Director, Secondary Education

Position Objective:

The Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) in Timor-Leste, collaborating with the Government of Timor-Leste and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) of the Government of the United States of America, is responsible for implementing the $420 million Timor-Leste Compact, which, together with an additional contribution of $64 million from the Government of Timor-Leste, represents a total $484 million investment in Timor-Leste. The Compact aims to address human capital development as a binding constraint to economic growth in Timor-Leste through two projects: the Water, Sanitation, and Drainage (WSD) Project and the Teaching and Leading the Next generation of Timorese (TALENT) Project.

The TALENT Project aims to improve student learning outcomes by investing in teacher and school leader education and training. The TALENT Project will establish Timor-Leste’s first formal pre-service teacher training and certification institution for secondary education: the Center of Excellence (CoE). The project will also seek to increase the number of women in secondary school teaching and leadership positions through a Women’s Economic Empowerment in Education (WEE) activity.

The Director of Secondary Education is responsible for ensuring that the TALENT Project design and implementation supports academic success at the secondary level. Their work will include the oversight of all work related to the development and implementation of training for existing secondary school teachers, a cadre of future teachers and existing school leaders. The Director of Secondary will draw from their experience managing education reform initiatives to ensure that the activities and workstreams associated with improving the quality of teaching and school leadership are completed within the compact period and within budget. The Director of Secondary will work closely with the Director of the Center of Excellence so that the development of the CoE, including both its organizational structure and the building design will reflect the training needs. The Director of Secondary will play a key role in managing relationships with institutions, agencies and other donors that are working in the area of secondar teacher and school leader training, including, but not limited to, INFORDEPE, UNTL and donors represented in ACETL. Given the TALENT project’s commitment both to inclusivity and to a workstream dedicated to increasing women’s economic empowerment by increasing access to and opportunities for women in teaching and leadership positions, the Director of Secondary will be expected to work closely with the Director of Gender and Social Inclusion to ensure that equity and empowerment are central to the approach to and content of training.

The Director of Secondary oversees support staff, including a Program Manager Specialist and Education Specialist, and will work collaboratively with the Director of the Center of Excellence, the Program Manager of CoE Construction and the Gender and Social Inclusion (GSI) staff. The Director of Secondary will report directly to the Managing Director of the TALENT project.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Support and advise the Managing Director of the TALENT project on a range of issues, including the status and performance of project activities, risks, impacts of risks, progress on milestones and timeline impact for all investment activities, budget updates and their compliance with MCC requirements and applicable local standards.
• Lead overall preparation and implementation of compact investments in relation to teacher and school leader training. This includes management of contractors tasked with the design and implementation of teacher and school leader training.
• Manage the development and execution of appropriate implementation plans, including procurement plans, budgets, work plans, and design schedules.
• Oversee the day-to-day work of the Program Manager Specialist and the Education Specialist.
• Working with government counterparts to make progress on policy and institutional reforms identified in the compact. Track progress on meeting Conditions Precedence outlined in the Compact.
• Meet with and provide regular updates to MCC’s Project Lead for the TALENT Project. Updates should include reporting on progress towards meeting milestones in the work plan, resource allocation and budget, procurement planning, identification of successes and challenges, risk assessment and mitigation.
• Contribute to the development of a collaborative, teamwork environment within the TALENT Project Team of MCA and with external stakeholders and implementing entities.
• Identify necessary technical resources, including technical support from the Managing Director of Education, MCC and external consultants, to support the proper implementation of compact projects and activities.
• Serve as a representative on the local Education Coordination Committee ACETL on behalf of MCA. And stay up to date on modifications to the Education Sector Plan, Government priorities, and key investments by other donors/NGOs.

Requirements (Education, Experience, Technical Competencies)

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree or other advanced degree in education or a related field, preferably in the areas of educational leadership and secondary education, Master’s degree preferred

Experience:

• At least seven years of prior experience managing large education reform projects, including experience developing and implementing reforms aimed at improving the quality of education at the secondary level.
• Project management certification preferred but not essential.
• Demonstrated experience managing programs designed to improve teacher and school performance, including, but not limited to teacher training, school leader training, and educator training specifically at the secondary school level.
• Demonstrated experience in managing teams and facilitating collaborative, motivated work environment.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly, effectively, and persuasively in English both orally and in writing, required. Ability to write, read and communicate effectively in Portuguese, strongly preferred as Portuguese is the legal language of instruction at the secondary level in Timor-Leste. Working knowledge of Tetum a plus.
• Demonstrated experience in secondary education and teacher training.
• Demonstrated interpersonal and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated similar work experience in Timor-Leste and experience coordinating with government institutions is an advantage.