Senior Advisor, Policy - Ethiopia

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Position: Senior Advisor, Policy – Ethiopia

Reports to: Sustainability Lead

Languages: English and Amharic (mandatory)

Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Deadline: 30th January 2026

TaRL Africa Initiative

TaRL Africa initiative is hosted by Empower Learning Africa, a not-for-profit organization registered and headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with teams in Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Zambia and locally registered offices in Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire. TaRL Africa began as a joint venture by Pratham and J-PAL in 2019, with the goal of supporting governments and organizations across Africa to accelerate children's foundational skill learning using the evidence-based "Teaching at the Right Level" (TaRL) approach. TaRL Africa's vision is for every child across Africa to have foundational skills so that they can have a better future. Our mission is to ensure education systems effectively equip children with these foundational skills.

We support governments and organizations in over 16 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to design, deliver and scale impactful TaRL program while learning and sharing how the approach can be improved for different contexts. Together with partners, TaRL Africa has reached over five million children with TaRL programming.

About TaRL Africa’s work in Ethiopia

Since 2024, TaRL Africa has been working with UNICEF, regional education authorities and implementing partners in Ethiopia to pilot and scale the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach to strengthen foundational literacy and numeracy. Initial implementation began in South Ethiopia Regional State through a pilot targeting Grades 3–6 in government schools, delivered in local languages.

Building on this, the TaRL approach has expanded to South Ethiopia, South West Ethiopia, Benishangul-Gumuz, and Oromia Regional States, reaching learners across Grades 1–6 through both targeted programs and large-scale government adoption. In parallel with geographic expansion, TaRL Africa is supporting program design, capacity strengthening, development of local-language teaching and assessment materials, training and coaching of master trainers and mentors, and engagement with national stakeholders to embed TaRL within education systems for long-term sustainability.

About the Role

The Advisor will play a strategic role in shaping TaRL Africa’s engagement in Ethiopia by strengthening partnerships and ensuring alignment with federal and regional education priorities. The role will lead TaRL Africa’s relationships with government institutions, donors, and external partners, with the aim of creating an enabling environment for sustainable program implementation and advancing TaRL Africa’s vision of ensuring every child in Africa acquires foundational skills.

A core focus of the role will be identifying and advancing opportunities for collaboration with federal and regional governments. In the short term, this will include building on TaRL Africa’s emerging partnership with the Oromia Regional Government to support the rollout of TaRL, alongside contributing to policy dialogue and influence at the federal level. Over the longer term, the scope and direction of engagement will be guided by a government engagement strategy developed by the Advisor, in close collaboration with TaRL Africa colleagues.

The Advisor reports to the Sustainability Lead and will work closely with TaRL Africa’s technical teams supporting program design and delivery. This is a senior role requiring a strong balance of policy engagement, stakeholder management, and program oversight to support sustainable, system-level improvements in foundational learning.

While TaRL Africa has been engaged in Ethiopia since 2024 through remote and in-country support, this will be the organisation’s first role based in-country. The position is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and will require regular travel within Ethiopia and occasional travel within Africa. Flexibility in working hours may be required to accommodate collaboration across time zones.

Key Responsibilities

1. Lead TaRL Africa’s Government Engagement Strategy in Ethiopia

• Provide strategic leadership to shape TaRL Africa’s role in Ethiopia’s education sector, aligning engagement with evolving national and regional priorities and reforms.
• Build and maintain strong institutional knowledge of Ethiopia’s education sector, including policy priorities, reform agendas, and key stakeholders at federal and regional levels.
• Develop and lead the implementation of TaRL Africa’s government engagement strategy at national and regional levels and ensure the plan is communicated to team members and partners.
• Work collaboratively with TaRL Africa colleagues and partners to define organisational priorities in Ethiopia.
• Identify opportunities where TaRL Africa can support government systems in alignment with its mission and evidence base.
• Lead the execution of complex streams of work to deliver the strategy at national and regional levels.
• Conduct stakeholder mapping to identify strategic entry points for engagement and influence. Facilitate engagement between TaRL Africa staff and relevant government officials and external stakeholders.
• Work with internal teams to translate government interest and engagement into concrete opportunities that strengthen program delivery and impact.

