View Vacancy – Education Policy Adviser, Grade-7, Islamabad

Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online application form including the employment, educational details, behavioural and technical/ professional skills questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only with all the required details and the shortlisting is not basis CV/ cover letter. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.

About the job:

The work of the British High Commission (BHC) in Pakistan is focused on six main workstreams – Regional Stability, Threats, Health and Education, Climate, Resilience and Humanitarian, Open Societies and Economy and Trade.

BHC Islamabad is looking to recruit a suitably qualified and very experienced Education Policy Adviser. 

This position is based within the Health and Education Group in British High Commission, Islamabad. The Group supports the delivery of Pillar 3 of the Pakistan Country Business Plan (CBP): 
“Pakistan’s human capital improved, with effective, inclusive and resilient health and education systems providing quality services for all, with a special focus on women and girls, and resulting in a healthier and more literate population.” 

The Group currently leads FCDO policy and programmes at the federal and provincial levels relating to education reforms and service delivery, health systems strengthening, population planning and demography, and data and surveillance/monitoring systems in education and health. The total value of ongoing programmes is £308m, with an annual forecast of £17.98m for education and 15 million for health in 2024/25. This is one of the largest UK ODA portfolios in Pakistan. 

The Group comprises of two teams: Education and Health. This role is based within the education team which is headed by a G6 Education Team Leader and comprises of 10 members. The Group is well resourced with a team of advisers and programme managers to ensure effective delivery of the UK’s policy/programme portfolio. 

The post-holder will report to the Education Team Leader (G6) in Pakistan.

The team manages a £130m programme called GOAL (Girls and Out of School Children: Action for Learning). This programme operates in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In addition, a £29m national Data and Research in Education Programme (DARE) is providing pivotal support for data standardization, research and use of evidence across the country. Both programmes have G7 education advisers to support programme delivery.

Education, particularly of girls and most marginalized children, is a top priority for the UK. Our support in education in Pakistan combines the FCDO, the British Council and the Department of Business and Trade, which provides an end-to-end education offer within the sector. It ranges from foundational learning, through primary and secondary school, to higher education and vocational skills. The education team also collaborates closely with the UK’s centrally managed funds and multilateral programmes such as the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and Education Cannot Wait (ECW).

The Education team focuses education of girls and most marginalized children. This involves substantial influencing work and diplomacy to bring and sustain education high on the political agenda. This is done through Prime Minister’s Education Taskforce, Punjab Chief Minister’s Roadmap, and coordination with senior government interlocutors including Ministers and secretaries of Education in provinces and at the Federal level, as well as with development donors and partners. 

Purpose of the Job:

Working closely with the Education Team Leader, you will work as the office’s overall lead on education policy. You will draw on local and international evidence to shape the UK’s position and share the overall technical leadership on key education issues. You will steer FCDO’s role as a credible partner, providing valuable technical policy and programming advice to a wide range of stakeholders within the education sector. 

This will include technical leadership for delivering a clear vision and outcomes from the Prime Minister’s National Education Taskforce, the Punjab Chief Minister’s Roadmap, FCDO’s role as the co-chair of the National Education Development Partners Group and Coordinating Agency role for the Global Partnerships for Education (GPE) in both KP and Punjab provinces. 

You are also expected to assume the role of senior lead adviser of the GOAL programme (£130m), overseeing design and implementation of technical assistance to government and carry out the role as Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) within the first twelve months of starting, once sufficiently trained. Through effective team working, you will advise on decisions to the FCDO senior leadership and the education team to support better education policies, and delivery of better education outcomes throughout Pakistan, particularly for the poor, most marginalized and for girls. 

The role holder will ensure quality technical engagement with the Government(s) of Pakistan at federal and provincial levels and will support, as technical quality assurer (TQA), two G7 education advisers in policy and programmes. The role also requires providing in-depth review of technical papers/products produced by TA in our GOAL and DARE programmes.

The role holder will play an expert role in inter-disciplinary thinking and thought leadership, linking programmes, and bringing deep expertise to maximise the impact of our work in Pakistan. The role holder will has a solid understanding of the institutional architecture of governance in Pakistan, at federal and subnational levels and will be able to develop strong links with specialist networks, research organizations and professional bodies in Pakistan and globally.

The role requires excellent communication and team working skills and the ability to work with a diverse set of operational, programmatic and policy leads. It will also necessitate strong interpersonal and networking skills to build and maintain working relationships across the British High Commission. It will also require meeting with and briefing UK and Pakistani Ministers on human capital related issues.
 This is an exciting opportunity to join the Health and Education Group.

We reserve the right to review, revise or amend the roles and responsibilities from time to time reflecting the changing needs of business.

Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve: 

The role holder will lead on cross-mission policy leadership for the education sector, programme leadership and line management, technical quality assurance and lead on strengthening the FCDO’s understanding and capabilities related to human capital and economic growth. The role holder will also work with other teams on aligning our development as part of the new country planning processes. This will include:  

Cross-mission policy leadership (40%) 

• Providing in-depth and evidence-based analysis and represent the Pakistan Network in technical discussions on education at the highest levels. This will involve shaping the UK’s position on education and its linkages with agendas related to women and girls, inclusive growth, demography, climate change and extremism. This will involve working closely with other parts of the mission, especially the British Council, the Department of Business and Trade (DBT), and teams working on governance, inclusion, human rights and growth.

• Establishing credibility and influence at the most senior levels within Federal and provincial governments and development partners and advise on complex education policy and related political and reputational aspects of UK’s policy and programming, including with external organisations.
• Engaging with the leadership of the Pakistan Network and across HMG to support implementation of the Pakistan Country Business Plan, and actively contribute to related planning, drafting and review processes. This will also require effective communication on the impact of the Pakistan Network’s work in the education sector, locally and to FCDO HQs.
• Developing (including refreshing) the Pakistan Network’s education and Beyond Aid strategy in Pakistan, building political will, capacity, and advocacy for education, and ensuring collaborative working across the Education Sector to achieve the Network’s education objectives.
• Leading the office’s coordination with centrally manage programmes, and global funds for education working in Pakistan: Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and Education Cannot Wait (ECW). Provide advice to SEO Policy and Partnerships Coordinator to ensure full alignment of GOAL and DARE with the CMPs.
• Providing briefings, speeches, and contributions to high-profile visits, to highest standards and in engagements with other key stakeholders in the sector including UN, WB, USAID, UNICEF, ADB and others.

Programme leadership (40%) 

• Ensuring high quality technical expertise is brought to bear across the portfolio. The successful candidate is expected to lead the GOAL Technical Assistance component while overseeing delivery of other components led by a G7 Education Adviser and programme managers.
• Overseeing the quality of technical outputs produced by GOAL implementing partners and shape/quality assure FCDO’s feedback and steers on the deliverables.
• Providing high-quality technical leadership for building a portfolio of effective human capital interventions in the future, in with UK policy and business planning processes.
• Collaborating with the Data and Research in Education (DARE) programme to build synergies at operational level with GOAL and education policy work.

Line management, technical quality assurance and office’s capability for work on human capital (20%) 

• Working with the Group Head, Education Team Leader, BHC senior leadership and the Head of Profession to build in-house capability for effective policy influencing and delivery of education programmes such as through talent and professional development.
• Directly line managing 1 SEO Education Policy and Partnerships Coordinator and 1 G7 Education Adviser and TQA the second education adviser working on the DARE programme by providing constructive feedback on their outputs and promoting their talent and L&D.
• Covering the Education Team Leader, and if needed, Deputy Group Head or Group Head during their leave and travel.
• Investing in own leadership skills and learning and development to keep up to date with FCDO education policy and international evidence and direction of the sector.
• Leading on education programme related briefing, Parliamentary Questions, Ministerial Correspondence, public enquiries, freedom of information requests. Support the team with clear and concise drafting.
• Engaging with Ministers on human capital related issues from an education perspective. This includes providing briefings, speeches, and designing and managing contributions to high-profile Ministerial and heads of state visits, and advising heads of mission.
• Ensuring highest standards of human capital advice provided in engagements with other key stakeholders in the sector including UN, WB, USAID, UNICEF, ADB and others.

Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):

• FCDO induction if new to the organisation
• Hera, AMP and other FCDO systems training

Resource to be managed (staff and expenditure):
Jobholder will be managing 1 SEO position

Essentials on Arrival:

• Holds over 10 years of relevant education sector experience in Pakistan
• One or more formal qualifications of direct relevance such as at least a Master’s Degree in Education Policy, (or similar qualification)
• Recognised for deep specialist or technical knowledge and/or skill, underpinned by extensive experience applying it in practice on complex issues.
• Excellent writing and drafting skills
• Strong competency on MS Word, EXCEL, TEAMS
• Experience in providing effective thought leadership in education
• Strong expertise in the use of evidence to inform policy and programming particularly in the education sector.
• Good research and analytical skills including the ability to search and organise information, critically assess data and present findings succinctly and coherently.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to be able to articulate in practical terms how education interventions can enable/ unblock delivery of services across a range of stakeholders
• Demonstrated experience of working on policy influencing with key stakeholders
• Ability to work and deliver project outcomes within deadlines.

 
Language requirements:

• Language: English
• Level of language required: Fluent

 
Technical Competencies Required:

Given the technical content of the role, the successful candidate must demonstrate technical competencies at G7 level as per FCDO’s Education Technical Competency Framework. Knowledge and expertise of candidates will be assessed against a set of technical competencies:

• Education Policy
• Education Systems
• The Global Education System and Its Institutions
• Education, Equity and Inclusion
• Evidence, Research and Innovation.

This position must meet the standards for Expert level as stipulated in the Education Technical Competency Framework

Please review the Education: Technical Competency Framework for answering the Behavioural, Technical/Professional Questions.