Introduction
The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) is a pan-African body, a critical voice of education in Africa, and a major platform for policy dialogue on education. ADEA’s vision is “a high-quality education and training system for accelerated sustainable development of Africa.” ADEA’s mission therefore is to “serve as an open and flexible pan-African organization that informs and facilitates the transformation of education and training systems for resilience, human capital development, and youth empowerment in Africa.” Acting as a catalyst in promoting innovative policies and practices through the pooling of ideas, experiences, learning and knowledge, ADEA’s overall goal is to contribute to empowering African countries to transform schooling to meaningful learning.
About the Project
The Africa–Europe Partnership to Exchange on Education Reforms (PEERS) is a joint initiative supported by the European Union (EU) and implemented by EDUFI (Finnish National Agency for Education), ADEA, and Expertise France – which is coordinating the project – in close collaboration with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission and the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat. The project aims to accelerate progress towards achieving continental and global educations goals, particularly (SDG 4). It does this by strengthening regional cooperation, peer learning, and coordination of member and partner states to develop or reform policies that promote quality, equitable, inclusive, gender-responsive, green, and digital education in EAC and ECOWAS. The project has the following strategic objectives:
- Strategic Objective 1: Enhance cooperation between and within the ECOWAS and EAC regions in the design, implementation and monitoring of quality, gender responsive, inclusive, green and digital education policies.
- Strategic Objective 2: Increase mutual learning and effective transfer of good practices and tools on quality, gender responsive, inclusive, green and digital education between EU, ECOWAS, EAC and their member countries.
- Strategic Objective 3: Leverage evidence and promote knowledge exchange for enhanced evidence-based quality, inclusive, gender responsive, green and digital education policies in the ECOWAS and EAC regions.
In pursuit of this goal, ADEA seeks to recruit a consultant Technical Advisor for the PEERS project. The incumbent will be responsible for providing technical expertise and supporting the Project Team Leader in effective implementation of the project. The Technical Advisor will report to the ADEA Executive Secretary and work on programmatic matters as part of ADEA’s PEERS team, under the supervision of the Senior Programs Officer. The role will involve close collaboration with colleagues including the Knowledge Management Officer and Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Officer, while engaging regularly with the Technical Assistance in Education Policies (TAEP) lead, Regional Coordinators, and key technical experts. This collaborative structure ensures that technical guidance is aligned and that knowledge management, monitoring and evaluation, and logistical responsibilities are supported across the wider team.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the ADEA Executive Secretary, the Technical Advisor will be responsible for the following:
- Education Policy and Technical Guidance
- Provide specialized technical advice on education reforms, ensuring alignment with continental and global education frameworks (CESA 2026–2034, SDG4).
- Act as a deputy to the PEERS Project Team Leader in technical matters and ensuring education priorities are effectively addressed. Oversee the implementation of the project’s third strategic objective —leveraging evidence and promoting knowledge exchange for stronger evidence-based, inclusive, gender-responsive, green, and digital education policies in the ECOWAS and EAC regions—while also contributing to the first two objectives led by other implementing partners.
- Ensure that evidence-based and innovative approaches—particularly in inclusive, gender-responsive, green, and digital education—are mainstreamed in project design and implementation.
- Support national and regional partners in adapting and harmonizing policies to strengthen education systems.
- Capacity Strengthening and Peer Learning
- Provide technical support to the ADEA Secretariat and Regional Economic Communities (ECOWAS, EAC) in advancing policy dialogue and peer learning between Africa and Europe in collaboration with the TAEP lead and technical experts on gender, digital, and green
- Lead the support for situation analyses, capacity needs assessments, and the design of tailored work plans with the TAEP and thematic experts to address gaps and opportunities within RECs.
- Support the establishment of (or strengthening existing) effective technical working groups, ensuring they become platforms for knowledge exchange, peer learning and innovation, facilitating education policy uptake with the wider expert team
- Knowledge Generation and Policy Influence
- Lead the drafting and technical review of policy briefs, analytical papers, and advocacy notes on education reforms supported by the project, ensuring content is rigorous and policy relevant with the support of the Senior Knowledge Management Officer and technical experts.
