Job title: Out of School/Almajiri Advisor – PLANE
Company: DAI
Job description: Job Title: Out of School/Almajiri AdvisorRole Location: AbujaReports to: Deputy Team LeaderProgramme: PLANE (PARTNERSHIP FOR LEARNING FOR ALL IN NIGERIAN)Contract Duration: One (1) year with the possibility of an extensionType of Contract: Full Time ContractBackgroundNigeria PLANE is a seven-year programme (2021-2028) funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). It represents one window of intervention in a broader package of investment intended to enable a more inclusive and effective basic education system. It seeks to achieve this through improvements in teaching and learning, focusing on foundational skills in reading, writing, and mathematics. It aims to unlock governance bottlenecks that support the improvement of education service delivery, enhance the regulation of the non-state sector, and embed the use of data and evidence in the programme and within the system. The programme which is currently approaching its midterm has four primary outputs: (i) Teaching & Learning: Evidence-based teaching and learning approaches & materials in use in better-managed performance-focused schools and teaching colleges; (ii) Governance of state systems: Improved planning, personnel management and public financial management practices; (iii) Governance of non-state systems: Improved management and performance of the non-state sector; and (iv) Use of Evidence and Communication: Effective generation, communication and use of evidence to inform citizen engagement and improve service delivery. PLANE currently operates in Kano, Kaduna, and Jigawa, as well as in the South West, and at the federal education system level.
Nigeria’s education system faces an alarming access challenge. The country has one of the highest numbers of out-of-school children in the world, with varying data sources indicating that the figure exceeds 10 million. The degree of non-participation of children in basic education opportunities, despite the existence of a legal framework outlined in the Universal Basic Education Act 2004, is a key political priority for the current President.The crisis in the North Eastern part of the country and the North West, poverty, religious beliefs, early marriages, among others, have exacerbated the situation in so many places. In some other parts of the country, children are out of school due to economic reasons, and these situations pose a threat to peace and security. Central to the exclusion is the concept of Almajiri, where young people focus on studying the Islamic education instructions, moving from place to place, and are excluded from basic education. The Nigerian Government, which recently established the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children (NCAOOSC), is taking responsibility for bringing excluded and marginalised children back into the basic education system.
PLANE, through Window 1, is working with the Federal Government, and more recently with NCAOOSC, to increase access to education and reduce the number of out-of-school children, especially the most marginalised.DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIESThe Out of School/Almajiri Advisor will provide strategic leadership for the PLANE’s support to the key government agencies involved in efforts to bring children back to school. He/She will be responsible for Output 3 under PLANE Window 1 and will work closely with the Federal Government and the States where PLANE is engaged to support the development of workable reform strategies aimed at reducing the number of out-of-school children. They will be responsible for building on and reshaping the current work that has been undertaken under Output 3 – primarily focused on the governance and financing of the non-state sector, as well as some work on public-private partnerships. challenge. He/she will be a lead technical resource in the provision of our smart technical assistance programme for the purpose of supporting the development of workable reform strategies that will support the delivery of the objectives of bringing children back to school and also integrating or infusing basic education into existing non state provision that lack basic literacy and numeracy programmes.In addition, he/she will be;Responsible for the development and delivery of the Output 3 workplan and budget;Establishing and maintaining strategic relationships with federal and state government counterparts working on the out-of-school children agenda, as well as other areas of the Output 3 workplan.Maintaining relationships with relevant stakeholders, including civil society, other reform programmes and development partners to achieve the goals of bringing out-of-school children back to schoolProvide technical leadership to the out-of-school activities, and work closely with NCAOOSC and other Federal bodies to support the development of evidence-based plans that will meaningfully reduce the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria.Manage and oversee the Output 3 team to ensure that the Output achieves its targets, leveraging the team’s expertise to deliver the Output as required.Ensuring efficient and effective use of resources while achieving the best value for money in the commissioning of activities under Output 3.Demonstrate the ability to use a rapid learning and adaptive approach to facilitating governance reform related to the management of out-of-school initiativesWorking with the central knowledge management unit and ensuring cross-learning between National and State Governments, through the identification of existing networks, and the development of new peer learning platforms and locally developed tools.Supporting monitoring of implementation and overseeing result tracking for the out-of-school initiative under the direction of the monitoring and evaluation team of PLANECollaborate with State Team Leaders, Regional Leads, and coordinate with reform facilitators and short-term advisory support to ensure quality and consistent approaches across out-of-school initiatives.Reporting to and liaising with senior management, serving as the primary focal point for the engagement on the work stream deliverablesContribute to stakeholder engagement as appropriate.ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTSA Master’s degree, preferably in Non-formal education, social science or related disciplineAt least 10 years of experience in the development sector, preferably with FCDO-funded programmes.Demonstrated experience of working on issues of marginalisation and disadvantage in the education system, and ideally, experience working closely with the Federal Government on these issues.Experience of working on government policy reforms to improve access and equity issues in basic education service delivery.Demonstrated experience of working on government policy reforms in education for children in emergencies and conflict areas.Experience in managing, designing and leading education programmes for the marginalised and the excluded populations.Experience in collaborative work with other donor agencies to deliver support to government systems to enhance the delivery of educational opportunities to the underserved and disadvantaged population.Experience of working with the IQTE, Tsangaya, Quranic education systems and influencing the infusion and integration of basic education into such systems.Extensive professional experience in systems across Africa or globally that have been deployed to bring back children to school effectively, that are adaptable and could be adopted to suit the Nigerian context.Experience of working with non-state school associations with potential for using those platforms for bringing children back to school in the context that those experiences are applicable.Desirable knowledge of the Accelerated Basic Education Programme ( ABEP) that the federal government has adopted for the purpose of bringing back and integrating out of school children to basic education in Nigeria.Experience of working with national institutions saddled with the responsibility of delivering non-formal education like NMEC, NCAOOS, etc and NERCD, which is responsible for curriculum development for basic and secondary education.Meeting facilitation and on-the-job training experience.Demonstrated experience of working in politically sensitive and volatile environments.Ability to develop well-written, cohesive analyses and reports.Proven interpersonal skills, experience with relationship building and team building skills.METHOD OF APPLICATION:Qualified candidates should please send their CV to [email protected] on or before 5pm on the 30th of July 2025 using the Job Title as the subject of the email. Applications from women, people with disabilities and young people who meet the above qualifications are encouraged to apply.DAI will only contact candidates that are successful at this pre-qualification stage.
More information about DAI can be found on the DAI website; www.dai.com
Expected salary:
Location: Nigeria
Job date: Wed, 16 Jul 2025 22:40:53 GMT
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