In Ethiopia, many children are out of school or at risk of dropping out, in particular girls and other marginalised groups. Progress has been made in expanding education access for children across the country - however, since 2019 progress stalled due to conflict, climate-induced shocks, the impact of COVID-19 and other challenges which have exacerbated existing inequalities.

In response and building on its previous support to the Ethiopian Education system, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) aims to improve teaching quality and learning outcomes and increase access to education for girls and marginalised children through the ‘Transforming Education in Ethiopia’ project (2024-2028). The programme will focus on three key aspects:

• Teacher and school leader development:  Improved quality of teaching and learning with a focus on continuous teacher professional development in targeted schools. 

• English Language Teaching and Learning: Selected schools provide better teaching and learning in English Language as a subject, and improved use of English across the curriculum.

• Equity, Inclusion and Girls’ Education: Improved access and retention of the most marginalised children, particularly girls.

Employment type: Definite period

About the role: This is an exciting opportunity to help the government and people of Ethiopia strengthen the education system and work with experts in a dynamic consortium that is putting together a compelling and innovative bid for the forthcoming five-year “Transforming Education Programme in Ethiopia (TREE)”. As Gender, Inclusion and Social Development Lead, you will be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with frequent visits to specific regions to be covered by the programme and other locations as necessary. 

You will report to the Consortium Technical Assistance (TA) Lead. Regular day to day liaison and coordination will be with Regional Leads and Concern Worldwide’s Technical Advisers in Ethiopia and at head office. You will work closely with both local and international consortium members and downstream partners and contractors, the Core Programme Management Team, and the Ministry of Education (MoE).

Role Purpose:

The Gender, Inclusion, and Social Development Lead will lead in providing technical guidance on gender, inclusion, and social development within the project. They will work closely with the project team to design and implement a programme specific Gender Equality & Social Inclusion (GESI) strategy, ensuring its principles are integrated across all project activities, and linking it to wider organisational GESI strategies. This includes developing relevant indicators and work plans, with a particular focus on the needs of girls, religious and ethnic monitories and individuals with disabilities.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Lead the development and implementation of a comprehensive project GESI Strategy.

• Direct and coordinate GESI-related research and analysis in collaboration with key stakeholders, including MEL (Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning) teams, regional teams, and other specialists, to inform project design and implementation.

• Working closely with the MoE and other key stakeholders at national and regional levels, actively support and influence the development, review and refinement of relevant national policies, guidelines, materials, and tools to ensure robust GESI integration.

• Lead the development, review and refinement of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)/Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and Child Protection approaches, materials and tools.

• Collaborate with MEAL colleagues to establish GESI-specific indicators and targets, supporting the collection, analysis, and reporting of GESI data for effective monitoring, learning, and communication of project outcomes.

• Liaise with experts within the consortium on disability to ensure integration into project.

• Foster and maintain strong relationships with communities, organisations, partners, and other stakeholders to amplify the project's GESI impact and ensure collaborative progress toward shared goals.

• Provide technical GESI insights to project reports, ensuring high-quality communication to donors and stakeholders regarding the integration of GESI, the achievement of results, and the impact across the project.

• Conduct field visits as needed to monitor the implementation and performance of GESI activities, offering practical recommendations for improvement and ensuring follow up on progress.

• Support teams to ensure that project activities or events are designed to remove barriers to participation for marginalised groups, including women, religious and ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.

• Identify and address gaps in GESI capacity across the team through targeted training, technical assistance and other capacity building methods.

• Advocate for and sustain a strong commitment to GESI mainstreaming throughout the project’s lifecycle, ensuring all team members, and stakeholders prioritise inclusive practices and outcomes.

• Within this role, promote and help ensure adherence/compliance with Concern Worldwide’s Code of Conduct & Associated Policies (including Programme Participant Protection, Child & vulnerable adult Safeguarding, Anti-Trafficking policies), Conflict of Interest Policy, Anti-Fraud Policy, and Modern Slavery Transparency Statement. 

• Within this role, promote and help ensure accountability to programme participants and wider communities in line with Concern Worldwide’s commitments under the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) and Do No Harm principles and ensure high ethical standards throughout programme implementation.

Emergency response

Concern is committed to responding to emergencies efficiently and effectively in order to help affected people meet their basic needs, alleviate suffering and maintain their dignity. To this end, when emergencies strike and the Ethiopia Programme is to respond, all staff are required to actively participate in the response, regardless of location and contribute to the efforts aimed at achieving the humanitarian objective of the organization.

