Ethnic Education Technical Advisor

TITLE: Ethnic Education Specialist      

CONTRACT TYPE: National

TEAM/PROGRAMME: SPQI  

LOCATION: Bangkok

CONTRACT LENGTH: Fixed term

ROLE PURPOSE:

Every child survives, every child learns, and violence against children is no longer tolerated. These are the three 2030 breakthroughs that Save the Children is committed to working in partnership to achieve globally.

The Ethnic Education Specialist has responsibility for the overall design, delivery and quality of the education program in Thailand.  She/he is responsible for the strategic direction, program management, donor engagement and ensuring program quality of all education related projects implemented by Save the Children. The Ethnic Education Specialist provide technical support to the Project and Program Coordinators and a fundraising opportunity of projects. They will represent the program externally and internally, coordinate resource mobilization (funding, people, partnerships), and ensure that learning and evidence from programming are used to improve future program delivery to achieve lasting results for children.

The scope of work will focus on refugees, displaced children, ethnic and migrant education at the basic level and potentially higher one (e.g. vocational training, general education development and digital learning).

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Thailand Strategy, Program Quality, and Impact Director

Staff reporting to this post: None.

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KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

Lead Thailand Country Office Education strategies and initiatives.

Strategic Direction, Program Design and Development

• Contribute to formulating and monitoring the Save the Children Thailand’s vision for long term programming for inclusive education in Thailand illuminating issues that intersect across race, ethnicity and gender that will be aligned with country strategic plans for 2025-2027.
• Introduce innovative ideas and approaches to support children’s education and transformative pedagogy, reflecting the diversity of ethnic children (along the Thai Myanmar Borders and in the Malay-Muslim context) as well the NEET youth in Thailand.
• Work with business development team to identify needs and opportunities for new programs and lead technical conversation with potential prospects to respond to the needs of refugee/displaced persons, migrant population, and children in Thailand’s Deep South.
• Provide technical support to key partners and networks for ethnic education that play key roles in accessing and ensuring quality of education.
• Identify needs for staff and partner’s capacity building and making sure the culturally sensitive staff/workforce/volunteer are in place to support the overall education needs and development.

Programme Management:

• Provide technical line supervision and coordination for ethnic and migrant education along the Thai Myanmar border, and the Southern border provinces’ Malay Muslim education project.
• Provide guidance and advice to the Project and Program Coordinators to ensure that Save the Children complies with donor and SCI regulations on ethnic and migrant education projects, aiming for the submission of high quality and timely reports.
• Support the program coordinator to develop a planning cycle for the ethnic and migrant education program, including annual, quarterly, and monthly planning and work plan follow up.
• Work with MEAL focal points to ensure that all programs have effective Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning (MEAL) practices throughout the program cycle.
• Build the capacity of staff in technical excellence on education quality framework contextualising to fit with the ethnic and migrant education system.
• Provide necessary guidance to program coordinators to ensure that program targets and deliverables are met.

Programme Quality:

• Identify internal and external capacity building opportunities and resources to provide high quality technical assistance to support durable improvements in the quality of teaching and learning for children in schools operated by ethnic entities and migrant service providers.
• Supporting program staff, partner agencies from ethnic backgrounds to build knowledge and technical competence on gender-sensitive and inclusive education.
• Identify entry points and lead on the development of Thai language curriculum that are tailored to literacy levels; as well the certification system to validate language proficiency.
• Work with relevant education providers to strengthen their capacity to deliver and sustain good quality learning opportunities for hard-to-reach children and promote gender equality, disability, and social inclusion (GEDSI) in education.
• Ensure that regular field-based project review meetings take place together with ethnic education partners and are attended by the relevant staff.
• Ensure that monitoring systems provide information in the appropriate form and at the right time (in different levels) to allow for effective decision making.
• Develop and implement strategies to ensure gender equity, child participation, child safeguarding and beneficiary accountability in ethnic and migrant education programmes.
• Ensure that interventions are evaluated using appropriate methods, including process and impact evaluations, and that evidence is rigorously maintained, documented, and disseminated internally and externally, to contribute to improvements in programme quality and advocacy efforts.
• Share CO’s experience and organizational learning with COs as well as with relevant organizations contribute towards affirming and promoting ethnic languages and cultures, as well as increasing participation of ethnic and migrant education actors in the public dialogue and advocacy around inclusive education.
• Ensure that Save the Children’s regional and global experience is reflected in our education program.

