Working remotely with frequent travels to the headquarters of the EAC (Arusha, Tanzania) and ECOWAS (Abuja, Nigeria), the Green Education Expert (GEE) will be in charge of providing technical assistance and capacity building in her/his area of expertise, to the two RECs, in the implementation of the PEERS project. More specifically, the GEE will have the primary responsibility of supporting the two RECs in the technical and political dialogue in the area of green education, and in the planning, implementation and monitoring of activities and outputs under the three specific objectives of the Description of the Action (DOA) (more details below).

The GEE will report to PEERS Team Leader and will be part of a technical team which is comprised of two Technical Assistants in Education Policy (one TAEP in each REC), complemented with short-term expertise provided by two other Key Experts in the other two focus areas of the project (equitable quality, gender-responsive, inclusive; and digital education policies) as well as technical expertise that might be identified on a need basis during project implementation. The GEE will also work in close collaboration with a Project coordinator and a Project Assistant, both residents based within the EAC.

In the implementation of the activities, the GEE will receive operational support from and collaborate with the Project Management Unit (PMU), comprised of 4 staff in charge of providing financial, administrative and cross-cutting support to the project: the Administrative and Finance Manager (AFM), a Project Assistant, a MEAL Coordinator (Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning) and an Advocacy and Communication Officer. 

Key responsibilities:

Overall key responsibilities

• Technical dialogue. Act as the main technical expert in support of the RECs and PEERS team in the area of green education, environmental education and climate change 
• Planning
  • Contribute and provide technical inputs to the annual planning at different levels: i) at project-level within PEERS team, ii) at the REC level within the frame of their annual planning, ii) as well as within the thematic working groups in the development of their annual workplans.  
  • Contribute to the integration of the focus area on green education in the strategic programming of each level of the project implementation.
• Coordination and stakeholder engagement
  • Define and implement actions that contribute to consolidate RECs’ ownership of the project and build internal capacity to lead the activities in relation to green education
  • Collaborate closely with the Regional Coordinators, TAEPs and REC teams to promote synergies between the working groups on green education in the two RECs
  • Contribute to address stakeholders’ feedback and integrate lessons learned into the project’s general approach
• Capacity strengthening
  • Contribute to the development and implementation of the RECs capacity strengthening plan in the area of green education
  • As part of the capacity strengthening plan, directly design and implement capacity strengthening activities on green education, such as training, coaching, tool creation (for example to monitor the workplans implementation)
  • Coach and support the RECs staff in charge of leading and implementing the activities in the focus area of green education.
  • Support the RECs in the stakeholders mapping at political and technical level, at regional and national level,  and in the definition of an effective reach out strategy and dialogue to promote policy reforms and effective coordination practices in the area of green education
• Project implementation
  • Upon request of the RECs team, provide relevant technical inputs on topics that are related to green education
  • Support the RECs in setting-up, leading and developing the working groups on green education  
  • Support the REC teams and directly contribute to i) drafting the TORs of the outputs and activities that are identified in the green education section of the annual workplans of the RECs and their working groups, ii) the implementation of the activities (through direct involvement and implementation for some activities), iii) the monitoring and quality assurance of the deliverables
  • Support the Regional Coordinators and TAEPs in the technical coordination of the thematic experts team that might be mobilized to support the working group in the area of green education
  • Provide technical inputs to the definition and directly contribute to the implementation of the phase-out and sustainability strategy of the project, in alignment with the strategic vision of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the EU.
  • All other activities and tasks that might be requested by PEERS Team Lead for the effective implementation of the project, within the technical area of the expert 
• Reporting and communication
  • Contribute and provide technical inputs to the annual reports in the area of green education, at the three implementation levels specified above (ref to planning section)
  • Produce individual bi-annual reports detailing the implemented capacity-strengthening activities and follow-up actions in the area of green education
  • Upon request, provide technical inputs and collaborate with the project team to support the project’s communication efforts 
• Evaluation. Provide technical inputs in the different rounds of the project evaluation, including the baseline work, the mid-term evaluation, as well as the final evaluation 

Contributions to the Specific Objective #1: 

• Contribute to drafting the TORs of the working groups on green education and support the creation, the operation and development of the working groups in the two RECs
• Assist the RECs Commissions/Secretariats and provide individual coaching in the overall coordination and facilitation of the operation of the working groups on green education  
• Support the EACs Commissions/Secretariats in the identification of synergies between the different thematic working groups, as well as the implementation of the corresponding synergetic activities
• In collaboration with the TAEPs, support the RECs Commissions/Secretariats and contribute to drafting the TORs of the short-term complementary expertise in the focus areas of green education, their implementation, monitoring and quality assurance of their work for the: i) the situation analysis, ii) the needs assessment covering both institutional and individual capacity strengthening  needs, and iii) the initial capacity strengthening plan
• In collaboration with the TAEPs, support the EAC Commission/Secretariat in the organization and implementation of the activities listed in the workplans of the green education working groups
• Support the RECs Commissions/Secretariats in the organization and definition of the technical content of the annual high-level event that will convene the policymakers of the sub-region

Contributions to the Specific Objective #2: 

In collaboration with the Coordinator of practices and policy exchanges at EDUFI (responsible for SO2 implementation):

• Provide technical inputs to the analysis of the EEA experiences, practices and tools for coordination in the area of green education and its contextualisation in relation to RECs needs and strategic planning 
• Support the RECs in the identification of relevant study visits for the observation of EEA experiences, practices and coordination tools in the area of green education, and support its organisation
• Provide technical inputs and support for the organisation of webinars showcasing EEA experiences, practices and coordination tools in the area of green education
• Support the RECs in their participation and contribution to webinars organised between African and European peers at technical level to exchange ideas and experiences on green education
• Support the RECs in their participation and contribution to side-events to the high-level events within the AU-EU partnership framework

Contributions to the Specific Objective #3:

In collaboration with the knowledge management expert at ADEA (responsible for SO3 implementation):

• Support the “green education” working groups in the two RECs in the identification of the data and evidence needed for their technical dialogue, and support the formulation of their requests in the area of green education
• Support the RECs in the dissemination of evidence-based policy recommendations and advocacy efforts at the level of RECs political bodies, at the level of policymakers during high-level events, as well as research stakeholders and portals, in the area of green education