Human Capital Development Advisor

Job Introduction

Our Governance work supports the governments and leaders of fragile, developing, and emerging states to enhance their effectiveness. We are focused on helping governments and leaders make their vision for the development of their country a reality. We work in the centre of government and key line ministries and our work is shaped by national priorities.  TBI has been working in Sierra Leone since 2008.

Key Responsibilities

His Excellency, President Julius Maada Bio, has laid out a clear vision of human capital development focusing on 3 sectors: education (feed the mind), health (feed the body) and agriculture (feed the belly).   Human Capital Development (HCD) is the flagship programme of the President and the cornerstone of its National Development Plan.  The Government is committed to seeding, translating and scaling sustainable innovations at national level leveraging on existing technologies and partnerships.  This work is led by Sierra Leone’s Chief Innovation Officer – Dr. Moinina David Sengeh, the head of the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), in the Office of the President and supported through a newly established Human Capital Development Incubator.

This role will lead TBI’s support to the President’s Human Capital Development vision, working shoulder-to-shoulder with counterparts in the HCD Incubator and across the Office of the President to drive the delivery of the President’s flagship.   A critical focus of this role will be to support and ensure the effective functioning of collaborative cross-functional teams to achieve the desired human capital outcomes, working closely with counterparts across the several line ministries and agencies who are accountable for delivering results.

The Advisor will support the development of good delivery practices – through adaptive management processes that support prioritisation, planning and performance management – the development of skills and systems for the wider Government HCD Team, as well as coordination mechanisms and structures needed with implementing ministries, agencies and partners.   To be successful, the Advisor will need to apply a combination of political savvy, management consulting approaches, strong relationship building, and sectoral expertise.   There will be a strong focus on the utilisation of innovation and technology to improve service delivery, as well as to ensure improved data is available for informed decision-making.

The Advisor will be a member of an established Institute team in Sierra Leone and will supervise a team of 2-4 who are supporting the HCD priority.  S/He will be responsible for building and maintaining good relations with potential partners and funders for TBI’s support to the government on Human Capital Development.  The Advisor will report to the Country Head and will be expected to actively contribute to the Institute’s Practices on Centre of Government and Education.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Support Sierra Leone’s Human Capital Development Incubator to identify and roll out innovations that will improve children’s learning outcomes in primary schools, reduce maternal and child mortality, and improve Sierra Leone’s food production.

Support the design and roll-out of a cross-functional teams approach to coordination, implementation, problem-solving and reporting across the key Government Ministries, Agencies and partners responsible for delivery.

Advise Government on the design and utilisation of data systems for informed decision-making, including supporting the development and ongoing utilisation of automated dashboards and data tools.

Support development and implementation of an effective system for tracking implementation and managing performance of those accountable for delivery.

Support the HCD Incubator in its efforts to increase investment in HCD and to build fruitful partnerships.

Support strong working relationships between the Centre of Government, Ministries & Agencies, and partners in the HCD space.

Role-model a mindset of continual learning and improvement within the wider HCD Team and develop a plan to contribute to the learning of others.

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

Contribute to TBI Sierra Leone’s fundraising and business development;

Support the Country Head and the team in delivering the broader Sierra Leone country strategy, reporting on progress, and managing key stakeholders;

Ensure robust project management processes are in place, including reporting and legal/policy documentation (including security, legal, financial) and effective implementation of monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) activities, including data collection and analysis;

Engage with other parts of TBI by proactively collaborating with other TBI projects through knowledge sharing and thought leadership.

Person Specification

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• An MA in Public Administration, Public Policy, Education, Public Health, Business, International Development, Data Science or related fields;
• Experience working and managing the delivery of innovative programming and policies, ideally in an area of human capital development, and leading team to deliver results;
• Experience working or engaging with senior public officials;
• Experience managing a high-performing team.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS:

• An ability to work independently, think strategically and translate strategies into delivery plans on the ground, with emphasis on attention to details; with excellent analytical, organizational, communication and management skills;
• An understanding of the needs of senior officials; be able to work and interact at the highest level of public life; experience working directly with senior public officials is highly desirable;
• Excellent inter-personal skills and ability to work in a team with colleagues; strong leadership skills;
• Ability to liaise with partner governments, external bodies, organizations and key stakeholders to deliver the requirements of the office, and TBI in particular;
• Experience designing and implementing programming to promote human capital development in Africa is highly desirable;
• Relevant experience in the digital economy, technology for improved service delivery, and/or seeding innovations (either for public or private sector) is highly desirable;
• Willingness to travel, sometimes at short notice;
• Experience of identifying and resolving project implementation bottlenecks;
• Strong sense of ethics, discretion and perseverance required;
• Fluency in English is required; Krio a plus.

PERSONAL SPECIFICATIONS:

• Willingness and ability to mentor, coach and build capacity of national counterparts
• Ability to deliver results in complex and challenging environments
• A creative and entrepreneurial approach to overcoming barriers and making change happen
• Above all, high levels of enthusiasm, resilience, and a can-do attitude
• Experience of living and working in developing countries is desirable

VALUES WE LOOK FOR:

• COURAGE… because to tackle global challenges, we must innovate and take smart risks
• COLLABORATION… because when we work together and with external partners, we can overcome even the largest problems
• COMPASSION … because our work is ultimately about improving people’s lives
   

About The Institute

At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change we are dedicated to making globalisation work for the many, not the few. We do this by helping countries, their people and their governments, address some of the most difficult challenges in the world today – beginning with those where we think we can break new ground, offering leaders new thinking and new approaches. Our staff – over 200 of them, based all over the world – are working on some of the most intractable problems around issues of co-existence, governance, the peace process in the Middle East and renewing the centre.