Internal/External Vacancy Announcement

Organization: Ethiopian Center for Disability and Development (ECDD)

Position: Inclusive Education Project Officer - TARGET

Location: Somali (Jigjiga), Afar (Semera), Benishangul-Gumuz (Asosa), Gambela (Gambela)

Salary: As per the organization scale

Background:

The Ethiopian Center for Disability and Development (ECDD) is an Ethiopian development NGO established in 2005 and re-registered on 17 May 2019, Registration No. 0321, as a local organization in accordance with the Civil Society Organizations Proclamation No. 1113/2019. ECDD works collaboratively with other organizations to promote, facilitate, and build organizational capacity for “disability-inclusive development” in Ethiopia – the inclusion of disability issues and persons with disabilities in mainstream government service delivery and non-governmental development programs.

ECDD is currently partnering with Education Development Trust (EDT) to implement, with the financial support of DFID, a project entitled “Technical Assistance to Reinforce GEQIP-E Ethiopia” (TARGET) to promote inclusive education and inclusion of persons with disabilities in TARGET implementation. TARGET will promote systemic challenges by focusing on four key task areas. These are:

Task 1) Enhancing the ability of government agencies at the Federal and Regional level to deliver on policies and plans, by conducting training and coaching on ‘delivery approaches’;

Task 2) Reforming the national school leadership training system to become more decentralized, school-led and workplace-based;

Task 3) Enhancing school improvement planning and activity by building capacity in the domains of inclusion, teacher performance in the classroom, community engagement, and student careers advisory;

Task 4) Strengthening the monitoring, evaluation and research capacity of GEQIP-E by building capacity within the EMIS/NLA divisions of MoE, and via a research fund.

Job summary:

The Inclusive Education Project Officer will report to the ECDD Inclusive Education Advisor and is responsible to promote, implement and monitor inclusive education activities of the TARGET project in the project intervention regions. The Inclusive Education Project Officer will be based at the Regional Education Bureau, as assigned, in order to provide support for the goals of the project, with a particular focus on ensuring that all capacity building activities are inclusive of persons with disabilities. Representing ECDD, the Inclusive Education Project Officer will work in collaboration with the TARGET project team that will be based at the Regional Education Bureau. The Project Officer will provide professional and technical support to the TARGET project team for the best implementation of inclusive education in the region. He/she will develop and deliver capacity-building training on inclusive education for TARGET stakeholders including the Regional Education Bureau, Zonal and Woreda Education Offices, school communities, and organizations of persons with disabilities, and actively promote at regional and community levels the inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream schools.

Key responsibilities:

Collaborate with the TARGET team to strengthen capacity building interventions by the delivery team at the regional level;

•  Conduct capacity assessment, facilitate and strengthen the capacity of local organizations of persons with disabilities (DPOs);
•   Support the TARGET team in the development of disability-friendly capacity-building activities for Centers of Excellence, to enable them to train personnel of Teacher Education Colleges in the region;
• Coordinate and jointly devise the inclusive education implementation approach with the TARGET team at the region;
• Support the identification and assessment of school-age children with disabilities at target schools and their catchment areas;
• Organize community mobilization activities to raise awareness on the right to education of children with disabilities;
• Support the design and implementation of ‘model interventions’ in order to improve schools in the region through the Equitable School Improvement Fund (ESIF);
• Consult with Regional Education Bureau personnel in target zones and towns on making target schools accessible to children with disabilities;
• Partner with other stakeholders for the establishment of Inclusive Education Resource Centers (IERCs) and the provision of inclusive education resource center materials at target schools;
• Devise a referral system for specialized service provision for students with disabilities at target schools in the region;
• Work with the TARGET team on the development of disability-inclusive portfolio-based certification for accreditation;
• Work with the TARGET team to ensure data collection, analysis, and dissemination of GEQIP-E disability/inclusion indicators;
• Promote and support inclusive education practice at all levels in the region;
• Support the Regional Education Bureau to develop tailored solutions to address inclusive education challenges;
• Prepare regular and timely updates and reports, including success stories, and best practices;
• Undertake such other tasks as may be assigned by the ECDD Inclusive Education Advisor, ECDD Inclusive Education Program Team Lead and/or the Program Director.

• Master’s/ Bachelor’s degree in inclusive/special needs education, education, or related social science discipline;
• Minimum4 years’ for MA/MSc or 6 years’ for BA/BSc experience working in the field of education, preferably on inclusive education;
• Experience working with local and/or international NGOs in implementing education projects;
• Previous experience working as an educator in the field of inclusive education desirable;
• Previous experience working on DFID funded projects is a plus;
• Competence in the use of computer applications;
• Fluency in English and Amharic or Ethiopian Sign Language, knowledge of other Ethiopian languages desirable.

Qualified individuals with disabilities, especially women, are encouraged to apply.  ECDD gives priority in employment to qualified candidates with disabilities.  ECDD will meet any and all required disability adjustment costs to enable individuals with disabilities to meet the requirements of the position.