Terms of Reference

Vacancy: Teacher development advisor

I. General Information

Post/Title: Teacher development advisor

Positions Type: Diaspora expert

Duty Station: FMS-Minister of Education, Culture & Higher Learning- Jubaland

Duration of Assignment: 12 months

Deadline for applications: 10th September, 2023

II. Background Information

About the MIDA FINNSOM III, Health and Education Project

The past decades have seen continued migration from various African countries, causing a “brain drain” that has debilitated various public sector systems across the continent. Through the IOM Migration for Development in Africa (MIDA) programme, Somali diaspora professionals have supported institutional capacity building, service delivery, and policy development of health and education institutions across Somalia since 2015.

The MIDA FINNSOM PHASE III – Health & Education project – contributes to strengthening the Health and Education sectors in Somalia towards achieving specific priorities in the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) and the Essential Package for Health Services (EPHS), as prioritized and outlined by the government. The project aims to do so by engaging and enhancing the role of qualified Somali diaspora experts willing to temporarily return to their country of origin. In particular, through assignments within key ministries and public institutions (including hospitals and universities), Somali diaspora experts contribute addressing gaps and enhancing strengths in the planning and delivery of health and education services, coherently with the needs identified through the dedicated baseline assessment conducted during the inception phase of the project. Furthermore, a component of the project is devoted toward contributing to the creation of stable and sustainable access to employment opportunities in the health and education sectors for local experts and interns, who will work in close coordination with the Somali diaspora experts – therefore reaping long-terms benefits of knowledge transfer, competencies sharing and skills development.

III. Duties & Responsibilities

The Federal Government of Somalia’s Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education (MOECHE), through the technical assistance provided by the IOM MIDA FINNSOM III Health and education project, seeks to build the skills of its teacher development advisors.

Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Director General of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education, the advisor will ensure an integrated strategy to support teacher quality improvement across all education subsectors. This includes ensuring strong teacher support systems in place, as well as teachers’ proper supervision, and well-structured training programs to support in-service training. The advisor will support the development of quality training materials, by making sure that are well aligned with government quality standards, objectives and the need to better coordinate and guide efforts to improve teacher quality.

The advisor will carry out the following duties and responsibilities:

• Conduct a thorough needs assessment to identify areas for improvement in teaching and learning.
• Support the design and implementation of teacher training, teacher training tools and mentoring strategies.
• Assessing the performance of lower secondary teachers.
• Coordinate the development of training modules for teachers in instruction and curriculum content areas, derived through the results of the abovementioned assessment.
• Provide coaching and mentoring to teachers to enhance their pedagogical skills and teaching methods to impart knowledge.
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the existing professional development programs for teachers.
• Provide technical guidance, strategic advice and programmatic direction for the implementation of the workplan.
• Collaborate with school leadership and other stakeholders to ensure that the professional development programs for teachers are duly rolled out and align with the ESSP.
• Facilitating collaboration and sharing of best practices and lessons learnt amongst teachers.
• Timely complete all relevant program deliverables and reporting duties.

The MoECHE Project Coordinator, the MoECHE M&E Specialist, and IOM’s project team will support this assignment through interaction with the qualified expatriate and beneficiary institution.

Besides the specific outputs mentioned in section III, the MIDA FINNSOM III Heath and Education project is requiring the following deliverables to be submitted throughout the assignment. These are the standard requirements for all assignments under this project:

1. Transfer of skills: The main responsibility of the qualified Somali expatriate—which he/she will be measured against—will be to ensure continuous and systematic transfer of knowledge and skills as related to the assignment. It will have to be agreed with the beneficiary institution that staff will benefit from this knowledge.
2. Work plan: A work plan must be developed with the Supervisor during the first week of the assignment to provide clear and time-bound activities to successfully implement the outputs of the assignment. This work plan will be shared with the supervisor, MoECHE coordinator, MoECHE M&E Specialist and IOM project team. This work plan can be revised during the assignment to reflect on new developments or changes.
3. Quarterly and Final Reports: Quarterly progress reports will be submitted by the expert to the supervisor, MoECHE Coordinator, MoECHE M&E Specialist and IOM project team. At the end of the assignment, the participant must also provide a final report covering the duration of his/her assignment.
4. Exit interview: An exit interview will be conducted to ensure that a proper exit plan has been put in place to sustain the achievements, upon completion of the assignment.

V: Qualifications

Level of Education: Post graduate degree in Education or in a relevant field.

Area of Study: Education.

Years of work experience in what area(s): Minimum of 5 years of working experience in primary education with focus on teacher development.

Good understanding of sound programming principles.

Languages needed:

• Fluent in English.
• Fluent in Somali.

General Skills / Other Requirements:

• Knowledge of GPE and/or other donors programmatic and financial regulations;
• Experience in managing and mentoring staff and promoting teamwork;
• Good interpersonal and cross-cultural skills;
• Facilitation and training skills, including development of training materials and facilitation of participatory program development and capacity building.
• Strong ability to design, implement and monitor education programs.
• Excellent verbal and written English communication skills, particularly communication and presentation skills for diverse audiences.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relationships with the Ministries of Education, both Federal and Member States, donors and other development partners.
• Computer proficiency (including word processing, spreadsheets).
• Willingness and experience to work independently, in a politically unstable and security volatile situation and areas;
• Knowledge and understanding of the local Somali culture and its socio-political background.

VI: Subsistence Allowance

The monthly stipend amount will be determined by the MIDA FINNSOM III, Health and Education project, based on degree and years of relevant experience.

All applications must be sent via email to: midasomvacancy@iom.int with the following reference as a subject in your e-mail: APPLICATION – as mentioned in the vacancy announcement. For further inquiries about the MIDA FINNSOM positions, you can reach out to sparkkali@iom.int.

To be considered, applicants must provide a cover letter, CV, and the contact information (email and phone number) of two professional references by the closing date of this vacancy. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. The closing date of this application is 10th September 2023, at 12.00 PM EAT.

While this project is geared toward the Somali-Finnish diaspora, members of other Somali diaspora communities are also welcomed to apply. Females are highly encouraged to apply and participate in the MIDA FINNSOM III Health and Education Project.

VIII: Security and insurance modalities

Health insurance—including evacuation due to a medical emergency—will be provided by the project. However, experts will be requested to provide a recent medical certificate stating that they are physically fit and able to work in a hardship area in Africa.

Please note that IOM, according to the contract, will not be responsible for the security of qualified Somali expatriates. The host beneficiary institution will be responsible for the security of the individual.

Before leaving the country of residence or upon arrival in Somalia, the qualified Somali expatriate will receive a pre-service briefing including security advice and cultural background.