About IFFEd
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The International Finance Facility for Education (IFFEd) is an ambitious new global initiative transforming how education and skills are financed in developing countries. Backed by a $1.5 billion commitment announced at the UN and endorsed by the G20, IFFEd's innovative model works with multilateral development banks to unlock billions in affordable finance for learning and training. Our mission is bold: to ensure that 1.2 billion children and young people in lower-middle-income countries have the opportunity to learn, earn and thrive.
IFFEd is entering a dynamic growth phase - scaling fast with a small, driven team and a big vision to reshape global education finance. To help power that growth, we're seeking an Education Officer to join our Education team and support the delivery of IFFEd's education impact strategy.
Impact By Design
IFFEd focuses on lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) where half of the world's children and youth live.
LMICs are ineligible for traditional aid grants but still face enormous education deficits. These are countries with large and fast-growing youth populations—where the stakes are highest and the return on investment sizable if we get it right.
IFFEd's innovative financing model unlocks additional affordable financing for countries. But financing alone is not enough. IFFEd's success hinges on how effectively this financing delivers tangible benefits for children and youth. Working with multilateral development banks and partner countries to maximise IFFEd's education multiplier will be the key objective of the Education Officer.
1.2bn - half of the world's school-aged children and youth live in LMICs
132m - out-of-school children are in LMICs
86% - of children and youth in Asia live in LMICs
60% - of Children and youth in LMICs are not gaining basic skills
60% - of children in LMICs cannot read or understand simple text by the age of 10
17% - of youth in LMICs are not in education, employment or training – double the rate in UMICs and more than four times the rate in HICs
Role Overview:
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The Education Officer will support the delivery of IFFEd's education impact strategy and develop a high-quality project pipeline with multilateral development banks (MDBs) and effective monitoring and evaluation. This role will ensure IFFEd stays at the cutting edge - innovative, data-driven, and relentlessly focused on results for children and youth worldwide.
IFFEd is seeking a passionate and dynamic individual who can work independently and thrive in a fast-paced environment. The successful candidate will be a founding member of IFFEd's education team, play a key role in building IFFEd's approach to education and impact, and collaborate with a diverse team of professionals and partners globally.
This is a rare opportunity to help build a next-generation global institution from the ground up and to make a lasting difference to the lives of millions of children and youth worldwide.
⚏ Role Title: Education Officer
📍 Location: Geneva, Switzerland – Swiss or EU Right to Work required
👤 Reports To: Head of Education
💰 Salary & Benefits: Competitive
📝 Contracting: Full time permanent position
Key Responsibilities:
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Education strategy
- Support the development, implementation and review of IFFEd's education impact strategy, and/or additional research, data collection and analysis
- Lead special projects related to IFFEd's education impact strategy e.g. scoping of a new support offering to IFFEd's partner MDBs
Pipeline leadership & quality assurance
- Coordinate IFFEd's pipeline process with MDBs
- Lead the development of portfolio analyses, dashboards, and briefs for management
- Support the review and quality assurance of MDB investment cases, consolidating feedback and documenting decisions
- Develop and refine tools and internal processes, including to strengthen pipeline management and partner co-ordination, and evidence curation
Results, reporting & learning
- Collaborate with external M&E experts/advisory firms to manage IFFEd's monitoring and impact reporting for education, aligned with IFFEd's results framework and indicators
- Review results reporting from MDBs to ensure data quality, consistency, and timely submissions
- Working with the Education Analyst, prepare results narratives, contributor/Board updates, and management insights
- Help define and run a practical learning agenda and strengthen IFFEd as a learning organization
Key Responsibilities:
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Knowledge, policy & communications
- Lead research on education and impact, as relevant and required for IFFEd's education strategy
- Draft sections of knowledge products and policy briefs highlighting IFFEd's contributions and lessons learned
- Develop compelling impact stories and case studies for the IFFEd annual report, website, and presentations
- Prepare slide decks, talking points, and briefing notes for senior leadership and external engagements
Partnerships & events
- Support the design and delivery of IFFEd's support offering to MDBs and countries, including partnerships that strengthen evidence, data, and implementation capacity
- Design and organize high quality events (e.g. regional MDB roundtables), including agendas, speaker coordination, and logistics
- Stay abreast of and coordinate with other key initiatives across the global education architecture to avoid duplication and amplify impact
Governance & committee support
- Provide secretariat support to the Board Committee on Education Results, Innovation and Partnerships: workplan tracking, materials, minutes, and action follow-up
- Serve as a responsive point of contact for committee related information requests
Cross-functional collaboration
- Work closely with IFFEd colleagues in Finance, Operations, and Resource Mobilization on any cross-IFFEd strategic priorities and/or events
Candidate Profile
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We appreciate applications from candidates from across the private, public and not-for profit sectors, including strategy consulting/advisory firms, government (including bilateral aid agencies), and multi-lateral development banks. Prior experience spanning both private sector and public/not-for-profit would be a plus.
