Advisor Digitalization in Skills Development 70%-100%

We are a leading organisation for the implementation of international development projects. We promote inclusive economic, social and ecological development to make an effective contribution towards sustainable and widespread prosperity in developing and emerging economies. Swisscontact is represented in 38 countries with over 1200 employees. The foundation is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.

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Advisor Digitalization in Skills Development 70%-100%

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The Skills, Labour and Migration Team provides technical expertise and support for internal projects and external clients in advisory services, training, and research, assures the quality of implementation, fosters innovation, and engages in knowledge sharing in its fields of expertise.  

Working on Skills Development in developing and emerging economies requires, more than ever, technological and digital solutions to improve access to and quality of learning and training. Technologies must be fit to context and to the needs of the vulnerable target populations Swisscontact is aiming to link to economic opportunities. The focus for this role is on learning technology mainly in a vocational context (hybrid and e-learning, digital teaching content development, gamification, etc.), but also encompasses designing, supporting, and assessing skills training initiatives related to the digital economy such as coding, digital literacy and inclusion, tech entrepreneurship, etc.  

To complement our dynamic and ambitious team, we are looking for an experienced, highly motivated, outgoing, and client-oriented person who can cover the breadth and manage the diversity of supporting our skills development projects in the areas of learning technologies and training for the digital economy as a versatile team member in the role of Advisor Digitalisation in Skills Development (70-100%), with effective start from 1 November 2023 or by agreement.

Contract duration: unlimited

Place of work: Zürich

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Responsibilities

• Provide remote and on-site technical support, strategic guidance, and technical backstopping of project teams in the field of learning technology and digital solutions for skills development principally for projects implemented by Swisscontact, and in the longer term also for other clients.  
• Carry out project reviews in projects implemented by Swisscontact, and lead project design processes in the field of vocational training for the digital economy (coding, digital literacy and inclusion, digital entrepreneurship, etc).  
• Deploy context-specific (e.g., limited connectivity, power cuts, low digital literacy, low numeracy, etc.) strategies for digital solutions to skills development and learning.  
• Carry out and/or support teacher training and the development of training resources such as curricula, manuals, student worksheets, etc. aligned with the latest trends and customs in subject-related didactics.
• Contribute to the identification of trends and thematic areas where advisory services related to learning technology and digitalisation in skills development are needed, and support positioning Swisscontact’s thematic expertise within and outside the organisation.
• Contribute to the identification of new business opportunities and support business development (bid management, partner/external expert engagement, proposal writing, etc.).  
• Build up a network of institutional partnerships and consultants related to digitalisation in skills development.  
• Collaborate closely with Swisscontact’s Head of Technology as well as the Head of Impact Measurement and Learning to implement quality standards and align knowledge, processes and ideas for innovation.  
• Keep an overview of learning/education technology related digital solutions applied in Swisscontact’s projects, and document and share good practice and innovation in internal and external networks.  
• Contribute to the development of training and capacity building sessions/courses and support their delivery to internal and external audiences.  
• Contributing to vendor selection processes (RFI/RFP) including authoring of requirements and technical specifications based on discussions with colleagues and implementation partners.
• Potentially also management of contracting including vendor due diligence (IT security & compliance, maintenance agreements, source code escrow agreements).
• Potentially also management of respective technology implementation projects on Swisscontact's side using agile methodologies (Scrum, SAFE etc.).

Requirements

• A bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science or equivalent.
• Strong background (experience and skills) in Learning Technology, Ed Tech, Coding Training, Digital Literacy and/or similar.
• Background in vocational skills training and/or education is a strong asset.  
• Additional experience and specialisation in digitalization, including digital marketing, e-commerce, data analytics, and cloud computing, are an asset.  
• At least 5 years of experience in project management and technical advisory.
• Working experience in emerging economies and/or developing countries.
• Demonstrated understanding and/or experience in applying technology with low (digital) literacy target groups in low-tech settings.
• Experience in business development incl. proposal writing.
• Excellent multi-lingual communication, digital and interpersonal skills
• Excellent written and spoken command of English and good command of French and/or Spanish. Command of German and other languages is an asset.  
• Ability to collaborate across different teams in a decentralised organisation.
• Excellent self-management and multitasking skills and ability to work independently.
• Flexibility and willingness to regularly travel internationally.
• Business-oriented, initiative, dynamic, and ambitious personality.

Swisscontact offers attractive working conditions in an international and multicultural context. We see our work as a joint effort in an agile organizational culture: mutual respect, trust and teamwork.

We look forward to receiving your online application with the following documents in English or German: letter of motivation, curriculum vitae (no more than 3 pages), diploma and references. You may include one example of a report or publication authored by you, if applicable. Please apply exclusively via the online application portal until 14 August 2023.