The Technical Advisor supports World Education, Inc./Africa Division to further its mission by providing technical assistance in the area of targeted technical support to existing projects and new business development. The Technical Advisor provides technical expertise and assistance to projects in specific areas of international education development programming (e.g. early grade reading in developing context, monitoring and evaluation in education, capacity building and training for institutions or communities, and training or educational materials development). The Technical Advisor also leads the development of new business development strategies, designs proposals, and strengthens new business development systems and practices to respond to new business opportunities. The Technical Advisor reports directly to the Vice President.
Key Responsibilities
Technical Support
- Keep abreast of trends and best practices in designated technical areas
- Provide technical assistance to Country or Program Directors and project staff as needed to ensure high quality programming and program deliverables
- Review key program documents and provide timely feedback and comments to improve the quality of the documents (e.g. program plans, M&E or assessment reports, research or impact evaluation reports, etc.)
- Assist Country Directors to develop new business development strategic plans that will assist them to make optimal use of their program development budgets
- Mentor Program Officers in key technical areas
- Perform other work as requested by senior management
New Business Development
- Assist senior management in planning, assessing, and organizing WEI/Africa’s competiveness and business development prospects
- Develop and streamline the process to track and prepare for upcoming RFAs and other new business opportunities
- Maintain proposal templates and materials and make recommendations on how to modify and improve business development and proposal design tools
- Contribute to maintaining databases of personnel, including consultants and key personnel (e.g. Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party, and partner organization contacts)
- Engage directly in the development of proposals, contributing to technical design and writing key sections of technical and cost applications where appropriate
- Conduct trips to the field to determine feasibility of pursuing particular opportunities, engage with potential partners, conduct initial interviews with candidates for key personnel positions, and facilitate program design sessions
- Lead and support negotiations with clients, partners, and consultants as appropriate
- Hold debriefings with proposal teams to identify and document lessons learned and best practices for program development efforts
Qualifications/experience
- Masters degree in education, international development or other related fields
- Minimum of 8-10 years of relevant experience, with at least 2 years of experience working in a developing country (Africa experience required)
- Thorough knowledge and experience with RFA/RFP mechanisms of government and foundation donor agencies (e.g. USAID, USDOL, USDA, DFID, UN agencies)
- Proven proposal development and management skills
- Demonstrated excellent writing and communication skills
- Ability to work as part of a team and communicate with diverse partners and team members
- Technical skills and experience in areas relevant to WEI/Africa’s programming needs (e.g. early grade reading, M&E development, youth development, teacher training, curriculum/materials development, and/or other relevant technical areas)
- Experience using program design tools (e.g. log frame, results framework, theory of change, development hypothesis), developing indicators, and tailoring program design to align with indicators
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex bids and proposals simultaneously
- Demonstrated ability to train and mentor staff
- Familiarity with overseas development project operations and environments
- Based in Boston and willing and able to travel up to 25% of the time (3-5 trips per year)
- Written and spoken fluency in French strongly preferred
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