Strategic Stakeholder Country Engagement Lead - What Works Hub for Global Education

British Council

New Delhi
Contract
Full-time

12 days ago

We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications.Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021-22 we reached 650 million people.Role PurposeThe education research landscape in India is shaped by a multitude of stakeholders, including government agencies, academic institutions, think tanks, NGOs, international organizations, philanthropic foundations, private sector organizations, and teachers themselves. While these entities are collectively contributing to a dynamic and evolving research agenda, there remains a persistent gap in the adoption of research findings in policy formulation. The rapid rise of funders and private philanthropy has highlighted the weak coordination in the sector and increased 'selling' interventions to government decision makers. There is an increasing need for government buy in of the research process from the design phase and to have clearer signals concerning the quality of the 'evidence' that is presented to harness the power of evidence-based decision-making.The What Works Hub for Global Education (WWHGE) is a joint initiative funded by the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCDO), and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with support from Strategic Partners including British Council, World Bank, UNICEF, USAID, the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel (GEEAP) and the Building Evidence in Education global partnership to improve how evidence is communicated and used at all levels of government and all stages of the delivery cycle resulting in more cost effective education policies that improve learning for all.There are three pillars under the WWHGE Pillar 1: Synthesise and curate the best evidence in ways that the governments and practitioners need and commissioning new research that tracks cost-effective interventions to scale. Pillar 2: Strengthen education and finance ministries' capability to use and contextualise data and evidence. Pillar 3: Create a new field in implementation science that produces evidence and supports our partner governments to use a 'diagnose, test, learn and adapt' cycle to take education reform to scale.Activities under each of these pillars will be led by the Blavatnik School of Government (BSG) and its consortium partners, in close collaboration with Strategic Partners.British Council is the educational and cultural arm of the FCDO in India. As a Strategic Partner on the project, British Council's main responsibilities will come under Pillar 1, supporting governments and practitioners to access evidence in tailored ways to meet their decision-making needs. The British Council will convene influencers within the education ecosystem in India, build credibility for the project through their network, provide a platform for education stakeholders across government and the wider education sector to connect and support the dissemination of education research evidence on what works. The ultimate aim is ensuring robust educational evidence is used to drive policy change and ultimately implementation at scale, alongside and in alignment with the core supplier BSG, its consortium partners, and other Strategic Partners.The Lead role for WWHGE, will represent the British Council in the project and with stakeholders, and will be responsible for British Council's deliverables in the project as mentioned above. The Lead will work towards enhancing the impact of the work done by BSG and its partners, through use of education networks, contextual insight, local knowledge and convening expertise.Main Accountabilities:Relationship and Stakeholder Management

Country and regional convening: Bring together policy makers, evidence creators, donors, NGOs and other stakeholders in the research and education ecosystems to build meaningful dialogue with government on the latest evidence to strengthen foundational learning outcomes.

Building a county level community of practice: Develop trust-based relationships with a range of key practitioners, research partners, and donor organisations. Use existing networks and build new strategic peer networks outside the British Council to enhance own expertise that supports project outcomes.

Research uptake: Use strong interpersonal skills to build and strengthen networks with partners, internal and external stakeholders for stronger use of research.

Communication lead: Work with communications leads from the strategic partnerships to present the research, its milestones and key policy recommendations at strategic partner meetings, conferences and technical discussion forums.

Government buy-in: work closely with FCDO India, the UK based implementation lead and the regional research team to build internal and external commitment and use of the research messages for policy reform on foundational learning.

Leadership and Management:

Provide leadership and manage all aspects of the project, from inception to closure

. • Use agreed corporate tools, processes and compliance systems to plan and manage resources, project budgets, activities.

Collect and analyse M&E data to track progress against deliverables.

Create and provide reports on all project milestones and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as agreed with the FCDO implementation lead.

Analyse risks and come up with appropriate risk assessment and mitigation plans for the project.

Maintain clear, accurate and updated lessons learnt logs for the project.

Create and manage the strategic communications plan for the project and lead on its advocacy with key stakeholders and partners.

Be an active part of the British Council global WWHGE team, sharing updates and insights from India with the FCDO country and global teams and other project countries.

Consultancy, analysis and problem solving

Apply advanced, implicit and technical knowledge about the national policies, education sector (both public and private) and government priorities to advice into key aspects of the project design and implementation phase.

Maintain an authoritative knowledge of the political economy of the Indian public education context and the main issues and challenges faced in policy implementation.

Use evidence and facts to steer project in the right direction and ensure that an objective and transparent approach, with all partners and stakeholders of the project. Work with WWHGE researchers to distil complex concepts and analysis into persuasive business case presentations, which influence decision-makers on the project to achieve the project objectives.

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)

To actively contribute to an inclusive and anti-racist organisational culture, being aware of your own biases, and taking action to mitigate against these. Ensuring people feel valued and are treated equitably, with support for people's well-being and mental health

. • Understand the British Council's approach to equality, diversity and inclusion and how it applies to your role, and make time for learning and development relating to EDI and anti racism. Condition of Employment AMinimum/essential Requirement-Postgraduate qualification in any disciplineTrack record of working in projects related to the public education sector in India.

Experience in project management especially in leading and managing large scale projects.

Experience of working with large and culturally diverse teams

Desirable Requirement:

Masters/PhD in a Social Science/ Political science discipline • Project management qualification

Track record of having worked in the area of policy implementation and practice across any social sector in India.Further Information

Number of positions: 1
Employment Type: Fixed Term contract Local (4 Years)
Location: India- New Delhi
Grade: 8/ E
Deadline to receive applications: 29th April 2024 (23:59 Indian standard Time)

Please note that all applications should be submitted in English only.
It is advisable to apply in advance to avoid any technical issues at the last momentA connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.Equality , Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) StatementThe British Council is committed to policies and practices of equality, diversity and inclusion across everything we do. We support all staff to make sure their behaviour is consistent with this commitment. We want to address under representation and encourage applicants from under-represented groups, in particular, but not exclusively, on grounds of ethnicity and disability. All disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview and we have Disability Confident Employer Status. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.The British Council is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults who we work with.We believe that all children and adults everywhere in the world deserve to live in safe environments and have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse, maltreatment and exploitation as set out in article 19, UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1989.Appointment to positions where there is direct involvement with vulnerable groups will be dependent on thorough checks being completed; these will include qualification checks, reference checks, identity & criminal record checks in line with legal requirements and with the British Council's Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.If you have any problems with your application please emailPlease note: Applications to this role can only be considered when made through the Apply section of our careers website. Our 'ASK HR' email is only to be used in case of a technical issue encountered when applying through the careers website. Emails with supporting statements and CV/Resumes sent to this email address will not be reviewed and will be deleted.

British Council

Apply Now