Education Data Strategist/Activity Lead Consultant, USAID/Rwanda

Dexis Professional Services is currently recruiting for an Education Data Strategist/Activity Lead consultant to support the USAID Mission in Rwanda under the Education Support Initiative II (ESI II) Institutional Support Contract (ISC). This position requires in-country support in Kigali, Rwanda.

Rwanda's National Examinations and School Inspectorate Authority (NESA) plays a crucial role in strengthening systemic quality assurance and performance management as part of Rwanda's Foundational Learning Strategy. With support from various development partners, NESA has developed a Comprehensive Assessment Management Information System (CAMIS) to collect and manage termly assessment data from approximately 3.6 million students across the country. This role will work alongside NESA to build capacity in data analysis to monitor progress under the Foundational Learning Strategy and other education sector goals. As the work unfolds, there will be a particular focus on helping NESA analyze termly CAMIS data received from schools in Kinyarwanda, Mathematics, and English in foundational grades, with the understanding that skills and processes developed in this area will be fundamental to ensuring that NESA can carry out similar analyses for the entire education system.

The Education Data Strategist/Activity Lead is expected to be based in Rwanda or spend several extended periods of time embedded at NESA. The Activity Lead may also oversee the work of one or more short-term consultants throughout the capacity strengthening process to ensure analysis tasks and processes are designed appropriately for Rwanda's large-scale assessment data sources and to inform decision-making, assessments are developed with appropriate psychometric properties. The Activity Lead will also collaborate with other stakeholders as participants or supporters of related workstream, including but not limited to: USAID activities, FCDO activities, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation activities, local NGOs, Rwandan Universities, and other consultants as needed. The Activity Lead will ensure that the steps in the process are inclusive and will yield a broad network of human resources in Rwanda with the skills required by NESA.

The Education Data Strategist/Activity Lead is expected to be based in Kigali, Rwanda to ensure consistent and frequent opportunities to collaborate with NESA staff. While the work is not expected to be full-time, initially the consultant will be focusing on understanding the landscape, stakeholders, needs and establishing strong relationships. As the work unfolds, the consultant is expected to work approximately 10 days/month although this will be variable depending on the workplan and availability of NESA staff.

The consultancy is expected to be approximately 60 days between November 1, 2024 and April 30, 2025 with an additional 40 days expected between May 1, 2025 and Nov 1, 2025 depending on task completion and quality.

• Serves as the main point of contact (POC) for the NESA capacity support request

• Holds the vision for the data-systems strengthening activity, establishes strong relationships with NESA and all involved parties, funders and participants to ensure the activities are meeting the needs expressed

• Identifies additional scopes of work and/or individuals as needed to fulfill the workplan and timeline of activities and manages the contributions of consultants as needed

• Works alongside the Head of Department for Examinations to develop a data analysis plan for each term's data, craft staff workplans on this basis, and support the tracking of work tasks

• Fosters increasing leadership on the part of NESA staff, working towards full NESA staff planning and production of analysis tasks and reports, while providing quality assurance and peer review support

• With NESA, co-develops staff onboarding guides and cascade training guides that codify the analysis processes developed and ensure that other personnel will be able to duplicate them

• Work with district and national level data managers to review trends, understand and interpret data, and make policy recommendations, and support their efforts to build these skills at the sector and school levels

• Ensures the workplan is achieved with high quality and timely deliverables

• Masters in Education Policy, Education Statistics, or related field and 5 years of relevant experience; or a Bachelors and 6 years of relevant experience

• Has deep expertise with large-scale education assessment data, analysis, interpretation and decision making for national and local policy

• Based in Rwanda or spends extended periods in Rwanda to work alongside NESA staff on collaborative analysis tasks and specific training needs

• Holds a Masters or Ph.D. in Education Policy, Education Statistics, or related field

• Proficiency in statistical and psychometric software such as R, Stata, SPSS and/or Python highly preferred.

• Strong ability to interpret data for decision making in education policy

• Proven track record of successfully managing and delivering complex data projects with multiple team members on time and within scope.

• Experience in collaborating with cross-functional teams and managing relationships with key stakeholders.

• Demonstrated ability to foster a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and data-driven decision-making within the team.

• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and transfer skills in a training context.

• Experience working in education systems in developing countries, preferably in Africa.

• Ph.D. in Education Policy, Education Statistics, or related field.