Teaching and Learning Lead at Mott MacDonald

Teaching and Learning Lead at Mott MacDonald

Teaching and Learning Lead

Mott MacDonald

Dar es Salaam

The Mott MacDonald Group is a consultancy headquartered in the United Kingdom.

Job Description

The Teaching and Learning Lead will be central to developing and implementing the vision for one of the largest support basic education support programmes in Tanzania. This role will lead our work to strengthen classroom instruction (in literacy, numeracy and English) and instructional support systems both across the nine regions we support directly and nationally, through our work on influencing change at all levels of the systems and across various institutions. This role will impact thousands of schools and millions of children’s lives.

The Teaching and Learning Lead will function as part of the Core Team and as part of the Senior Leadership Team. S/he will be required to work in close coordination and support of the senior management team to achieve results in support of improving the quality of teaching and ensuring improvements in learning for all children.

He/she will lead Teaching and Learning strategy design and roadmap development, implementation and review processes. This will require close collaboration with key system and partner stakeholders. It will require effective management of the small Teaching and Learning output team and it will require effective use of technical assistance available to the team.

As an Output lead he/she will participate and support preparation of all key meetings at central levels and be proactive in communication with MOEST and PoRALG senior stakeholders. He/She will also lead on communication with other Government institutions such as TIE, ADEM, NECTA and others as required.

She/he will be proactive in working collaboratively and communicating with other Outcome Leads to ensure activities are well-coordinated, as effective as possible and offer best VFM. He/she will work closely, in particular, with the Impact and Learning team, including Monitoring and Evaluation colleagues to ensure strategy is being closely monitored, assessed and lessons learned gathered at local, regional and central levels. He/she will lead on preparation of annual and monthly workplans to ensure internal coherence and coherence with other technical areas and ensure that wok planned (activities, technical assistance, working politically) are coherent at all different levels and will lead Shule Bora program in reaching its logframe targets.

He/She will also need to work closely with Shule Bora regional teams to support the development and implementation of effective subnational and school level practices and support two way flows of data with the system and the prorgamme. To ensure results at LGA and regional levels, he/she will go regularly to the regions to ensure that technical assistance brought is relevant and bring results. Doing so, he/she will support communication team in collecting insights and success stories. She/he will work closely with DTL in bringing support to regional teams (PRCs, ISs) and ensure they get the support they need to bring adjusted technical assistance to REOs. DEOs, WEOS. This work will require part of his/her time, and that of his/her team, to be spent in the supported regions.

She/he will also provide support where required in support of Education Performance for Results 2 activities and results related to teaching and learning and attend meetings when needed. The Teaching and Learning Lead will ensure all interventions follow the Shule Bora operating principles and procedures.

The Teaching And Learning Lead Will

Technical

Design strategy and budgeted workplans and review roadmaps to improving teaching and learning in Tanzania.
Lead and bring technical assistance at all different levels of the system on what works in terms of improving teaching and learning in and around schools to ensure strategy implementation.
Work politically with institutions like MoEST, PO-RALG, TIE, ADEM, NECTA and others to influence behaviours, approaches and understandings on critical issues related to teaching and learning.
Lead the support to Government on the design, implementation, monitoring and adaptation of quality, scalable and sustainable interventions (technical assistance, influencing and activities) relating to improving teaching and learning for all children
Support the system to be more coordinated from school to national level in focusing on improving the things that can drive improved teaching and learning.
Define annual short-term technical assistance needs in support of Teaching and Learning activities and influencing pieces, manage consultants and ensure high quality standards of all deliverables. Consultants will need to debrief SMT on their work and their work will have to be based on a cross-cutting approach.
Ensure all programme activities and materials include an inclusive approach, use inclusive language and disaggregated data, and promote diversity in educational institutions
Provide inputon design, approach and content of materials and quality assure where relevant
Provide training and support to all staff to ensure a coherent approach

Planning and institutional coordination

Ensure harmonisation of approaches across programme activities
Work closely and ensure smooth and proactive communication with SMT, other Leads, MEL and EPforR teams to ensure harmonisation, communication, coordination and cross cutting across the programme
Work closely with team in development and implementation of the Shule Bora Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning framework as needed. Ensure lessons learned are being made and that data (quantitative and qualitative) is being gathered to reflect on progress and challenges to adjust strategies.
Coordinate Shule Bora activities with PO-RALG, MOEST, TIE, ADEM and other organisations as required
Generate synergies and ensure lesson learning between Shule Bora and other efforts and programs to improve teaching and learning for all children in Tanzania and ensure Shule Bora is being catalytic.
Ensure strong coordination with EP4R and see how EP4R mechanisms can be used to bring lessons learned and results at national levels through DLIs.

