Short-term Expert: Education Awareness Campaigns

About the project

The British Council is seeking expressions of interest from experienced education campaign experts for a major EU-funded programme which is focused on improving the quality and equality of the primary and secondary education systems in Iraq through capacity building at Ministry and school level. The programme’s main objectives include:

• Increasing enrolment rates by analysing the main causes of low enrolment and developing strategies to address the differential rates.
• Raising the quality of education at primary and secondary school level by building capacity to enhance the curriculum, particularly in the areas of human science and peace education, and to support children with particular needs, including those with disabilities, children with special needs, Internally Displaced People (IDPs), refugees, and children with psychosocial support requirements, potentially including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
• Increasing access to education for children with disabilities through the collection of baseline data, updating legislation and the curriculum, capacity building and awareness-raising.
• Raising the quality of education through enhanced quality assurance of schools against standards.

About the role

The purpose of this assignment is to support the development and delivery of awareness campaigns to encourage parents, particularly those of disabled students, to send their children to schools and specialised

Centres. These campaigns would be delivered through a range of media – print, broadcast and social – at national and possibly governorate level, specifically aimed at the enrolment and education of disabled children. This will also include creating materials and assisting in the training of Community Education Committees in each of the governorates to guide implementation. The expert will deliver training to CSOs, NGOs and other stakeholders, either directly or through trainers, who will do the on-the-ground campaigning. Meetings and workshops are generally held in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, and occasionally in Beirut, Lebanon. These are held in Arabic and Kurdish but interpreters are provided to work alongside the national and international consultants.

Please note that travel to the region will be required for meetings and workshops to be held in Erbil, Kurdistan. This is also subject to participating in a 4-day Safety Training Course in the UK

Due to the current situation, it may be necessary to move these to Beirut, Lebanon.

Number of Working days – Maximum 100 days

Number of overseas visits - Five visits per year, 10 visits in total 

Qualifications and experience required

Interested candidates should have the following qualifications, skills and professional experience:

Essential:

• Experience of planning education awareness campaigns and developing materials, using a range of media, particularly related to enrolment and disabled children
• Experience of delivering training to trainers and to representatives of NGOs and Community Organisations (or their equivalent) on enrolment and the education of disabled children
• Experience of campaigning/lobbying in the areas of the education of disabled children and enrolment
• More than five years’ experience of working within large-scale programmes in the area of education reform
• Proven track record of providing capacity building in developing countries 
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with a proven ability to work as part of a team
• Excellent writing and analytical skills, combining a high degree of competence in writing technical reports.
• Experience of, and ability to work to, tight deadlines 

Desirable

• Experience in and/or understanding of the Middle East and North Africa, with proven knowledge of the challenges facing the education system in Iraq an advantage
• Excellent and effective (verbal and written) communication skills in Arabic

Applications should include:

• a cover letter tailored to the above requirements 
• a CV 
• expected fee (cost will be a consideration in the appointment of a consultant). 

Previous applicants need not apply.

Please send the above to enquiries.development@britishcouncil.org with the title Short term expert:  Iraq Education Awareness Campaigns 

CVs will be pre-selected according to the criteria listed above.  We will only contact those candidates whose profiles correspond most closely with the person specification and only within 15 working days of the application deadline.