JOB DESCRIPTION: 
SALAR International is seeking services of two Local Experts to act as Trainers and Facilitators (herewith the Facilitators) to support SALAR’s Project in Armenia "Support to decentralisation and local self-government reforms (DeaLoG)". The positions shall be consultancy contracts for a period of 5 months with a possibility of extension.
The Facilitators should be experienced, the professional, self-motivated person(s) with high proficiency in both English and Armenian, who can work effectively in a dynamic and changing environment, and support the Project and its partners (in particular, pilot municipalities and schools, and the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Armenia) in facilitation of strategic collaboration process between the schools and communities in the scope of decentralisation reforms (events, capacity building input, facilitation of action plans and project development processes and provision of training inputs in project management based on a needs approach).
The positions assume extensive facilitation skills set and experience and require knowledge and understanding of project development (with a focus on public sector) and respective training capabilities. Familiarity and experience with Armenian education and local self-governance systems could be helpful, but is not a requirement.
The Facilitators shall be capable of applying facilitation methods and tools, possess integrity, innovation, problem-solving skills, professionalism, strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work as an effective team member.
Context and background of the assignment
The Government of Armenia has set the decentralisation as one its public sector reform policies and as a logical continuation of another major structural change in the system – the enlargement of communities. It is part of the Government’s five-year program, where a number of areas have been identified for deepening the decentralised governance, including education sector (transfer of the responsibility of use and maintenance of school buildings to communities). From the sector development perspective, decentralisation in general education is also included in the Law on Education Development Program 2030 of Armenia (the Program) as a measure to improve the effectiveness of education, with transfer of responsibilities to LSGs, especially in the context of territorial administrative reforms (i.e. enlargement of communities). More specifically, the Action Plan of the Program envisions gradual transfer of management responsibilities to LSGs, setting the target of 11 pilot municipalities where such transfer shall be accomplished by 2030, as well as enlargement of school boards, separation of content and administrative functions within the schools and transfer of the later to new administrative managers (introducing this system in all schools by 2030)3.
Thus, decentralisation in general education is aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of education services and thus enhancing education outcomes. It means the transfer of authority to and assigning more decision-making powers to localities, both the service providers (i.e. schools, principals, teachers etc.) and local authorities, but also increasing local participation and voice in decision making as a way to enhance system legitimacy and trust towards the system.
In August 2023, MoESCS and DeaLoG Project have agreed the main measures and activities – the Work Plan - that will guide the work of the Project and cooperation in the area of education decentralisation for the upcoming one year. The Work Plan envisions four broad strategies to apply:
1) Promoting policy dialogue;
2) Strengthening school-local community cooperation;
3) Clarifying further the role of communities in education and school governance;
4) Improving fiscal aspects of decentralisation in education sector.
The Project now intends to engage two Facilitators to support with implementation of above-mentioned measures. The current assignment is aimed at supporting the Project and its partners via effective facilitation and capacity building/trainings inputs aimed at strengthening decentralisation policy dialogue and advocacy. In parallel, the Project will also engage technical education experts to support with school-community cooperation and initiating functional review in education sector. It is considered that all the experts are one team led by DeaLoG Project.
Facilitation and Training for better dialogue and capacities
The project aims at assuring effective policy dialogue and advocacy around different aspects of school managements decentralisation, which requires very well thought facilitation and coaching. Thus, it will be essential to have professionals who can foster a productive dialogue between communities and central government (MoESCS and Marz administrations). Besides, the Facilitators should help ease the dialogue within communities and support in generation of ideas of possible integration of the school and community life.
Partner municipalities together with schools are expected to develop an action plan for school-community cooperation and for strengthening horizontal cooperation between schools and communities. In addition and based on these initial needs and ideas as expressed in the action plan, they will be encouraged to initiate and design small joint projects (with the help of the Facilitators) focusing on boosting the cooperation between school and community.
To help partner municipalities and schools in projects’ formulation and implementation, the DeaLoG Project intends to provide project management training sessions and hands-on support.
The role of the Facilitators
The Facilitators will be working closely with SALAR International’s key international and local experts supporting the decentralisation efforts of the Project, including in the education sector. They will develop relevant methodologies, work plan, engage with stakeholders to identify their needs and level of knowledge and experiences, provide capacity building inputs as well as assist with facilitation of various events for the partners, pilot municipalities and schools.
The Facilitators will work closely with other short-term experts and facilitators engaged by DeaLoG Project in the overall effort to facilitate decentralisation in education sector. More specifically, they will work closely with technical education experts tasked with implementation of Maturity Model and Functional Review assignments in education sector aimed at promoting school-community cooperation and clarification of the role of communities in school governance.
RESPONSIBILITIES: 
.
Facilitation and Trainings
- Participate in facilitation training sessions organised by DeaLoG Project (November 2023);
- Accompany strategic collaboration process with ongoing engagement of all relevant
stakeholders, including action plans development;
- Facilitate Maturity Model assessment workshops with pilot municipalities and schools
(November 2023 - January 2024);
- Deliver training/capacity-building input on project development and management for partner municipalities and schools (January 2024);
- Provide hands-on support to partner municipalities and schools in preparing action plans and based on those, small project proposals.
The exact dates, format and concepts of these sessions and events are subject to confirmation by DeaLoG Project.
