Job Overview:

The Senior Education Officer plays a key role in implementing and strengthening IRC’s education and child protection programming in Poland, with a focus on school-based initiatives in the region of operation. The postholder is responsible for conducting workshops and trainings, identifying new institutions for cooperation and building lasting partnerships with municipalities, teacher training centers, NGOs, and other local education stakeholders. In addition, she conducts the projects entrusted to her in the full project management cycle, including planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting of activities.

Key Responsibilities:

Program Quality and Implementation

• Lead the implementation of school‑based education and child protection initiatives, including the rollout of Peace Corners and Power Corners, ensuring they meet quality standards, are aligned with IRC technical guidance, and effectively support student wellbeing.
• Deliver trainings and capacity‑building sessions for teachers, school staff, and other adult stakeholders; engage directly with children when necessary to pilot activities, test tools, and understand user experience.
• Oversee the implementation of EU‑funded projects at the school level, monitoring progress against work packages, deliverables, and timelines, and ensuring compliance with grant requirements.
• Track expenditures, monitor budget use within assigned activities, and support financial reconciliation in coordination with the Finance and Grants teams.
• Provide substantive inputs to new grant proposals, concept notes, and program design processes, ensuring alignment with field‑level needs, feasibility, and stakeholder feedback.

Partnerships and Representation

• Conduct ongoing outreach to schools to identify new institutions for program participation, establish cooperation, and ensure smooth onboarding into EU‑funded and IRC‑funded projects.
• Maintain strong relationships with local education institutions, Teacher Training Centers, municipalities, and other stakeholders to support program delivery, referral pathways, and regional coordination efforts.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL)

• Support in data collection and information management systems are used for projects in-line with MEAL guidelines.
• Support written program evaluations and reviews, ensuring documentation of lessons learned, informing reporting and program development.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of experience in the education sector, ideally in or with schools.
• Experience designing and delivering trainings for adults (teachers, school staff).
• Experience working with donor-funded projects (EU an advantage), including work plans, deliverables, and budgets.
• Experience collaborating with education institutions, municipalities, NGOs or Teacher Training Centers.
• Experience in multicultural settings; work with refugee/migrant learners is an asset.

Education:

• Master’s degree in Education, Pedagogy, Psychology, Social Sciences or related field.
• Formal pedagogical qualifications are strongly preferred.
• Additional training in inclusive education, wellbeing, child protection or adult learning is an asset.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Strong pedagogical understanding of school environments, student needs, and inclusive practices.
• Excellent training and facilitation skills for adult audiences.
• Solid project coordination abilities (planning, quality assurance, timelines, budgets).
• Strong communication and relationship building skills with schools and institutions.
• Languages: Polish (fluent), English (communicative); Ukrainian/Belarusian an asset.
• Good digital skills and ability to work collaboratively across teams.