Gender Equality in Education Specialist – Suva, Fiji

⁠⁠⁠The Australian Government’s Fiji Program Support Facility seeks a highly motivated individual to promote and integrate gender equality in Fiji’s Education sector.

The Program
The Fiji Program Support Facility (the Facility) was established in 2017 to support and implement Australia’s aid programs such as health, education, Australia Awards and governance in Fiji. The Facility also supports the Australia Awards and education programs in Tuvalu. The Facility integrates cross-cutting themes, including gender equality, disability inclusion, climate change, emergency preparedness and response and civil society engagement, across sectoral programs. In particular, the Facility seeks to strengthen program outcomes by better addressing the needs of targeted beneficiaries including those who are often marginalised.

Australia’s Support to Fiji’s Education Sector program works in close partnership with the Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts (MEHA) to support learning for all girls and boys. It focuses on strengthening MEHA’s HR capacity, literacy and numeracy, inclusive education, Fiji Education Management Information System (FEMIS), and teacher preparation and development.

The Program contributes to the strategic priorities of MEHA that provide quality learning and teaching through targeted support including demand driven technical assistance, grants to support analytics and partnerships.

The Position
The Gender Equality in Education Specialist role aligns with Government of Fiji’s (GoF) priority of promoting gender equality and empowerment of women and girls.

The national Gender Equality in Education Specialist will support MEHA to translate its gender equality policy commitments into reality ensuring that gender equality principles are promoted and upheld throughout the Ministry. This will be achieved through a supportive approach, working in close collaboration with MEHA counterparts, and being responsive to the needs of the Permanent Secretary’s priorities.

The Gender Equality in Education Specialist will be responsive to requests from within MEHA to review and contribute to the development of policy and procedures to ensure that gender equality objectives are included and provide supportive capacity building to colleagues as required.

In addition, working closely with the Program, and the Facility’s Gender and Inclusion Senior Adviser, the Gender Equality in Education Specialist will promote gender equality throughout key activities including, but not limited to, HR reforms, FEMIS enhancements, literacy and numeracy initiatives, student support services, and teacher preparation.

The Person
The ideal candidate will have proven experience in promoting gender equality in education using culturally appropriate and sensitive approaches as well as experience integrating gender equality, preferably in the public sector. The candidate will also have demonstrated experience in supporting senior management to integrate gender equality into their programs and operations. Relevant experience designing MEL processes and implementing findings into policy and planning is desirable.

We are seeking a highly motivated individual with excellent interpersonal and communication skills who can influence change and foster successful relationships. The candidate will have the ability to lead effective consultations with diverse stakeholder groups.

A Bachelor’s Degree in the Social Sciences, Gender Studies and/or Education is mandatory.

This position is locally engaged and reserved for Fiji citizens only. The position classification is equivalent to Civil Service Band O. This position will be offered on a part time or full time basis.