2. Build and Manage Strategic Relationships with Government and Partners

• Serve as the primary external point of contact and representative for TaRL Africa in Ethiopia.
• Establish, strengthen, and maintain relationships with key education sector stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education, regional education bureaus, development partners, and other relevant actors.
• Build expertise in policy issues relevant to TaRL Africa’s work; monitor sector developments and assess emerging opportunities and risks, and provide advice and updates to TaRL Africa colleagues.
• Influence sector-wide discourse by contributing to national policy fora and technical working groups.
• Prepare policy position papers, briefing notes, and presentations on foundational learning and the TaRL approach to inform sector dialogue and decision-making.
• Represent TaRL Africa at meetings, workshops, and conferences, presenting TaRL Africa’s work to diverse audiences.
• Work closely with TaRL Africa fundraising colleagues to identify potential opportunities and to develop proposals that are aligned with the organisations’s strategy in Ethiopia.
• Identify and manage political or operational risks related to government partnerships and policy engagement.

3. Support Program Delivery and Sustainability

• Lead work with government counterparts and TaRL Africa teams to develop work plans and budgets, and coordinate progress monitoring at federal and regional levels.
• Coordinate closely and regularly with other TaRL Africa staff, ensuring work plans are followed and deadlines are met.
• Build and maintain a strong understanding of the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach to effectively represent TaRL Africa and provide technical input when required.
• Provide technical assistance to government officials to support effective, high-quality, and sustainable implementation of TaRL pilots and program.
• Work with TaRL Africa staff and government officials to monitor implementation progress, support course-correction based on data and insights, and facilitate discussions with officials and partners at strategic and operational levels.
• Identify gaps in government capacity and work with colleagues to propose and implement solutions.
• Advise TaRL Africa colleagues on government priorities, engagement strategies, and policy influencing to support sustainable program delivery.
• Actively engage with other TaRL Africa teams to share lessons learned and good practices, and contribute to organisational strategy, learning, and fundraising efforts.

Qualifications

• At least seven years of relevant professional experience in education policy, advocacy, program delivery, and/or public policy.
• Demonstrated experience working with regional or sub-national governments in the implementation and scaling of education initiatives.
• Proven ability to build and manage strategic relationships with governments, development partners, and other key stakeholders.
• Proven track record in project management, including planning, coordination, and monitoring of activities.
• Strong networking, judgment, and persuasive communication skills, with the ability to operate effectively in fast-paced and evolving environments.
• Solid understanding of Ethiopia’s education policy landscape and demonstrated ability to influence policy and system-level change.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, work independently, and collaborate effectively across teams in a complex organisation.
• Master’s degree in education, economics, public policy, sociology, or a related field.
• Excellent written and spoken Amharic (mandatory).
• Excellent written and spoken English.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with both federal and regional governments in Ethiopia on policy formulation and program delivery.
• Established networks with policymakers and key stakeholders in Ethiopia’s education sector.
• Experience supporting system strengthening initiatives with Ministries of Education.

TaRL Africa Values

1. We place children's learning first.
2. We are always learning, improving, and innovating.
3. We are locally rooted for high-quality delivery and sustainable impact.
4. We are kind, respectful and collaborative.
5. We are proactive, committed to integrity and doing our best each day.

This job description covers the main tasks and conveys the spirit of the sort of tasks that are anticipated proactively from staff. Other tasks may be assigned as necessary according to organizational needs.

TaRL Africa provides a nationally peer-benchmarked compensation package aligned with organizational salary scales, taking into account both qualifications and professional experience.

TaRL Africa is an equal-opportunity employer committed to having a diverse workforce.