Job: Education - Senior Specialist (SCL/EDU)

Location: Washington
Deadline: Thursday, 14 November 2013

Education Senior Specialist

Education Division (SCL/EDU)

The Inter-American Development Bank, the largest and leading source of financing for regional development in Latin America and the Caribbean, is offering the opportunity to assist in the social and economic development of the countries of the region. The Education Division seeks an experienced professional with technical knowledge to work as an Education Sr. Specialist in the Bank's Headquarters in Washington, DC.

The Education Sr. Specialist will be responsible for leading analytical and operational work, contributing to strengthen the quality and impact of the Education Division's analytical products and lending operations to client countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead and/or participate as a team member in applied research on important education issues limiting the potential for the region to achieve high levels of student learning;
• Promote sector dialogue between different international agencies and partners to strengthen the impact of the Education Division's analytical and operational work;
• Lead and/or participate as a team member in the identification, analysis, design, negotiation, administration, and oversight of lending operations and technical cooperation;
• Lead and/or participate as a team member in the identification of funding sources and managing the financing procedures of lending operations and technical cooperation;
• Promote dialogue and interaction between specialists from other sectors and departments of the Bank geared towards inter-sectoral work, knowledge and experience exchange in the countries;
• Lead and/or participate in the evaluation of Bank products and country education programs;
• Produce well-written reports on the Bank's education research, operations, and technical cooperation.

Qualifications

Education: Candidates must hold an advanced degree (PhD, EdD, or Master's) in Education, Economics, Public Policy, Sociology or related discipline.

Experience: A minimum of five years of relevant experience in education policy, project management, operations, and applied research. Experience in areas such as raising education quality, skills development, and school leadership is desired.

Travel: Frequent mission travel to and within countries.

Language: Oral and written fluency in English and Spanish. Fluency in Portuguese and/or French is desired.

TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

• Technical Sector Dialogue: Engages in policy dialogue based on solid knowledge of the sector, development challenges of client countries, and IDB policies, strategies and guidelines.

• Sector Development: Takes actions to promote sector priorities based on country and regional needs and key IDB priorities.

• Economic and Sector Work: Develops and applies economic and/or sector analytic work to support the preparation of country, sector and regional strategies and country dialogue, loan operations and technical assistance programs.

• Project Analysis and Design: Conceptualizes, prepares and participates in the approval of projects and programs (loans and technical cooperation), in coordination with other team members and the respective authorities.

• Change Management: F ormulates and implements integrated change proposals to contribute to sector modernization and transformation in borrowing countries.

• Project Supervision: Effectively supports the execution of projects and programs to maximize their results.

• Monitoring and Evaluation: Designs and implements effective monitoring and evaluation methodologies for projects and programs.

• Knowledge Management and Dissemination: Effectively shares and disseminates economic/sector knowledge a nd learning experience to enhance the relevance of the IDB to borrowing countries and the region.

C ORE COMPETENCES

• Client Focus and Management: Focuses efforts on achieving business results through understanding and meeting internal and external client and stakeholder needs. Values the importance of providing high-quality customer service, while balancing the interests of the client and the IDB.

• Innovation and Creativity: Generates innovative and creative solutions to problems that contribute to organizational effectiveness. Tries different and novel ways of approaching work to create added value in the services/products provided.

• Knowledge Sharing: Actively develops and shares knowledge within and outside own business area. Leverages expertise to improve organizational effectiveness and add value within sphere of influence.

• Collaboration and Influence: Encourages teamwork and cooperates with others to achieve mutually beneficial results. Gains the support of others for own ideas and initiatives, regardless of formal authority and organizational boundaries.

• Critical Thinking and Judgment: Uses data, experience, and good judgment to make sound decisions and devise effective solutions to problems. A ssesses and manages risk in own work.

We offer:

Competitive Salary

Excellent benefits

Comprehensive relocation package (if applicable)

Diverse and inclusive work environment

The IDB is committed to diversity and inclusion and to providing equal opportunities in employment. We embrace diversity on the basis of gender, age, education, national origin, ethnic origin, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion, and HIV/AIDs status. We encourage women, Afro-descendants and persons of indigenous origins to apply.

More Info and Application