Gender Equality

• Demonstrate understanding of Concern Ethiopia’s Gender Equality Strategy

• Contribute to ensuring that Concern Ethiopia is a place where men and women are treated equally and with  dignity and respect

• Demonstrate gender equality awareness and gender sensitivity and an ability to integrate a gender equality perspective into tasks and activities.

Accountability

In line with Concern’s commitments under the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS): 

• actively promote meaningful community participation and consultation at all stages of the project cycle (planning, implementation, M&E); 

• work with relevant colleagues  to ensure that the Complaints and Response Mechanism (CRM) is functional and accessible, that feedback and complaints are welcomed and addressed; 

• Work with relevant colleagues to ensure that information about CRM, safeguarding and expected staff behavior is disseminated among programme participants and communities.

Safeguarding

• Able to seek appropriate advice and report concerns, and feel confident that they have been understood.

• Understands local safeguarding structures and arrangements.

• Practice in a manner that seeks to reduce the risk of abuse, harm or neglect.

• Identifies and refers to appropriate services any other associated persons including carers, family members and children at risk.

• Able to document safeguarding concerns, and maintain appropriate record keeping, recording the wishes and views of the adult or child at risk, differentiating between fact and opinion.

Job Requirements

Role Holder Requirements:

Required:

• Advanced degree (master’s or equivalent experience) in gender, social work, education, international development or related field. 

• Minimum of 5-7 years’ experience in directly delivering gender equality and social inclusion support into large scale programmes, ideally in the education and/or protection sectors, in similar contexts.

• Experience conducting GESI-related research, including barrier analysis, and using data to inform project design, implementation, and policy development.

• Experience in developing, implementing, and revising policies, strategies, and frameworks related to GESI (Gender Equality and Social Inclusion) in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.

• Extensive experience in designing and delivering capacity-building initiatives and training, particularly in gender, inclusion and social development.

• Extensive technical knowledge of key gender, inclusion and social development topics.

• Deep understanding of the cultural, social, and political context of Ethiopia, including knowledge of the specific challenges and opportunities related to gender, inclusion, and social development.

• Ability to work effectively, collaboratively and develop constructive relationships with government, at both strategic/policy and service delivery levels including positive influencing skills. 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex information in a clear and concise manner to diverse audiences with different backgrounds.

• Fluency in English.

Desirable:

• Experience with FCDO-funded and familiarity with these donor GESI requirements and standards

• Fluency in one or more Ethiopian languages.

Competencies:  

As this is a key leadership position, potential candidates are expected to demonstrate significant ability in the following areas:

Focusing on the most marginalised people 

Communicating and influencing

Managing risk

Leading change

Making decisions

Driving performance

Leading by example

Removing barriers to delivery

Motivating and developing

How to Apply

We encourage all eligible candidates, irrespective of gender, ethnicity or origin, disability, political beliefs, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status to apply to become a part of the organization. Concern is against all forms of discrimination and unequal power relations and is committed to promoting equality. 

If this role sounds right for you, please apply with your CV and cover letter.  Please be aware we may offer positions before the closing date. Concern reserves the right to interview and select the chosen candidate before closing date for receipt of applications, so early application is strongly recommended.

If you have any concerns about our recruitment process and need particular assistance - for example if you have a disability e.g. a hearing impairment - please let us know and we will do our best to respond to your needs.  

Apply using THIS LINK

Important information:

Concern has an organizational Code of Conduct with three Associated Policies: The Programme Participant Protection Policy, the Child Safeguarding Policy, and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Policy accessible here. These have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation, and to clarify the responsibilities of Concern staff, consultants, visitors to the programme and partner organizations, and the standards of behaviour expected of them. In this context, staff have a responsibility to the organization to strive for, and maintain, the highest standards in their work, in accordance with Concern’s core values and mission. Any candidate offered a job with Concern Worldwide will be expected to sign the Concern Staff Code of Conduct and Associated Policies as an appendix to their contract of employment. By signing the Concern Code of Conduct, candidates acknowledge that they have understood the content of both the Concern Code of Conduct and the Associated Policies and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these policies. Additionally, Concern is committed to the safeguarding and protection of adults and children in our work. We will do everything possible to ensure that only those who are suitable to work or volunteer with adults and children are recruited by us for such roles. Consequently, working or volunteering with Concern may be subject to a range of vetting checks, including criminal background checking. 

During this job application, you will provide Concern with your personal data. Concern takes its responsibilities towards this personal data very seriously and is committed to complying with all relevant data protection legislation.  

What we offer

• A competitive salary and benefit package

• Excellent medical benefits (100% cover including dependents)

• 20 days annual leave

• 26 weeks (paid) maternity leave, 18 weeks (unpaid) parental leave