Policy Advocacy and Partnership:  

• Co-lead/Co-chair on policy and advocacy platforms e.g. ISWG/ESWG for the ethnic education program, and the Multi-lingual Education (MLE), and the Ministry of Education - ensuring that education technical interventions are designed to inform relevant policy concerns.
• LEAD advocacy initiative on the promotion of Thai language learning in the context of refugees and migrants in Thailand. Coordinate and consult with the relevant government agencies, NGOs, and international partners—to promote Thai language education as a tool for inclusion, empowerment, and access to higher education and career development.
• Coordinate closely with the Policy, Research, and Evidence sector on policy and advocacy work relating to ethnic, migrant, and inclusive education.
• Lead, with support from program coordinator, on the development of education quality standards for ethnic education program.
• Lead in networking and articulating Save the Children’s position, policy and strategy in national forums and meetings that are related to ethic and inclusive education.  Engage in key debates related to national education sector policies and programs, in coordination with technical colleagues and other relevant staff.
• Identify appropriate strategic partnerships for joint advocacy initiatives and the development of the Thai language program together with the Department of Learning Encouragement (DOLE), the ethic education stakeholders e.g. KKEST, Migrant Education Coordination Committee (MECC), Myanmar Education Consortium (MEC), and beyond.
• Maintain working relationships with relevant education authorities in Thailand and in the province, particularly Ministry of Education, the Provincial Education Service Area Office, and the Migrant Education Coordination Center (MECC).

Representation and Networking:

• Connect flagship programs with government and other non-government interventions e.g. the Inter-sectoral (Education)Woking Group (ISWG/WG Education-Sub Committee, and MLE), Department of Learning Encouragement (DOLE) .
• Identify partnerships/collaborations and build strong networks with other NGOs, CSOs, donors, UN agencies and academic institutions and the private sectors working on education to collaborate on programs, joint learning, analysis, and advocacy initiatives.
• Ensure that the country office has effective representation on national, regional, and international networks and fora related to ethnic, migrant, and inclusive education, and that we participate in conferences/meetings that will enhance our reputation and programming.
• Actively participate in technical coordination meetings to ensure synergies with other agencies in our development work and emergency responses.

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability:

• holds self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
• widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
• values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

QUALIFICATIONS

• Have in-depth knowledge of the ethnic education system in displacement setting both inside and outside of the camps.
• Strong evidence of hands-on experiences of multilingualism and proficiency in managing education program for ethnic and migrant population and embedding cross-cultural understanding and appreciation of diverse cultural identities.
• Academic: Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, anthropology, education management, sustainable development, international development, international relations, or other relevant subjects.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

ESSENTIAL:

• Ten years of experience in education program development and/or program management.
• Strong presence and proven experiences working with the Thai government especially with the Ministry of Education.
• Good technical knowledge of education technical issues and ability to translate knowledge into action.
• Demonstrated ability to lead on technical support and collaborate with operation team to deliver results.
• Demonstrated ability to create strong and productive working relationships with external and internal stakeholders including ethnic education partners, CBOs, government agencies, communities, and other parts of the global Save the Children movement.
• Proven sound strategic thinking and planning skills, including ability to think creatively and be innovative, set priorities, manage work plans and evaluate progress.
• Excellent interpersonal skills including verbal and written communication skills.

DESIRABLE:

• Able to speak one of the ethnic languages (Karen, Karenni, Burmese)
• Proven experiences working with different ethic education entities in the refugee and/or IDP camps along the Thai/MMR borders

Additional Job Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.

Equal Opportunities

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the Save the Children Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Child Safeguarding

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Safeguarding Our Staff

The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the Save the Children anti-harassment policy.  

Health and Safety

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with Save the Children Health and Safety policies and procedures.

Interested candidates should apply and submit a motivational letter, comprehensive CV, expected salary and details of at least 3 referees.

Due to the volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

“We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse”

Apply Now

Job Info

• Job Identification 12806
• Job Category Programme, Development and Quality
• Posting Date 05/16/2025, 03:55 AM
• Apply Before 06/01/2025, 06:59 PM
• Job Schedule Full time
• Locations SC THA - FO Bangkok

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