Description
The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) is a shared commitment to end the world’s learning crisis. It is the only global partnership and fund dedicated to helping children in lower-income countries get a quality education, so they can unlock their potential and contribute to building a better world. We bring together governments, teachers, civil society, donors, United Nations agencies, development banks, businesses, and private foundations to achieve our shared vision of a quality education for every child.
GPE’s new strategic plan, GPE 2025, sets out to deliver this transformative change by convening partners, mobilizing funds, and catalyzing reforms to help partner countries get more children in school, improve teaching and learning, and build equitable, inclusive, and resilient education systems fit for the 21st century. GPE currently supports 76 low- and lower-middle-income countries to transform their education systems. Since 2002, 160 million more children in GPE partner countries have set foot in classrooms for the first time, more than half of them girls.
The GPE Secretariat, with over 160 full-time employees and hosted by the World Bank, translates the policies and strategies set by the Board into practical support for partner countries in coordinating with diverse stakeholders. The Secretariat’s headquarters are in the World Bank’s offices in Washington, D.C. and the European office is in Paris with a satellite office in Brussels.
This specification should be read in conjunction with information on the Global Partnership for Education website at: https://www.globalpartnership.org/
The 2025 Strategic Plan for GPE is published here: https://www.globalpartnership.org/content/gpe-2025-strategic-plan
The Role
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) will lead GPE, a maturing organization and partnership, into its next chapter by charting an ambitious course for delivering on its strategy to transform education. The CEO will capitalize on and enhancing GPE’s global leadership position, ensuring the partnership and the organization are delivering results effectively and efficiently at scale.
Experience
The CEO will have extensive experience in leading an international organization, strong skills in public relations and advocacy at a global level, the capacity to work in a complex environment, and high-level experience in delivering results and managing multiple funding arrangements.
Responsibilities
Delivering results:
• Ensures the whole partnership and Secretariat focus on achieving results.
• Has overall responsibility to lead and be accountable for the performance of the GPE Secretariat.
• Ensures the Secretariat gives priority attention to diversity, equity and inclusion in its internal and external operations and delivers on GPE’s commitment to gender equality and inclusion of marginalized populations.
• Ensures appropriate internal control and compliance policies and procedures are in place and being followed, including with respect to the World Bank’s fiduciary and safeguard policies and guidelines.
External Leadership:
• Acts as a global ambassador for education and an influential and powerful advocate for GPE and the broader educational agenda, including achievement of SDG4 and greater resources for education.
• Strengthens GPE by building strategic cooperative relationships among partners and a large and diverse group of stakeholders to enhance the effectiveness of GPE funding and initiatives.
• Advocates for and generates funding for GPE’s programs, diversifies funding streams, introduces innovative funding approaches, and, with the Chair and Vice Chair, leads GPE’s replenishment campaigns.
Strategic Direction:
• Building on the strengths of all its partner organizations, leads GPE in the formulation of its role to contribute in closing education achievement gaps in developing countries.
• Drives strategic reform and improves the performance and impact of GPE.
• Strengthens the reputation of GPE and ensures it has a leadership role in the development debates about education.
• Champions global knowledge and innovation, including technology, and ensures the dissemination of effective approaches, drawing on evidence and good practice.
Accountability
The CEO is accountable to the Board of Directors for achieving GPE’s strategy, objectives, and outcomes. The CEO also reports, administratively, to the Vice President of the Human Development Network at the World Bank, the GPE Secretariat’s host organization.
Selection Criteria
GPE is committed to selecting the best candidate for the position through a broad, global search with attention to diversity among qualified candidates.
The successful candidate will have:
• Extensive experience in leading and managing an international organization to achieve results
• Demonstrated experience in delivering results, including through driving improvements in policy and program implementation
• Experience in overseeing multiple funding arrangements
• Strong skills in public relations and advocacy at a global level
• The capacity to work in a complex environment
• The ability to bring to bear their extensive experience to advance the interests of GPE and deliver on GPE’s strategy for education transformation.
• Experience as a leader in the education is desirable.
• Fluent English language capability is essential; French or Spanish fluency is preferred and knowledge of another UN language is considered an advantage.
Personal and Performance Competencies:
• Strong strategic orientation – with demonstrated strategic, conceptual, and analytical skills required to operate at a CEO level in a dynamic environment.
• Exceptional leadership and management capabilities – with high-level capacity and operational experience to manage all aspects of a diverse international organization, including driving results, building organizational capability, and inspiring innovation, commitment, and excellence from staff.
• A change management leader – with a proven ability to drive and successfully implement change and ability to manage ambiguity while working to achieve the priorities of GPE’s Board of Directors.
• Exceptional communicator and collaborator – with effective advocacy and negotiation skills; demonstrated ability to act as an influential representative with media and a range of partners and stakeholders; and outstanding interpersonal, diplomatic and partnership skills to build and maintain effective collaborative relationships and networks across different cultural contexts.
• Impeccable integrity and commitment to ethical leadership – with ability to drive an ethical, open-minded organizational culture; high level professionalism, probity, resilience, and excellent judgment; and demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Professional qualifications and international experience – with profound understanding of the challenges of international development, and experience in achieving results in more than one world region.
• Client Orientation: Builds linkages across boundaries for optimal performance.
• Drive for Results: Facilitates and impacts results across units.
• Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion: Leverages capabilities of others within and across boundaries
• Knowledge, Learning and Communication: Produces and disseminates knowledge products to create added value.
• Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making: Provides leadership in analytical decision making across boundaries.
• Courage of your Convictions – Stands up to others and challenges when necessary.
• Leading the Team for Impact – Generates high levels of commitment to the GPE mission.
• Influencing Across Boundaries – Leverages sophisticated influence strategies.
• Fostering Openness to New Ideas – Facilitates change.
• Building Talent for the Future – Develops broad capabilities
Note:
Staff appointments include, but are not limited to, medical benefits, including dental and vision, Staff Retirement Plan, financial assistance program, life & disability insurance, comprehensive leave policy.
Poverty has no borders. Neither does excellence. This is why we continually search for qualified individuals with a diverse set of backgrounds from around the globe. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities, as well as nationals from under-represented regions are equally encouraged to apply. We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, creed, race, color, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability.
GPE has a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment in line with its PSEAH policy.
Individuals with disabilities may be provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential functions of the role and support in receiving other workplace accommodations. Please contact the DAF-Disability Accommodation Fund at disabilityfund@worldbank.org for further information and support.