View Vacancy – Human Capital Social Development Adviser, Grade – G7, BHC 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.’’

Main purpose of 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 experienced Human Capital Social Development Adviser.

This position is based within the Health and Education Group (HEG) in British High Commission, Islamabad. The Group supports the delivery of Pillar 3 of the Pakistan Country Business Plan:

“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 has 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 HEG leadership team.

The education team manages two large programmes with a total value of £159m: Girls and Out of School Children: Action for Learning (GOAL) which operates in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Data and Research in Education Programme (DARE)). Programming work includes improving education outcomes for girls and the most marginalised and providing pivotal support for data standardisation, research and use of evidence across the country. Both programmes have G7 education advisers to support programme delivery.

Education, particularly of girls and most marginalised 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 and Education Cannot Wait.

The Health Team manages two large programmes with a total value of £155m (Delivering Accelerated Family Planning in Pakistan (DAFPAK) and Evidence for Health (E4H)). Programming work focuses on family planning, demography, sexual and reproductive health rights, ending preventable deaths, strengthening health systems at both national and sub-national levels, including health security and climate resilient systems.

The UK supports a more effective, inclusive and resilient health system that provides quality services for all, including women and girls, which results in a healthier population and enables a step change in Pakistan’s human capital. UK-Pakistan Health Partnership (2023) sets out how the UK and Pakistan will work on shared objectives and mutual interests to support accelerated progress in key areas of health.

Both Education and health programmes have shifted in recent years from large scale service delivery programmes to systems strengthening work, policy engagement, and catalytic technical assistance. The partnerships in each sector include mutual areas of interest in which we will work together drawing on UK strengthens and in response to identified needs, while leveraging the full range of UK resources (bilateral, centrally managed, multilateral and commercial) providing catalytic interventions that focus on supporting capacity strengthening, sustainable exit and maximising overlap with other priorities and available resources. 

Social Development Advisors ensure that UK Aid does-no-harm, while delivering results with and for the people it is most intended to reach – the extreme poor, the most vulnerable and the excluded, many of whom are girls and women, people with disabilities, vulnerable children and people affected by conflict and the climate crisis. The job holder will have a solid understanding of poverty, vulnerability, social exclusion, gender, marginalisation and inequality in Pakistan and will be able to develop strong links with specialist networks, research organisations and professional bodies in Pakistan and globally. It will also require meeting with and briefing UK and Pakistani Ministers on human capital related issues.

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 on related issues including on the Pakistan Network Gender Strategy and human rights.

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?

Social Development technical leadership on education programmes (60+%)

1. Ensure high quality technical expertise on s brought to bear across the portfolio. The successful candidate is expected to provide social development lens to technical advice on both the GOAL and DARE programmes.
   1. Preparing and reviewing briefings, annual reviews
   2. Reviewing finances and risk registers to ensure inclusive practices and support good financial management
2. The job holder will be expected to demonstrate and apply knowledge, experience and skills around the social development competencies: social policy; poverty and vulnerability analysis and monitoring; gender equality, rights and the empowerment of women and girls; empowerment and accountability; and social protection.
3. The role requires the provision of expert advice on mainstreaming gender equality, social inclusion and rights into the design, implementation, appraisal, annual reviews and evaluation of education sectoral programmes; on the development, implementation and dialogue around our own and Pakistan’s policies on education; and on diplomacy and international partnerships as needed. S/he 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.
4. Oversee the quality of technical outputs produced by implementing partners and shape/quality assure FCDO’s feedback and steers on the deliverables.
5. Provide high-quality technical leadership for building a portfolio of effective human capital interventions in the future, in with UK policy and business planning processes.
6. Participate effectively in the development of business cases (BCs), annual reviews (ARs) and project completion reviews (PCRs) and ensure that these reflect accurately / realistically issues related to women and girls, gender, and social inclusion.
7. Contribute effectively and where appropriate, lead on programme related briefing, Parliamentary Questions, Ministerial Correspondence, public enquiries, freedom of information requests. Support the team by drafting clear and concise project documentation (submissions, information notes, Business Case) and other written work; and quality assure these before submission to senior management and Ministerial teams

