Job Opportunity, Cameroon: Plan International needs the services of Education in Emergency Coordinator in Buea

The Organisation

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected.

Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 80 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries.

ROLE PROFILE
Title    Education in Emergencies Coordinator  
Functional Area    Program Department,
Reports to    Emergency Response Manager / Bamenda
Location    Buea (South-West Cameroon)    Travel required    Frequent
Effective Date    FY21 – FY22    Grade    C2

ROLE PURPOSE
Value Proposition
Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And girls are the most affected.

Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 80 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries. Plan International aims to reach as many children as possible, particularly those who are excluded or marginalized with high quality programs that deliver long lasting benefits by increasing its income, working in partnership with others and operating effectively. Plan International is committed to responding to children affected by emergencies in the countries of our operation.

Given the current humanitarian crisis in the North-West and South-West Regions of Cameroon, schools have shut down in several localities and never opened their doors. Teachers and students who attempted to go to school in many localities have faced security threats and this situation has forced many parents to send their children to other regions to study while those who can’t afford have stayed and remained out of school.
Plan International is engaged in providing life-saving humanitarian assistance, protection, education and psychosocial support. Our operations are implemented in key sectors of Child Protection, SGBV, Education, Food Assistance and Nutrition, Livelihood, WaSH and NFIs in coordination with all other humanitarian organisations. Plan International is looking to continue supporting vulnerable children amidst the COVID-19 pandemic – particularly girls – and assess how Plan can further expand the way these girls and boys are supported through education.
Plan International’s response in these crisis-affected regions also consists in a high commitment in coordination mechanisms with a special focus on Education and Child Protection.

Under Education sector, the position is responsible for the technical management, leading, representation and oversee and monitoring & evaluation of projects implementation. He/She will ensure quality and norms in the education projects implementation. He/She will also act as Co-coordinator of the Education Cluster.

The post-holder is responsible for assessment, response analysis, design/revision and implementation of the Education component of Plan’s emergency response in the North-West and South-West Regions of Cameroon. He/She will provide technical support to implement the education in emergency programming in the Plan’s International Cameroon ongoing emergency response to this area.

DIMENSIONS OF THE ROLE

Programme implementation: Provide technical support for the implementation of Education in Emergency response programmes in the North-West and South-West. This will include providing capacity building to, Plan International Cameroon staff, partners organizations, community based organizations, governmental officials; develop EiE programmes monitoring tools in collaboration with MERL teams and programme’s team; work in close collaboration with the Child Protection Coordinator and the child protection team to ensure CPiE-EiE integrated programming; contribute to the design of education in emergency proposals; Work with M&E staff to coordinate EiE data collection and reporting.
The EiE Coordinator will particularly need to ensure the technical support to all education project implementation in an integrated manner with other program components and other on-going interventions in the response.
Representation, Advocacy and Networking: Represent Plan International Cameroon in the Education Cluster, the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group and other relevant Inter-agency coordination mechanisms; Liaise regularly with relevant Government, UN Agencies, NGOs, CSOs working in the field of education; contribute to ongoing efforts to develop context specific guidance notes and policy making efforts. Play a leading role in EiE Cluster activities on behalf of Plan International Cameroon as Co-coordinator.
Reporting: Provide technical input into reports for donors, Government and partners. Collaborate with M&E team and programme staff on producing SitReps, Newsletters and EiE indicators monitoring and sharing with CO, RO and GH.
Strategy and proposal preparation: Contribute to design and/or review Plan International Cameroon Education in Emergency response plan; prepare Concepts Notes and proposals, to strengthen Plan International Cameroon’s contribution to Education in Emergency response within the country and in programmes.

ACCOUNTABILITIES

Key End Results and typical Responsibilities:
Assessment
•    Provide sectoral leadership and expertise in the assessment on the context of the education projects implementation.
•    In collaboration with local specialists and affected population, conduct assessment of current situation; Review, assess and update the education situation in affected areas i.e all the Divisions of the North-West and South-West.
•    Highlight education issues requiring a response – both immediate and medium term and make recommendations on specific actions required for Plan International and other agencies. Ensure core commitments to children -boys and girls, are taken into consideration.
•    Represent Plan International to child protection, Cash, PwD, Gender-based violence and protection sector groups, stakeholders and Governmental and non-Governmental agencies (and military where present) for the purposes of the education aspects of the assessment.
•    Assess resources, human, material and financial for response with relevant staff and agencies and assist in capacity building of staff.
•    Identify potential partnerships to implement education projects recommendations, assess potential partners where available or make recommendations on how to fill gaps.

Programme Design
    Revise/update aims, objectives and strategies of the overall emergency EiE program considering the context of the IDPs particularly girls
    In collaboration with education actors, develop/review a realistic evidence‐based education in emergency program plan for the North-West and South-West including both programmatic and advocacy activities (results oriented)
    In collaboration with national and international Education and Child Protection Actors, map current institutional response capacities in the North-West and South-West – including conducting an education specific 4Ws (What, When, Where and Who).
    Design most appropriate education interventions based on the outcomes of assessments and the context.
    Ensure that issues of gender, protection, DRR, and conflict sensitivity are factored into the EiE program design.
    Ensure Plan’s guidelines and Education in emergency standards are considered and any departures documented.
    Lead the development of new programs for humanitarian assistance
    Ensure the development of concept papers and proposals on education in respect of the above.

