Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community; Internationally

The first international organization that I found is ChildFund International. At the heart of this organization is the desire to help children and families who are in need and living in poverty. This organization is currently working in 30 countries worldwide and helps an estimated 18.2 million children and their families (ChildFund International, 2015).  ChildFund provides services for infants, young children, older children, teenagers, and young adults. They have programs that focus on nutrition, health, safety, building positive relationships, civic engagement, and leadership (ChildFund International, 2015). 

One job opportunity that I found rather interesting is the position of Program Director in Afghanistan. The successful applicant must plan, implement, monitor and report on all program activities; document and disseminate best program practices so as to improve program quality and organizational learning; lead the development of grants; facilitate, coordinate and develop partnerships with government institutions, other NGOs and INGOs and local community groups(ChildFund International, 2015).  In order to qualify for this position the individual must have 10+ years experience in senior program management with an international NGO preferably in community development and/or child-focused programming; extensive knowledge in grants acquisition and management, international work experience, oral and written skills in Dari and Pashto and must demonstrate technical expertise in budget development and expenditure tracking (Childfund International, 2015). 

The second international organization is Children International.  Like the first organization, the goal of this organization is to help children and families that are in need. They provide programs, resources, and services that aim to reduce the burden of poverty on young children (Children International, 2015). Additionally, they provide educational opportunities for children in poverty. These include early education to secondary education. Children International is currently helping more than 340,000 children around the world through their 17 agencies in 11 countries (Children International, 2015).

There were two employment opportunities on the organization’s website: Bilingual Sponsor Service Representative and Program Officer, Health and Nutrition.  The position that caught my interest is Program Officer, Health and Nutrition. The successful applicant will have to maintain a thorough knowledge of the rationale, purpose and scope of existing health and nutrition programs, and align these with global best practices; review program plans and proposals in the areas of health and nutrition, in coordination with regional and field office program staff; organize and conduct training for agency and/or regional staff; conduct data analysis to determine appropriate measures for program improvement, and to report on program achievements; assist in the preparation and presentation of program monitoring and evaluation reports; identify and work to establish complementary programs/partnerships in the areas of health and nutrition; seek grant resources through the development of technical approaches and coordination with CI fundraisers to market these approaches; performs other administrative duties such as composing non-routine correspondence, trip reports, financial reports, and assisting with annual budgets (Children International, 2015).  In order to qualify for this position the individual must be bilingual in Spanish and English; have two years experience in international experience; have knowledge of and experience with institutions and organizational alliances related to global health and nutrition; hold a master’s degree in Public Health or a related field; experience in program design, monitoring and evaluation; must be sensitive and flexible in working with multiple cultures and languages.

The third international organization is Global Partnership for Education.  The mission of this organization is to galvanize and coordinate a global effort to deliver a good quality education to all children, prioritizing the poorest and most vulnerable. To that end, the Global Partnership helps its member countries to develop and implement sound education sector plans and has allocated approximately $4.1 billion in education grants to date. The Global Partnership mobilizes international financing and promotes/ efficient use of international and national resources to support developing countries' education goals and sector strategies.  Its members include 60 of the world's poorest developing countries, over 30 bilateral, regional, and multilateral agencies; development banks; the private sector; civil society groups; and teachers organizations (Global Partnership for Education, 2015).

There are quite a few job opportunities on this organizations website.  Three of these jobs are with Global Partnership for Education while the others are with other organizations.  The position that interests me is Deputy Manager, Country Support Team.   The successful candidate will report to GPE’s Country Support Team Manager. She/he will play a critical role in strengthening the management and operational oversight of GPE’s grant portfolio taking on the following specific responsibilities: in close collaboration with technical country leads, finance staff and, as appropriate, supervising and managing entities, lead on improving procedures, guidelines and tools and their effective application in country facing functions, for effective grant management; lead on CST operational compliance and risk management in relation to the GPE grant portfolio and in collaboration with the Finance team; supervise CST grant management staff/operations team; supervise the technical lead of the CST Monitoring Unit, ensuring appropriate upstream monitoring support to country support staff and effective downstream monitoring of GPE-funded programs, and CST contribution to the broader SPP-led monitoring function; oversee the production of the Annual Portfolio Review for presentation to the GPE Board in support to the CST monitoring unit and collaboration with CST, SPP and Finance staff; oversee the effective capture and sharing of knowledge from the GPE grant portfolio to feed into evidence of GPE’s contribution to results and the SPP-led knowledge management function; coordinate the CST’s support to the GPE Board’s Country Grants and Performance Committee; serve as Acting CST manager as required (Global Partnership for Education, 2015).  In order to qualify for this position the individual must hold a Master’s degree in Social Sciences, Development Management/Planning Studies/Planning or other relevant discipline; have experience in Program/Operations and or Project Management at a senior level with supporting skills in knowledge management; at least 8 years’ experience, of which at least five years in a similar function at the international level; experience in working on issues related to education policy; proficiency in French; must be a clear, accurate, able communicator, both verbally and in writing; have good team working skills; be solutions focused; be comfortable with quantitative and qualitative analysis (Global Partnership for Education, 2015).  

I would be delighted to work for any of these organizations because I think that it is wonderful that they are able to help so many children worldwide. As we know, poverty is an issue in many countries and providing children who live in poverty with education, proper nutrition, and developmental assistance can be very beneficial to them and their family and by extension the entire world.

References.

ChildFund International. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.childfund.org/

Children International. (2015). Retrieved from  https://www.children.org/

Global Partnership for Education (2015).  Retrieved from :  http://www.globalpartnership.org/