Social Development technical leadership on health programmes (20%)

1. Ensure high quality social development technical expertise is brought to bear across the health portfolio. The successful candidate is expected to bring a social development lens to technical advice on the DAFPAK and E4H programme.
2. The job holder will be expected to demonstrate and apply knowledge, experience and skills around the social development competencies: social policy; poverty and vulnerability analysis and monitoring; gender equality, rights and the empowerment of women and girls; empowerment and accountability; and social protection.
3. The role requires the provision of expert advice on mainstreaming gender equality, social inclusion and rights into the design, implementation, appraisal and evaluation of sectoral programmes; on the development, implementation and dialogue around our own and Pakistan’s policies on health; and on diplomacy and international partnerships as needed. S/he 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.
4. Oversee the quality of technical outputs produced by implementing partners and shape/quality assure FCDO’s feedback and steers on the deliverables.
5. Provide high-quality social development technical leadership for building a portfolio of effective human capital.
6. Participate effectively in the development of business cases (BCs), annual reviews (ARs) and project completion reviews (PCRs) and ensure that these reflect accurately / realistically issues related to women and girls, gender, social inclusion.
7. Contributes effectively to project related briefing, Parliamentary Questions, Ministerial Correspondence, public enquiries, freedom of information requests. Support the team by drafting clear and concise project documentation (submissions, information notes, Business Case) and other written work; and quality assure these before submission to senior management.

Human Capital social development policy leadership (up to 20%)

1. Provide in-depth and evidence-based analysis and represent the Pakistan Network in technical discussions on education and health (human capital) at the highest levels through a social development lens. This will involve shaping the UK’s position on education and health 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), UKHSA and teams working on governance, inclusion, human rights and growth.
2. Establish credibility and influence at the most senior levels within Federal and provincial governments and development partners and advise bringing a social development lens to all human capital policy and related political and reputational aspects of UK’s policy and programming, including with external organisations.
3. Contribute a social development perspective and analysis to the further development of a new cross-mission workstream on demography.
4. Engage 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 social sector impact of the Pakistan Network’s work in human capital, locally and to FCDO HQs.
5. Develop (or refresh) the Pakistan Network’s human capital and Beyond Aid strategy in Pakistan, building political will, capacity, and advocacy for education, and ensuring collaborative working.
6. Collaborate with programme managers and reporting on financial management within the education programmes on activities related to human capital with a particular focus on those activities that have a social development impact
7. Design mitigation strategies as part of the risk management analysis and review mechanisms
8. Engagement with Ministers on human capital related issues in education and health from a social development perspective. This includes providing briefings, speeches, and designing and managing contributions to high-profile Ministerial and heads of state visits, and when needed, advising heads of mission.
9. 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.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure): Programme funded Staff on G7 pay scale

Language requirements:

Language: English
Level of language required: Fluent

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

Essential on arrival

• Advanced degree (at least Masters level or above) in social policy, international development, sociology, gender studies or similar relevant discipline
• At least eight years of full-time relevant professional experience, with demonstrated experience across the breadth of technical competencies
• Knowledge of poverty and vulnerability, gender and inclusion issues in Pakistan
• Strong interpersonal, writing and communication skills
• Demonstrated experience of working on policy influencing with highest levels of government
• Ability to work and deliver project outcomes within tight deadlines.

Technical Social development competencies:

Given the technical content of the role, the successful candidate must demonstrate technical competencies at G7 level as per FCDO’s Social Development Adviser Technical Competency Framework (FCDO Social Development technical competency framework 2020 (publishing.service.gov.uk)). Knowledge and expertise of candidates will be assessed against a set of technical competencies:

• Social Policy (social and political analysis and inclusion)
• Poverty and vulnerability analysis and monitoring
• Gender Equality and the rights and empowerment of women and girls
• Empowerment and Accountability
• Social Protection

This position must meet the standards for Practitioner level as stipulated in the Social Development Technical Competency Framework.