Programme Management and Implementation
    Oversee all Education projects implementation, monitoring and evaluation
    Ensure technical support in all Education projects implementation in an integrated manner and in terms of child protection and education as a matter of emergency.
•    Support to the Education projects Coordinators in the management of the compliance with donor requirements (rules, procedures):
    Support in the project budget monitoring and management, including for procurement and distribution of resources, time management, work-plans and records
    Support Timely and accurate monitoring and financial and narrative reporting
    Ensure Education in Emergencies Minimum Standards (INEE) and Plan’s guidelines are adhered to in the education projects implementation
    Work closely with the relevant implementation manager to ensure that the implementation of relevant EiE activities are planned and implemented in a phased and prioritized manner in full consultation and co-ordination with all relevant agencies both governmental and non-governmental.
    Make frequent field visits to all affected areas to monitor implementation of EiE, identify opportunities and constraints and any adjustments needed including additional staffing or staff training or other.
    Contribute to all aspects of the project design and implementation, especially to ensure that EiE is well integrated into Plan International Cameroon Programming processes.
    Ensure regular updates on existing education needs assessments and other relevant EiE issues in the country and in the North-West and South-West Regions.
    Work in close collaboration with the Emergency Response Manager and other Program Managers, coordinators and Monitoring and Evaluation staff in the response team
    Visit and provide ad hoc support where needed to Plan’s field activities on a regular basis and share reports with management for any critical actions.
    Weekly planning of EiE activities in the actual places of intervention and with proposition of further integration and improvement
    Facilitation of training for stakeholders and other partners on Education in Emergencies,
    Provide strategic and technical support in other EiE projects implementation in the context of Plan International Cameroon Emergency Response in the North-West and South-West Regions.

Representation, advocacy and Networking
    Comply with and work according to local policies and regulations
    Work in close relationship with the government, education authorities at national and regional levels, Ministry of Education, the UN agencies, other international as well as local organisations, Universities, schools, teachers and other agencies
    Identify or work with suitable local partner organizations and institutions within the education network.
    Contribute to strengthening the capacity of local organisations in compliance with Plan International policies and strategies
    As Co-lead, represent Plan International Cameroon at key coordination meetings most especially in the Education Cluster and keep management informed as needed.
    Liaison between Plan International Cameroon and any relevant stakeholders, partners or authorities, at local, regional, national and international levels.
    Participate in Field Coordination Meetings/bilateral meetings, etc.
    Initiate or strengthen interagency coordination mechanisms for education where appropriate.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning
    Lead the design and develop appropriate surveillance, monitoring, evaluation and learning systems for education Projects implementation.
    Prepare education interventions reports to serve as standalone deliverables or to be included in larger emergency response reports for both donor and internal purposes.
    Ensure early and rigorous implementation of quality assurance and accountability mechanisms in all the education Projects implementation.
    Contribute to documenting Plan International Cameroon’s experience in EiE.
    Coordinate timely report writing and business development on EiE.
    Conduct regular assessments, analysis and thus advise programme design and modifications to meet the existing and emerging needs and ground realities.
    Provide input to the development or revision of a monitoring and evaluation system.
    Monitoring the quality of projects’ s activities and reporting of the relevant partners.

Human Resources and Administration
•    Coordinate and/or implement training and briefing of Plan staff, partners, and other key stakeholders on education in emergency and/or related issues.
•    Support to the management of Education projects staffs in compliance with Plan procedures.

Capacity Building
    Identify training needs, develop and roll out a capacity building plan to benefit to Plan staffs and stakeholders
    Build capacity of Plan International Cameroon and partner staff on education in emergency including early childhood education
    Provide hands on/mentoring support to field staff involved in EiE activities
    Provide input to the development of training materials and modules for teachers as needed.

•    Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Child Protection (CPP) and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI) are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.

DEALING WITH PROBLEMS/RISKS

•    The post-holder will make rapid assessments of situations and then make judgements for the organisation on strategic choices and action often with incomplete information.
•    The job requires decisions to be made on the basis of assumption and experience, as little hard information will be available.  Decisions need to be context specific and there will often be no precedents to draw upon.
•    Management judgement will be required to negotiate and influence local Plan teams to take steps to respond in ways that may be new or worrisome in contexts that are stressful to all involved
•    Decisions may affect the lives of thousands of crisis-affected children, security of staff, and the profile of Plan across the humanitarian sector and across media.
•    Excellent risk-assessment and management is required to support decisions that may require overcoming attitudinal, systemic and physical barriers.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

•    Internal – who, what and why
    Reports to Emergency Response Manager,
    Works in close collaboration with CPiE Coordinator, GBV officers program managers and coordinators and other members of the Emergency Response Team,
    Collaboration with Emergency Response Management Team, the Education Program Lead, the Disaster Response Manager and the Country Management Team.
•
•    External– who, what and why
    Timely participation in education cluster meetings,
    Regular interaction with regional and local level government partners,
    Regular interaction with other INGOs, CSOs and UN bodies.

Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours Required to Achieve Role’s Objectives:
    Bachelor’s Degree in Education or related field
    Experience in the field of education in emergency is required, preferably in conflict affected and fragile situations. Ability to learn quickly and adapt the experience/lessons learnt in other emergency settings to the North-West and South-West emergency response context. Knowledge of Education in Emergencies Minimum Standards (INEE) and humanitarian coordination mechanisms.
    Strong Experience in education project management, monitoring and supervision.
    Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships, both within and outside the organizations, under stressful situations.
    Excellent capacity in facilitating training and preparing user friendly manuals and toolkits.
    Has strong networking, team spirit, and partnership-building skills,
    Willing to adapt with new working environment, new challenges, colleagues and work
    Fluent spoken and written English. Knowledge of French is an asset,
    Proven commitment to Plan’s International efforts for gender equality and inclusion of children with disability,
    Proven commitment to participatory, child centered approaches,
    Demonstrated assertiveness and able to remains calm and positive under pressure and in difficult situations.

Skills
•    Excellent written and spoken English with French an advantage
•    Demonstrated ability to network and liaise with major Education donors including ECW, UNICEF, ECHO.
•    Excellent project design, participatory monitoring and evaluation skills
•    Excellent communication skills: well-argued plans for response that can be justified and delivered, persuasive of others.
•    Ability to work independently and as a team player who demonstrates leadership and is able to support and train local and international staff and also able to work with disaster affected communities in a sensitive and participatory manner.
•    Excellent negotiation, representation, skills and the ability to work comfortably with an ethnically diverse staff in a very sensitive environment.
•    Ability to operate at advanced levels of authority and manage significant activities, budgets, and resources to produce and take responsibility for results
•    Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work cooperatively.
•    Proven ability to solve problems independently without direct supervision.
•    Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
•    Strong organizational and work prioritization skills and attention to detail
•    Good facilitation skills and ability to deliver induction briefing/training.
•    Excellent interpersonal skills, the ability to communicate clearly and effectively at all levels, and to maintain this under pressure.
•    Ability to work with limited supervision from line manager.

Behaviours:
•    Commitment and adherence to humanitarian values and standards,
•    Willing to make rapid decisions even with inadequate information but ready to reflect and adjust course of action if necessary;
•    Focussed and striving for the delivery of programme;
•    Cross-culturally agile
•    Aware of own strengths, weaknesses and pro-active in using feedback and self-development
•    Aware of impact on others and uses impact to create positive climate at work
•    Works with trustworthiness and integrity and has a clear commitment to PLAN’s core values and humanitarian principles
•    Resilience/Adaptability and flexibility: Ability to operate effectively under extreme circumstances including stress, high security risks and harsh living conditions. Works and lives with a flexible, adaptable and resilient manner.
•    Awareness and sensitivity of self and others: Demonstrates awareness and sensitivity to gender and diversity. Have experience and the ability to live and work in diverse cultural contexts in a culturally appropriate manner. Has a capacity to make accurate self-assessment particularly in high stress and high security contexts.
•    Patient, adaptable, flexible, able to improvise and remain responsive under pressure.
•    Preparedness to live and work in uncertain security environments.
•    Experience working in conflict or emergency-affected areas (or other situations where insecurity and corruption can be big issues)
•    Commitment to and skills in capacity building – together with the ability to assess and coach others.
Physical Environment and Demands:
    The role requires extensive travel to project sites and to donor and sector meetings which may account for up to 50% or above of working time.
    Must be prepared to travel and work in difficult conditions, and stay in simple accommodation, at the rural project sites
    May be required to work during night time, weekends and holidays in order to ensure timely delivery and keep with the pace and availability of beneficiary groups (Refugees, IDPs and vulnerable host communities).

PLAN INTERNATIONAL’S VALUES IN PRACTICE
We are open and accountable
1.    Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors.
2.    Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
3.    Consistent and fair in the treatment of people.
4.    Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them.
5.    Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organisation for all children, girls & young people
We strive for lasting impact
1.    Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations.
2.    Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas.
3.    Focuses resources to drive change and maximise long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
4.    Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.
We work well together
1.    Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
2.    Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
3.    Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
4.    Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

We are inclusive and empowering

5.    Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
6.    Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
7.    Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
8.    Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

Location: Buea

Type of Role: Education in Emergency Coordinator 

Reports to: ERM

Grade: C2

Closing Date: 20/06/2021

Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for.

We want Plan International to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with, offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Plan International is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.

We foster an organisational culture that embraces our commitment to racial justice, gender equality, girls’ rights and inclusion.

Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. This means that we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with and we must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.

A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International’s Safeguarding Children and Young People policy. Plan International also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this scheme we will request information from applicants previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Apply through the link below: Education in Emergency Coordinator (plan-international.org)

Discover more jobs through the link below:  Careers | Human Rights and Legal Research Centre (hrlrc.org)