- Collaborate with the Senior Knowledge Management Officer and technical experts to document lessons learned, good practices, and innovations on regional coordination and cooperation in education in the two RECs, ensuring they inform decision-making at regional and continental levels.
- Work closely with the Senior Management Officer to strengthen linkages between research and policy, ensuring project outputs influence national and regional education agendas in the two RECs.
- Monitoring, Reporting, and Results-based Advisory
- Support the MEL Officer, who leads on the project’s design and monitoring framework, by contributing technical perspectives to ensure indicators adequately reflect education quality, inclusion, gender-responsiveness, green and digital dimensions, and innovation.
- Work with the MEL officer to review and consolidate progress reports to ensure they provide evidence-based insights and actionable recommendations for the project’s steering and reporting structures.
- Work jointly with the MEL Officer to support the development of results-focused technical reports for the project’s funding partner, the two RECs, policy audiences and other education stakeholders ensuring alignment with the data and analysis generated through monitoring activities
- Strategic Engagement and Representation
- Provide education-focused technical inputs to the planning and facilitation of high-level forums, conferences, and workshops.
- Represent ADEA and the PEERS project in technical discussions, regional and global education platforms, positioning the initiative as a driver of education reform.
- Build and maintain strategic partnerships with Ministries of Education, RECs, implementing partners, regional, continental and global development partners, private sector and civil society to enhance the project’s visibility, credibility, and impact.
- Work closely with the Technical Assistant in Education Policies (TAEP) to support high-level advocacy with Ministries and RECs, ensuring partnerships are informed by robust technical evidence and policy inputs that drive concrete reforms.
Candidate’s Profile
The Technical Advisor will be employed for a period of 1 year, renewal following a performance evaluation as per HR rules of the African Development Bank. He or she is expected to possess the following qualifications and experience:
- Advanced degree (Master’s) in Education, Social Sciences, Public Policy, Development Studies, or a related field.
- Between 5 and 7 years of practical experience in the field of education policy, planning, or program implementation in Africa, including technical advisory roles at the regional and/or continental level, and within a Ministry of Education, development agency, international NGO, or multilateral institution.
- Proven expertise in education project management and technical assistance to governments or development partners in West and East Africa.
- Strong knowledge of continental and global education agendas, including CESA, SDG4, and Agenda 2063, with demonstrated experience in supporting policy harmonization and implementation.
- In-depth understanding of gender-responsive, inclusive, green, and digital education approaches, with the ability to generate evidence, provide policy advice, and produce high-quality technical reports and knowledge products.
- Experience working with Regional Economic Communities (RECs), with the capacity to foster collaboration across institutions and networks.
- Proven ability to contribute to the planning and organization of high-level events.
- Commitment to contribute to a collaborative working environment and team spirit to ensure effective and efficient program implementation.
- Excellent research, analytical, facilitation, and communication skills.
- Strong organizational ability, capable of managing multiple tasks under pressure.
- Proven ability to navigate cross-functional roles within diverse teams and institutional settings.
- Resourceful, and committed to diversity and inclusion.
- Extensive experience working in multilingual and international environments, with the capacity to adapt to cultural differences and engage effectively with people from diverse backgrounds.
- Fluency in either English or French, and a working knowledge of the other. Proficiency in Swahili is an asset.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and familiarity with digital collaboration platforms.
Contract Details
- Duty station: Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (ADEA Secretariat), with travel to ECOWAS (Abuja), EAC (Arusha), or any other locations as it may be required.
- Duration: 1 year, renewable subject to performance.
- Contract type: Consultant contract.
Application Process
Interested candidates are invited to submit a cover letter detailing relevant experience and motivation, and a comprehensive CV.
Applications must be sent to adea-applications@afdb.org no later than November 30th 2025 at midnight (12:00 am) GMT. The subject of the e-mail should be “Technical Advisor – PEERS Project”.
Due to the high volume of applications, only selected candidates will be contacted through a formal email correspondence. Do not contact ADEA or its staff members about the status of your application.
This position was originally posted by Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and has been curated by PurposePhil Career. To apply, please visit the original listing on the "apply" link below. We are not affiliated with the employer organization of this job ad or consultancy, and provide this curated listing as a service to our users.
