Education Expert: Headteacher Training Schools Programme

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The British Council is seeking expressions of interest from experienced short-term education experts for a major EU-funded Schools 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 contribute to the delivery of training on ‘the headteacher as a resident supervisor’ to trainers who will then deliver training to supervisors and headteachers throughout Iraq. The training is to help raise the quality of education through enhanced quality assurance of schools against standards.  There will also be a limited amount of direct training of headteachers. 

Please note that travel to the region will be required for meetings and workshops to be held in Erbil, Kurdistan and possibly Beirut.

We are currently working with an Iraqi working group to develop a five-day training of trainers course for supervisors throughout Central and Southern Iraq (CSI) and a five-day course for headteachers. We anticipate a need for short-term consultancy support in delivering courses to make headteachers more effective as leaders; particularly in undertaking the tasks of supporting and appraising teachers, school self-evaluation, school development planning and, working with a critical friend, responding to school external evaluation to deliver school improvement. In collaboration with the key consultant and national consultants, the consultant will deliver training to supervisors who will then cascade the training to all supervisors and headteachers throughout CSI. There will also be workshops for a limited number of headteachers who will act as models of good practice.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

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

Essential

• Postgraduate qualification in teaching at school level
• Experience of senior leadership within a school and/or school inspection/external evaluation
• Experience of the training of trainers on short courses 
• Experience of processes of school self-evaluation and external evaluation against standards, school development planning and staff appraisal
• Experience of working in more than one cultural context – preferably including the Middle East 
• Experience of, and ability to work to, tight deadlines 

Desirable

• Experience of working as a headteacher in a school
• Experience of working through interpreters (if not Arabic speaker)
• Experience of school inspection or equivalent

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 for Iraq Schools Programme: Headteacher Training 

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.