Education Specialist, ECCE at Opportunity International

The Education Specialist, Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE), is responsible for delivering non-financial education services, as developed by the EduQuality program, for affordable private schools. Working as part of a local team of Education Specialists, the ES will focus on providing professional development courses to ECCE school leaders and teachers/caregivers. This role is instrumental in supporting effective school management, teaching, learning, and holistic school development.

RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

Pathways to Quality Early Learning

• Collaborate with in-country Education Specialists to implement the School Self-Assessment and School Development Plan.
• Establish and support school development planning teams and train school leaders and teachers to utilize digital resources effectively.

Cluster Development

• Support the establishment of effective school Clusters by guiding the development of Cluster governance committees.
• Develop and maintain an annual schedule of Cluster Meetings for school leaders and teacher mentors.
• Facilitate inter-cluster collaboration to support school enrichment activities.

School Leadership Professional Development (SLPD)

• Facilitate training sessions on leadership and management best practices for school leaders.

Teacher/Caregiver Professional Development (TMPD)

• Enhance teachers and caregivers’ capacity through Joint Practice Development (JPD), delivered independently or in collaboration with external trainers.

Learning & Knowledge Management

• Document effective practices and innovations from the field as case studies for sharing with internal and external stakeholders.
• Liaise with learning partners engaged by the EduFinance program to support evaluation and learning processes.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education or a related field.
• 5–7 years of relevant experience in education development, pre-primary and primary education, early literacy, special education, and school leadership and teacher professional development.
• Demonstrated expertise in ECCE domains such as health, nutrition, WASH, inclusion (gender, special needs, cultural/language), ECCE curriculum, and pedagogy.
• Minimum of 2–3 years of formal teaching experience at the pre-primary or primary level.
• In-depth understanding of the education sector in Tanzania, including school curricula, environments, and ECCE and literacy needs.
• Strong skills in writing, data collection, and the use of ICT tools (e.g., Microsoft Office, EdTech platforms, data collection tools, tablets, LMS).
• Experience working in rural or remote school settings.
• Proven ability to manage contracts with external vendors and handle internal expense processes.
• Experience working with cross-cultural teams in INGOs or global organizations.
• Familiarity with USAID-funded projects is highly desirable.
• Commitment to the mission and core values of Opportunity International.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

• Written and verbal fluency in English, additional 1 or 2 local languages required. Must be able to attend & fully participate in meetings conducted in English.

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS (80%)

• Access to a personal vehicle and willingness to travel domestically up to 80% of the time.
• Able to travel on short notice with flexibility.
• Willingness to travel independently, with minimal planning support or escort. 

ABOUT EDUFINANCE 

Our mission is to get more children into better schools with social finance.  Opportunity EduFinance is working to address the global education crisis by increasing access to quality education, and improving the quality of education.  Through our Education Financial Products team, we work with financial institutions to provide private capital to increase the supply of education infrastructure through School Improvement Loans and reduce student dropout rates through School Fee Loans.  Through our Education Quality program, we work with leaders of affordable non-state schools to help them improve conditions for learning and run more sustainable businesses.  Learn more at www.edufinance.org  

ABOUT OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL
Opportunity International is a global non-profit that has been equipping people to build sustainable livelihoods and educate their children for 54 years. Opportunity provides 21 million families with innovative financial resources, training, and support to grow their small businesses and send their children to school. In 2024, Opportunity International and its partners helped fund 19,000 schools that reached 3.4 million children. We respond to Jesus Christ's call to love and serve people living in poverty. We seek to emulate the Good Samaritan, whose compassion crossed ethnic groups and religions. We serve all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. Discover more at opportunity.org or join the conversation on Facebook, LinkedIn, and  Instagram.

CHILD PROTECTION COMMITMENT

Opportunity believes that all children have a right to protection from any form of abuse regardless of gender, culture, ethnicity, age, religion, sexual orientation, or ability. Opportunity operates in line with international best practices for child protection and recognizes its responsibility to ensure that all employees. This policy applies to anyone acting on behalf of Opportunity or is involved in its programs in any capacity. All employees are subject to background checks, which include criminal checks and sex offender list checks, as allowed by local law.