Long Term Role - Commencing January 2025. Based in Suva, Fiji.

• Long Term Role – January 2025, 9 months with an option for extension, subject to program extension

Program Overview

FPSP, also referred to as the ‘Platform’, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) investment, will contribute to the delivery of Fiji’s national development priorities, in line with the Australia’s International Development Policy, the Fiji-Australia Vuvale Partnership and the Development Partnership Plan. 

The Platform will deliver key bilateral programs, such as health, education, scholarships, social infrastructure, governance, climate and emergency preparedness and response. Platform activities will identify and address climate risks, promote climate action, and gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI) across and beyond the sector programs.

The Platform has three functional Outcomes: 

1. The Platform has delivered its sector program outcomes, including through supporting strategic coherence, planning, partnerships management, data and learning across the portfolio of investments.
2. The Platform has prioritised gender equality, disability-inclusive development, and climate and disaster resilience, in its systems and practices. This includes in how it undertakes sector programming and its engagement with selected Government of Fiji (GoF) agencies.
3. The Platform administers timely and efficient programming that is: value for money; maximises use of local supply chains; and supports good governance, and public diplomacy, effective decision making and risk management.

IPEF Overview

Fiji is the only Pacific Island member in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), representing a significant step in integrating the Pacific’s second largest economy into our region’s economic architecture. Australia and Fiji have both signed the four IPEF agreements that have been substantially concluded by IPEF Ministers: the IPEF Supply Chain, Clean Economy, Fair Economy, and Overarching Agreements. The IPEF Trade Agreement is still under negotiation. The Fijian Ministry of Trade, Co-operatives, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MTCMSMEC) is Fiji’s coordinating agency on IPEF, led by its International Trade team, which also has responsibility for domestic and international trade initiatives, including PACER Plus and WTO commitments.

Following intensive IPEF negotiations over 2021-2023, MTCMSMEC now needs to focus on its other domestic and international responsibilities. Line ministries face similar challenges. Additional support is needed for MTCMSMEC to coordinate and report on IPEF commitments across Government of Fiji including providing support for line ministries to guide legislative drafting and technical readiness assessments.

Under Australia’s IPEF Fund for Technical Assistance and Economic Cooperation (IFTAEC), Australia is providing tailored support for Fiji to implement its IPEF commitments, through the establishment of a Fiji IPEF Implementation Unit within the MTCMSMEC. The Implementation Unit will consist of an embedded IPEF Program Manager and IPEF Coordination Officer, who will have responsibility for developing targeted capacity building and technical assistance projects for MTCMSMEC and other Fijian line agencies with IPEF responsibilities, and providing administrative, coordination and logistical support to free MTCMSMEC officials to focus on IPEF engagement.   

Long Term Role - Commencing January 2025. Based in Suva, Fiji.

The Legal Drafter will perform in-line legislative drafting functions for the Attorney General (AG). The role may also be required to contribute to relevant Continuing Legal Education activities for legal professionals. 

Long Term Role – January 2025, 9 months with an option for extension, subject to program extension

The Legal Drafter will perform in-line legislative drafting functions for the Solicitor General (SG) and will adopt on-the-job training methods to improve the drafting skills of staff within the Drafting Division. The role may also be required to contribute to relevant Continuing Legal Education activities for legal professionals. 

Long Term Role – January 2025, 9 months with an option for extension, subject to program extension 

• Long Term Role – January 2025, 9 months with an option for extension, subject to program extension 

Program Overview

FPSP, also referred to as the ‘Platform’, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) investment, will contribute to the delivery of Fiji’s national development priorities, in line with the Australia’s International Development Policy, the Fiji-Australia Vuvale Partnership and the Development Partnership Plan. 

The Platform will deliver key bilateral programs, such as health, education, scholarships, social infrastructure, governance, climate and emergency preparedness and response. Platform activities will identify and address climate risks, promote climate action, and gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI) across and beyond the sector programs.

The Platform has three functional Outcomes: 

1. The Platform has delivered its sector program outcomes, including through supporting strategic coherence, planning, partnerships management, data and learning across the portfolio of investments.
2. The Platform has prioritised gender equality, disability-inclusive development, and climate and disaster resilience, in its systems and practices. This includes in how it undertakes sector programming and its engagement with selected Government of Fiji (GoF) agencies.
3. The Platform administers timely and efficient programming that is: value for money; maximises use of local supply chains; and supports good governance, and public diplomacy, effective decision making and risk management.

IPEF Overview

Fiji is the only Pacific Island member in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), representing a significant step in integrating the Pacific’s second largest economy into our region’s economic architecture. Australia and Fiji have both signed the four IPEF agreements that have been substantially concluded by IPEF Ministers: the IPEF Supply Chain, Clean Economy, Fair Economy, and Overarching Agreements. The IPEF Trade Agreement is still under negotiation. The Fijian Ministry of Trade, Co-operatives, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MTCMSMEC) is Fiji’s coordinating agency on IPEF, led by its International Trade team, which also has responsibility for domestic and international trade initiatives, including PACER Plus and WTO commitments.

Following intensive IPEF negotiations over 2021-2023, MTCMSMEC now needs to focus on its other domestic and international responsibilities. Line ministries face similar challenges. Additional support is needed for MTCMSMEC to coordinate and report on IPEF commitments across Government of Fiji including providing support for line ministries to guide legislative drafting and technical readiness assessments.