Qualifications & Experience
- Master's degree or equivalent in Education, Public Policy, International Development, Economics, Econometrics, or a related field
- At least 6 years of experience working on strategy, policy, project management, and/or monitoring and evaluation in an education/global development setting
- Prior experience spanning both private sector and public/not-for-profit would be a plus
- Experience of working in developing countries is a plus
Skills & Competencies
- Demonstrated passion for IFFEd's goal to achieve a quality education for all
- Excellent research and analytical skills, including data analysis
- Strong communication skills, including ability to synthesize information and create compelling documents and presentations for a wide-ranging audience
- Can-do attitude, ability to learn quickly and willingness to adapt to the needs of a rapidly moving, start-up environment
- Understanding of the global development and education ecosystem (multilateral and bilateral agencies, philanthropies, think tanks/research institutions, NGOs)
- Experience with monitoring, evaluation and learning methodologies and best practice
- Proficiency in English (required) and French (preferred)
- Excellent Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel skills. Familiarity with AI tools
Application Instructions
CV screening is open to anyone, however, applications to this process are 'by invitation only' – this is intended to reduce candidate time in making applications where there is not a sufficiently strong alignment to the role, and produce the strongest fit field of candidates for our client.
Please first satisfy yourself that you closely match the following key criteria:
✓ A strong understanding of the global development and education ecosystem
✓ Excellent research and analytical skills, including data analysis
✓ Experience with monitoring, evaluation practices and impact measurement and reporting
✓ Swiss or EU Right to Work required
Once you are confident of your fit to the role, please reach out to iffed@iniciopartners.com with a copy of your CV to request a screening call, with the subject line 'IFFEd Education Officer'.
All correspondence, at this stage, should be via Inicio Partners.
Invited applicants will be asked to develop a cover letter to complete their application, please do not send a cover letter at the CV screening stage.
Timeline
Closing Date: 19 December 2025
First Stage Interviews: January 2026
Final Interviews: February 2026
Equality & Diversity
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IFFEd is an equal opportunities employer. We actively seek to build a diverse team and inclusive culture and encourage applications from all qualified individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, socioeconomic background, or religious belief. We are particularly keen to hear from applicants who bring lived experience of the communities we aim to support.
About Inicio Partners
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OUR PHILOSOPHY
Inicio Partners was founded out of a deep passion for education and social impact and a commitment to excellence. Our mission is to connect visionary social impact organisations with leaders who will shape their future.
Unlike traditional executive search firms, we place equal emphasis on serving our clients and supporting our candidates, recognizing the continuum between the two. Our approach ensures that we enhance your organisation's reputation and effectiveness at every stage of the search process.
OUR APPROACH
Humanity in Executive Search: We build authentic relationships with candidates, ensuring they are not just a transactional hire but an engaged and mission-aligned leader.
Commitment to Proximity & Representation: We prioritize diverse leadership, ensuring that organisations benefit from leaders with lived experience and a deep understanding of the communities they serve.
www.iniciopartners.com
This position was originally posted by IFFEd / Inicio Partners and has been curated by PurposePhil Career. To apply, please visit the original listing on the "apply" link on the side. 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.