience

• A Master’s degree, preferably in education, international development, public policy, or a related field or equivalent by experience.

• At least 7 years of relevant work experience;

• At least 2 years international (working) experience:

o You obtained your Master’s degree abroad, or

o You have working experience in an international organization, or

o You have working experience related to this vacancy abroad

• At least 3 years of experience working in a low or middle income country

• At least 3 years of experience with capacity building of organizations, teams and persons, preferably in strengthening government systems and structures;

• At least 2 years of experience in a position working closely with external stakeholders, preferably with multiple partners;

• You have practical knowledge of and experience in education methodologies in early childhood education, more specifically:

o Knowledge / experience with emergent literacy in early childhood education

o Knowledge / experience with transition processes from early childhood education to primary education

• An in-depth understanding of latest international developments and research in the education sector in general and language development and emergent literacy in particular;

• Strong time and project management skills (planning, budgeting, report writing);

• Flexible with a proven ability to multitask and adjust to changing circumstances;

• A good understanding of upscaling of education innovations (from pilot to scale);

• English proficiency: CEFR level C1 or equivalent

Matching competences

• Results and goal oriented

• Continuous improvement

• Cooperation within a team and with other stakeholders

• Strategic Networking and Partnership building

• Persuasiveness

• Vision Building

• Problem Analysis & Judgement

• Creativity

What we’re offering:

• A full-time contract until 31/12/2026 with the possibility of extension depending on the availability of donor funding; this will be a local contract for national candidates or an expat contract for international candidates.

• A dynamic working environment in an international context;

• An exciting job in a growing organization with varied responsibilities and opportunities for professional development;

• An attractive salary & benefits package