Under Australia’s IPEF Fund for Technical Assistance and Economic Cooperation (IFTAEC), Australia is providing tailored support for Fiji to implement its IPEF commitments, through the establishment of a Fiji IPEF Implementation Unit within the MTCMSMEC. The Implementation Unit will consist of an embedded IPEF Program Manager and IPEF Coordination Officer, who will have responsibility for developing targeted capacity building and technical assistance projects for MTCMSMEC and other Fijian line agencies with IPEF responsibilities, and providing administrative, coordination and logistical support to free MTCMSMEC officials to focus on IPEF engagement.   

The Climate Integration Adviser will be based at the CRC DFAT Canberra office and will provide technical advice and guidance to DFAT program managers to strengthen integration of climate and disaster resilience.

Education Pathways for Peace in Mindanao Program will conduct a three-year research study to determine the impact of the program’s interventions on targeted schools (kinder to grade 3 only) in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The research will be designed as a small n study testing the theory of change for each of four types of school: community schools (known as Learning Centres), catchment schools connected to the Learning Centres (known as Associated Catchment Schools), targeted madrasah schools, and the model inclusive schools (known as Inclusive and Supportive Centres of Learning). 

This theory-based evaluation approach will be used to identify what worked by looking into the changes brought about by Pathways-supported intervention and, importantly, to understand why and how the interventions worked. The research will start in 2024 and be repeated in 2025 and 2026. The study will provide baseline data in 2024 and, where possible, estimate retrospective baselines as of September 2022 when schools reopened after the COVID-19 Pandemic. Data collection will estimate where Pathways is contributing to better learning outcomes, classroom teaching and learning practices, learning and development for teachers, support to schools by divisional offices, school-based management practices, and inclusion practices including equity outcomes for key variables.

The study aims to:

• Identify to what extent Pathways’ interventions are reaching and creating change at the school and classroom level, and impacting children’s literacy and numeracy

• Identify adaptations and modifications that are both positively and negatively influencing the outcomes

• Understand results for different variables across the type of schools

• How contextual factors are influencing the outcomes expected at the school-level

• Identify the enablers, barriers, and challenges influencing school-level outcomes

• Identify good practices and effective strategies within each school type

• Provide learning and recommendations as to how policy and implementation can be improved during the remainder of the program, as MBHTE and the Philippines Department of Education take policy interventions forward, and to inform Australia’s ongoing education sector work.

• The program’s overall target beneficiaries for each school type are 210 Learning Centres, 123 Associate Catchment Schools, 25 Madrasah, and one Inclusive and Supportive Centre for Learning (ISCL). Pathways support to each school type has included^[1]:

  Learning Centres

  Pathways' assistance to the MBHTE Abot Kaalaman sa Pamilyang Pilipino (AKAP) Program aims to offer quality early years' education to learners in barangays without schools. This involves establishing functional learning centres (LCs) or providing flexible learning options in validated school-less barangays. By the end of the 2023-2024 school year, AKAP provided kindergarten to grade 3 education to 123 geographically isolated, disadvantaged, and conflict-affected communities in BARMM by introducing grade 3 classes.

  Pathways' support to AKAP focuses on enrolling out-of-school children, enhancing social inclusion and strengthening stakeholder engagement at various governance levels and with the school. This involves enhancing stakeholder engagement in learning centres, community structures, school division offices, local government units, and the regional AKAP Technical Working Group.

  Associated Catchment Schools

  An Associated Catchment School is a catchment school assigned to manage an AKAP Learning Centre established under the Pathways Program. Pathways has progressively lifted the Catchment Schools linked to AKAP Learning Centres to ensure they provide support and management to the Centres for them to succeed. The focus is for the Associated Catchment Schools to develop specific support and management skills. The program’s support to the Associated Catchment Schools includes providing trainings to K-3 teachers and Catchment School Heads, designing and planning K-3 teaching and learning materials, developing K-3 learning assessment tools and manual, and production of teaching learning readers in Filipino and mother-tongue languages, among others.

  Madrasah

  Pathways support to madrasah is at both the system level to help establish system arrangements that will improve both formal and non-formal madrasah and improve delivery by the targeted madrasah. At the system level, Pathways support has included the development of the Bangsamoro Education Code, Madrasah Education Strategic Plan, Madrasah Comprehensive Plan, and the Madrasah Establishment System. The 25 targeted madrasah is a group of `formal’ madrasah that were established before 2017 that are still operating and are considered `stable’ and development ready. All 25 madrasah are private entities and `formal madrasah’ are recognised under the Bangsamoro Education Code as delivering the governments’ curriculum and are subject to government quality assurance processes. Pathways’ support ranges from development of curriculum and learning materials, teacher and school leader training, and introducing school-base management. Madrasah are recognised as historically under resourced and therefore less developed institutions whereby responding to Pathways’ supported interventions will take longer.

  Inclusive and Supportive Centres of Learning

  The ISCL refers to a primary school that is being transformed into a model inclusion institution of learning with an ecology that adapts to the needs of children. The model school supports a network of other public schools, known as Satellite Public Schools, which are coached by the ISCL and MBHTE (regional and divisions) to progressively implement the Inclusive Schools Approach. Pathways started supporting the development of the model inclusive school in 2022. To date, Pathways has supported ISCL with the development of the Inclusive Schools Approach Omnibus Policy, ISA-ISCL Five Essentials, and training of teachers and school leaders in inclusion and Play-based Approach.

  
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  [1] Pathways will provide a table to the successful candidate identifying the scope, timing, and nature of interventions rolled out to-date.

   

The Program Manager will provide support to the CRC DFAT team.

Abt Associates is seeking a highly qualified individual to fill the Team Leader, Partnerships & Performance Division role on the Australia –Papua New Guinea Economic Partnership Program. This role is based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and open all applicants.