Build capacity

Ensure Shule Bora work, strategy and approach, especially on teaching and learning is being sustainable and embedded with the system to strengthen it.
Support the institutionalisation of programme support within PO-RALG, LGAs and Regions.
Support capacity development activities of programme staff and government counterparts as well as technical assistance.

General

Support team in implementing project activities according to approved TORs and agreed budget. Ensure quality contributions to project deliverables and reports as per the project workplan and logframe.
Provide inputs into mainstreaming minimum standards in safeguarding across all project activities, in close collaboration with the Core Team (including partners with responsibility for delivery in other outcome areas).
Regularly go to the 9 Shule Bora regions to monitor progress, bring technical assistance, support regional teams, meet with key local and regional stakeholders.
Assess risk of activities, monitor risk and proactively raise any concerns with the senior management team.
Be proactive in communication to SMT to report progress, feedback, challenges and act as proactive team member to ensure meaningful attendance to all key technical meetings (internal and external) to nurture reflection and build on feedback.
Prepare detailed budget and work with finance team to ensure budget spending is being on track.
Work closely with Knowledge and Communication Lead in preparation of all reporting documents including QPR and contribute to overall programme reporting both internal and to FCDO and Government, should it be in writing or through meetings.
Develop budgets for programme activities and manage costs to achieve best VFM. Forecast spend on a monthly basis within programme targets and communicate this promptly to enable compliance with FCDO’s monthly forecasting cycle.
Represent Shule Bora at relevant meetings and conferences as required, share updates and ensure feedback from the meetings and conferences are being shared to SMT.
Work in line with Shule Bora Programme policies and manuals at all times.

Work location: Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Candidate Specification

Knowledge

Educated to a degree level, Masters preferred in education or related subject
Good understanding of the Tanzanian education system
Excellent understanding of effective pedagogy, CPD and/or instructional leadership approaches.
Excellent understanding of the current state of primary school teacher and learning and the barriers to improvement schools and the wider system face.

Experience

Experience our working in ways that strengthens systems
Experience of working in ways that improves teaching quality and learning outcomes
Managing and leading technical specialists and short-term technical assistance
Experience of achieving change through working politically with Government actors and other partners.
Experience in planning, coordinating, implementing and monitoring activities to improve teaching and learning
Experience in capacity development
Experience in large-scale, international development projects
Experience with stakeholder engagement from schools to senior government levels

Skills

Strategic thinking and ability to develop a multi-year vision
Strong technical leadership skills in pedagogy, teacher training, instructional leadership and other related areas
Politically-savvy with strong influencing skills
Ability to work in a collaborative team setting, with both leadership and team building and team player skills
Ability to prioritise and work under pressure
Strong organisational skills, reliability, and adherence to ethical standards
Proficient in using MS packages, particularly Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint
Understanding of and sensitivity to cultural differences
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Fluency in written and spoken English, Kiswahili preferred

Project Description

The UK aid funded Shule Bora programme aims to improve the quality of pre-primary and primary schools in Tanzania.The programme’s Impact Statement is: Shule Bora will deliver improved quality, inclusiveness, and safety of learning for boys and girls.

There are four outcomes:

Teaching and learning: Strengthening Tanzania’s primary teaching and instructional support systems, so that all children* are learning in school. This is focused across primary level, but with a particular focus on foundational literacy and numeracy, and later grade maths and English learning outcomes.
Inclusion: All children are in schools that are safe, offer an environment conducive to learning and that this enables children to complete primary education and progress to secondary education.
Systems building: UKAID supports government in strengthening the value for money** of education provision at school, local and national level.
The term ‘all children’ infers particular attention to the most disadvantaged: girls, the disabled and those living deprived areas **Value for money is defined as a composite of economy, efficiency, effectiveness and equity

The Programme Will

Work with Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MOEST) and the President’s Office Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG) to test, adapt, scale and sustain quality, gender-transformative, disability-inclusive and safe to learn education approaches in 9 regions, This will be done through a system strengthening approach, where Shule Bora supports and facilitates but does not directly implement.
Generate learning and evidence on how to achieve these outcomes affordably and at scale. Use this and other evidence to influence Government and partners stakeholders to help expand and sustain approaches beyond these 9 regions.
Support GoT with the timely and effective implementation of the Payment for Results (PforR) mechanism through technical assistance and capacity building to address structural barriers in the system and help scale good practice from the 9 regions.

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Equality, diversity and inclusion

We put equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of our business, seeking to promote fair employment procedures and practices to ensure equal opportunities for all. We encourage individual expression in our workplace and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels they have the opportunity to contribute.

Agile working

At Mott MacDonald, we believe it makes business sense for you and your manager to choose how you can work most effectively to meet your client, team and personal commitments. We embrace agility, flexibility and trust.

Teaching and Learning Lead at Mott MacDonald

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