Strategic Education Advisor, Scaling And Sustainability VVOB

Hello! We’re excited to see you found your way to this job opening. That must mean you are convinced, just like us, that quality education guarantees equal opportunities for everyone and is the key to a better world! Great, because we are hiring a Strategic Education Advsior for VVOB in Zambia.

VVOB in Zambia

In Zambia, VVOB is working in partnership with the Ministry of Education. We are building capacity on Early Childhood Education (ECE). Our key focus points in ECE are ‘Learning through Play’ and ‘Emergent Literacy.’ We also work with TaRL Africa to support Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL).

The evidence-based TaRL approach helps learners in Grades 3, 4 and 5 to develop basic reading and numeracy skills. TaRL (or Catch Up – as it is known in Zambia) now reaches more than 400.000 learners spread over 8 provinces.

Our ambition is to support MoE in scaling the ‘Learning through Play’, ‘Emergent Literacy’ and ‘Teaching at the Right Level’ work.

Purpose of the function

As a Strategic Education Advisor for Catch Up – Scale and Sustainability, you will lead the overarching goal of developing a strong Catch Up program that is integrated into government systems and is brought to national scale and sustained by government.

You will lead efforts with the Ministry of Education to help establish long term plans for Catch Up in the areas of financing, strengthened coordination, quality assurance and establishing processes and systems to scale Catch Up sustainably. You will work closely with the Catch Up advocacy team, the government liaison advisor and VVOB and TaRL Africa management in this role.

In the longer term, the position may evolve into strategic advice for sustaining and scaling other interventions.

Who are you?

Your expertise and experience

Master’s degree in a relevant field or equivalent in field experience.
In-depth understanding of education systems in sub–Saharan Africa (preferably Zambia).
Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of systems scale in education programming and issues of programme integration and sustainability.
Excellent computer skills in Microsoft Office.
Experience with change management and capacity development processes in the context of educational systems.
At least 2 years working experience in the international development sector is preferred.
Ability and willingness to travel to Catch up provinces.
Experience with working in a multicultural environment and with cross-country teams.
Ability to think strategically, effectively prioritize and initiate action.
Ability to inspire and motivate VVOB, TaRL Africa and Ministry teams in the areas of Catch up scale, integration and sustainability.
Language skills: Fluent in English.
What we’re offering

A full-time position until December 2026.
An attractive compensation package and professional development opportunities.
A dynamic working environment in an international context.
An opportunity to work in a very well liked, evidence-based project aimed at ensuring that learners in across Zambia acquire foundational literacy and numeracy skills!