Technology and Support Officer

This position is open to Egyptian nationals or individuals with valid work permit in Egypt.

“Connectivity is transforming the world. However, those who have the most to gain are often the last to benefit. The Vodafone Foundation is dedicated to deploying connectivity and technology to deliver long term, sustainable benefits for vulnerable communities around the world.” Lisa Felton, Director, Vodafone Foundation

Refugee classrooms are perhaps the toughest in the world. Throughout Africa, teachers are routinely working in under-resourced classrooms, trying to meet the needs of a large number of mixed-age and mixed-ability learners. Fostering quality learning in these environments remains a constant challenge for even the most talented teachers. This is especially difficult when teachers do not have access to dynamic or updated educational resources.

Vodafone Foundation won the Transformational Solutions in Education, Knowledge and Skills award for the INS programme, at the Financial Times/International Finance Corporation Transformational and Business Conference Awards 2020.

We believe that education is key to the future of our Planet and humankind.

We believe that every girl and boy should have access to quality education regardless of the country of origin or whether they can afford to pay.

We support inclusive approaches for refugee and forcibly displaced children, particularly in developing countries who host the majority of refugees globally.

We support addressing gender based digital divides and increasing access for girls to education.

We believe that technology can be transformational in empowering teachers and parents to educate children in and out-of-school and can contribute to protecting them.

We believe tech is a tool to serve humans and that holistic approaches such as INS are the solution.

Since 2014, Vodafone Foundation and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have partnered to deploy the Instant Network Schools (INS) programme. The Instant Network Schools (INS) programme aims to create a conducive teaching and learning environment which should include:

• A quality learning environment within a safe building/classroom, sufficient furniture, lighting and fans and safe storage for INS equipment.
• Adequate human resources to run lessons including a Coach (additional staff or referent given sufficient time to support teachers in lesson delivery)
• Reliable power, ideally from renewable/sustainable sources
• Reliable uncapped connectivity (or minimum data allowance of 500GB/month) with minimum speeds of 10 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up.
• Network infrastructure to support offline and online educational content distribution and online content filtering to promote a safe learning environment for teachers, students and members of the community. Including hardware, software and cloud solutions.
• Content creation, lesson management and delivery tools for teachers
• Digital courses to raise awareness on online safety, online search and privacy and empower teachers to leverage technology in the classroom.
• Devices to support educational activities (lessons or extracurricular): laptop(s), tablets, video/audio and charging stations stored safely.
• In-country and remote support structures to provide preventive and reactive maintenance.

Since 2020, Vodafone Foundation and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have partnered in Egypt to enhance the quality of education in lower secondary schools. To date, the INS programme is running in 48 schools across Greater Cairo, Alexandria, and Damietta reaching to more than 88,000 students and 2,400 teachers.

Overview

The Technical and Support Officer – Instant Network School (INS) will be part of the Vodafone Egypt Foundation team. He/She will be part of a 5 person cross-functional team from Vodafone Egypt Foundation and UNHCR. The position will also closely collaborate with Vodafone Foundation and UNHCR HQ team as co-lead for the programme M&E strategy. He/She will report to Vodafone Egypt Foundation INS coordinator while working under the supervision of UNHCR’s INS programme manager. He/She is based in Cairo (Egypt) with travels to Governorates where the INS programme is in operation (currently Damietta and Alexandria). He/She will oversee the technical roll-out of the INS programme while being responsible for technical support and infrastructure maintenance.

This position is a full-time role. It is currently advertised for the September 2024 to August 2025 period with an opportunity to expand contract duration.

Roles and responsibilities

Support and coordinate the installation of 22 new Instant Network Schools focusing on technical aspect (connectivity, power, hardware upgrade, etc)

• Design and implement a robust support mechanism for existing and future INS centres in-line with Vodafone Foundation Group expectations
• Answer support requests in a timely and reliable manner in-line with a pre-defined procedure
• Report on hardware replacement stock in country to Vodafone Foundation Group
• Support the on-boarding and technical training of INS coaches via face-to-face training and/or online webinars
• Support training of Vodafone Egypt volunteers (face-to-face and/or online webinars) and help set-up a support structure to be able to efficiently respond to the need
• Support the on-boarding and technical training of the MoE designated technical focal point(s)
• Act as the main technical focal point for the MoE
• Attend regular programme management calls
• Complete regular reporting to keep all parties informed of key achievements and challenges

Essential Minimum Qualifications and Experience

• University degree or equivalent experience in one of the following: ICT/Telecoms/Network Engineering/DevOps
• Minimum 3 years working experience
• Experience in managing and delivering technical support processes
• Demonstrated experience and skills in facilitation and delivering training to others
• Familiarity with Linux server administration (preferably Red Hat family distributions) or a desire to learn
• Familiarity with Docker containers or a willingness to learn
• Understanding of solar power systems and awareness of basic maintenance
• Ability to travel frequently
• Fluency in English and Arabic (spoken and written)
• Egyptian nationality

Desirable Qualifications & Competencies

• Strong knowledge/understanding of educational technology
• Ability to multi-task effectively and balance competing priorities and deadlines
• Excellent teamwork and problem-solving skills
• Solid writing skills
• Strong organizational, interpersonal and communication skills