Reporting and communication
- Keep SALAR International in Stockholm and Project management unit in Yerevan continuously and regularly updated about challenges and achievements;
- Final report, including description of key activities and all deliverables.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: 
- At least Master's Degree or equivalent in Economics, Public Administration, Management, Human Resource Management, Organizational Psychology, Communication or other relevant fields;
- Proven experience in the facilitation of events and teams with clear and meaningful results;
- Proven experience in providing project management training or other capacity-building
measures in development and implementation of development project, e.g. hands-on support, on-job trainings, facilitation and coaching; available certification is an advantage;
- Familiarity and understanding of the public administration system and multi-level governance in Armenia, familiarity with different participation mechanisms and tools;
- Understanding of the concept of local democracy and the system of local self-governance, familiarity with concepts of human development and sustainable development;
- Creativity, instructional skills and communication skills;
- Capable of working with strict deadlines in a multitasking position;
- Ability to work in a multicultural environment;
- Excellent computer literacy and proficiency in relevant applications such as MS Office, internet, etc;
- Fluency in Armenian and English languages;
- Previous work experience with international organisations or projects is an advantage.
APPLICATION PROCEDURES: 
Interested applicants should send their proposal, comprising the following documents, to SALAR International no later than October 25, 2023, 18:00, Yerevan time.
- A short explanation of the applicant’s suitability for the assignment (maximum one A4 page);
- Up-to-date CV indicating relevant experience and qualifications.
The Facilitators will be selected based on their professional experience and competencies matching the requirements described above. Proposals and questions should be sent by email to: *******@******************.**. Please mark your email with Local Expert: Trainer-Facilitator in the subject. No compensation is paid for costs incurred for writing the proposal and participating in interviews during the recruitment process.
Questions regarding the assignment can be sent to the same email: *******@******************.**. Responses to questions will be shared to applicants by email. Interviews with shortlisted applicants are expected to be held in person or via Teams during October 27-31, 2023. Only shortlisted applicants will receive a response by email after the final round of interviews.
Please clearly mention in your application letter that you learned of this announcement through Career Center and mention the URL of its website - www.careercenter.am. Thanks.
REMUNERATION/ SALARY: 
A competitive consultancy fee will be offered to the successful candidates.
ADDITIONAL NOTES: 
SALAR International embraces diversity and respects human rights in all areas of its work. SALAR International strives to create a gender-equal and diverse working environment. Consultants shall respect equal rights of individuals and strive to create an atmosphere where people’s differences are accepted and valued.
SALAR International supports working arrangements that enable personnel to combine work with family commitments.
ABOUT: 
The DeaLoG Project of SALAR is implemented by SALAR International and funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
The Project aims to support the government of the Republic of Armenia with decentralisation reforms and strengthening of local self-governments building on a longstanding history of local self-governments in Sweden and on the global cooperation experience, expertise and networks of SALAR International.
The Project is developed in cooperation with the Ministry of Territorial Administration and
Infrastructure (MTAI) and other government bodies, as well as in consultations with local actors and relevant representative organisations in Armenia.
The overall objective of the Project is to increase political and institutional awareness, commitment, competence and trust among national and local stakeholders to advance decentralisation, manage the change processes and expand local self-government autonomy, responsibilities, capacities and accountability vis-a-vis citizens (women, girls, men and boys).
SALAR International’s work in Armenia consists of two areas of support:
1) Institutional framework for decentralisation with focus on political dialogue, advocacy and reform communication to advance evidence-based decentralisation reform
2) Fiscal decentralisation focusing on establishing a consensus about key concepts of fiscal decentralisation among all reform stakeholders, strengthening capacities of the actors at central and local levels on different aspects of management of public finances and fiscal decentralisation, developing models and tools for financing of decentralised functions.
The following strategies are applied:
- strengthening political leadership of local governance reform by providing policy advice and advocacy support to MTAI
- awareness raising about the decentralisation, its benefits, the principles of the European
Charter of Local Self-Government and their meaning, providing mentoring, analytical and
advisory support to improve capacities of actors at central, regional and local levels. Support to the design and implementation of a more decentralised democratic governance system.
- supporting the development of horizontal and vertical cooperation and consultation
mechanisms and frameworks between relevant actors in the targeted local government
competence areas.
The Project is implemented in phases and its first implementation phase runs from September 2022 till end of February 2024.
One of the components of the DeaLoG Project is support to education decentralisation, working both with schools and communities on strengthening horizontal cooperation and with central level on designing and implementing decentralisation policies and measures such as clarification and separation and distribution of functions and responsibilities at different levels of government, decision-making frameworks and modalities, fiscal and capacity building issues in general education sector.
Conditions and Logistics
Short-term consultancy contracts (from starting date until February 2024) will be signed between SALAR International and the Facilitators, which will outline the conditions for the job in detail. The contracts will be based on Sida’s Standard Conditions for Short and Long-Term Consulting Services (2002). In line with Sida’s Standard Conditions, SALAR/SALAR International’s project covers all major costs relating to services provided by the Facilitators during the assignment, including consultancy fees and costs for participation in project activities. Please note, these positions are not employment positions, meaning that applicants must be established as consultants and will be liable to pay all applicable taxes and insurances themselves.