JOB DESCRIPTION

CHILD SAFEGUARDING: The post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff

ROLE PURPOSE

The EiE (Education in Emergencies) Cluster Coordinator plays a key role in making sure that efforts to support education in Central Darfur are well-coordinated, effective, and aligned with the United Nations Cluster System. They lead the collaborative work of various education actors—including children, families, communities, local leaders, schools, international NGOs, and UN agencies—to deliver a timely and well-planned education response. The coordinator works fairly and on behalf of all the members in the cluster. They work closely with UN OCHA teams, UNICEF (which shares leadership), local cluster coordinators, and other partners involved in education. The cluster reports to the Humanitarian Leadership Group and Humanitarian Coordinators through the lead agencies, Save the Children and UNICEF. Sometimes, the coordinator may need to help set up the Education Cluster at the Central Darfur level and oversee the information management team. As the Co-Lead from Save the Children, they will work closely with the UNICEF Education Cluster Coordinator to keep the humanitarian education response unified and impactful.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Head of Program Implementation

Staff directly reporting to this post: TBC

Budget Responsibilities: No

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

Cluster Coordination

• Provide overall co-leadership of the Education Cluster in collaboration with the UNICEF Education Cluster Coordinator.
• Collaborate closely with UNICEF and other sector partners to establish and lead the implementation of protocols and processes across all areas of cluster work under Save the Children’s leadership.
• Maintain strong coordination with key Education Cluster stakeholders, including school authorities, national and local Ministry of Education representatives, OCHA, UNICEF, and all cluster members.
• Support UNICEF in initiating and implementing Education in Emergencies (EiE) responses for crisis-affected girls and boys in targeted areas across Sudan.
• Ensure active engagement and commitments from humanitarian actors involved in education emergency responses.
• Support multi-sector and education-specific needs assessments and utilize available secondary data to inform planning and prioritization.
• Lead the regular updating of the Education Cluster work plan, coordinating partners to harmonize activities and avoid duplication of efforts.
• Ensure the inter-agency education response strategy is evidence-based, addressing needs identified in assessments, and integrates cross-cutting issues from other sectors.
• Facilitate effective information sharing among cluster members and ensure relevant data from other clusters is accessible to support integrated planning and implementation.
• Collaborate with the Information Management Officer to support the collection, analysis, and dissemination of 5Ws and other data tools.
• Represent the Education Cluster in relevant forums and actively advocate for resource mobilization to address the education needs of crisis-affected children.
• Strengthening communication and coordination between national and sub-national Education Clusters.
• Contribute to OCHA situation reports and actively participate in inter-cluster coordination meetings.
• Advocate for the inclusion and prioritization of education in all multi-sector assessments, planning processes, and reporting, including OCHA sitreps.
• Ensure all cluster members are informed and adhere to relevant minimum standards, policies, and guidelines.
• Actively engage in the humanitarian programme cycle, including the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) and Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP).
• Monitor and track education-specific fundraising efforts among cluster members and share information about funding opportunities.
• Support the transition from emergency response to early recovery and contribute to the development of a clear exit strategy for the Education Cluster.

Capacity Building

• Facilitate capacity building for national programme staff to ensure sustainable and high-quality emergency education responses.
• Identify learning needs and training opportunities for cluster members, enhancing preparedness and response capacity within the Education Cluster.

General Responsibilities

• Adherent to Save the Children’s policies and procedures, including those related to child safeguarding, code of conduct, health and safety, and equal opportunities.
• Maintain neutrality and serve as a representative of all Education Cluster partners.
• Build and sustain positive and collaborative relationships with UNICEF (cluster co-lead), education donor groups, the Ministry of Education, national and international education partners, and humanitarian actors supporting EiE in Sudan.
• Comply with Save the Children policies and practice with respect to child protection, code of conduct, health and safety, equal opportunities and other relevant policies and procedures.

SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS 

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability:

• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values.
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities – giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• Set ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, take responsibility for their personal development and encourage their team to do the same.
• widely shares their vision for Save the Children and engages and motivates others.
• Future-orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• builds and maintain effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters.
• values diversity and sees it as a source of competitive strength.
• approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• Develop and encourage new and innovative solutions.
• willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• Honest encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates the highest levels of integrity.

QUALIFICATIONS 

Preferably a candidate with strong statistical and research background.

Minimum BSC in Education, social sciences psychology, and any other humanity science.

Qualifications and Experience:

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in education, Social Sciences, International Development, Humanitarian Affairs, or a related field or a closely related field

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in the education sector, with at least 3 years in emergency or humanitarian settings, international NGOs or UN agencies in humanitarian or development contexts, preferably in the education sector
• Proven experience in inter-agency coordination, particularly within the Cluster System or similar humanitarian coordination mechanisms.
• Demonstrated experience in project management, strategic planning, and partnership building, preferably in conflict-affected or disaster-prone contexts.

Technical Skills:

• Strong understanding of EiE frameworks, tools, and global standards (e.g., INEE Minimum Standards, IASC guidelines).
• Proficiency in needs assessment, response planning, gap analysis, and data interpretation to inform evidence-based decisions.
• Excellent command of Microsoft Office, especially Excel, and experience with education-related data systems and reporting platforms.

Coordination and Communication:

• Strong facilitation, negotiation, and representation skills, with the ability to build consensus among diverse partners, including government counterparts, UN agencies, and NGOs.
• Proven ability to lead coordination meetings, draft strategic documents, and represent the Education Cluster in high-level forums.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English. Knowledge of Arabic or local languages is an asset.

Personal Attributes:

• Demonstrated ability to work under pressure, adapt to changing circumstances, and meet tight deadlines.
• Strong organizational, leadership, and interpersonal skills.
• Commitment to child protection, gender equality, and inclusive education principles

Additional job responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the postholder may be required to carry out additional duties within reason expected of their level of skills and experience.

Equal Opportunities 

The postholder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Child Safeguarding:

Save the Children is committed to ensuring that all children who have contact with the organization are safeguarded to the maximum possible extent from child abuse and sexual exploitation. This commitment is implemented through the organization’s Child Safeguarding Policy, which includes mandatory requirements that apply to everyone in all aspects of Save the Children’s work. It applies equally to all children irrespective of their gender, disability, ethnicity, sexuality, marital status or religion.

Health and Safety

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures