Job Opportunity: Deputy Director in the OECD’s Directorate for Education and Skills
About the OECD:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation comprised of 38 member countries, that works to build better policies for better lives. Our mission is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. The Directorate for Education and Skills (EDU) leads the Organisation’s work to help member and non-member countries achieve high-quality learning for all, design better skills policies, and turn them into jobs and growth.
About the Role:
We are seeking a Deputy Director with:
- strong public policy skills
- strategic thinking
- and leadership abilities to advance the OECD’s education initiatives.
The ideal candidate will have experience:
- managing complex programs and budgets,
- leading international teams,
- and contributing to global discussions on education issues.
Details:
Contract duration: 3-year fixed term appointment, with the possibility of renewal.
Salary: starting from 13,645.46 EUR per month
Deadline: Monday 19 August 2024 at 23h59 (CEST).
Requirements for the role:
- An advanced university degree in education, economics, statistics or another relevant discipline
- Extensive senior-level management experience, gained in a national administration, research institute, or international organisation or the private sector.
- Proven leadership on education and skills policy issues and ability to deliver policy advice to senior policy-makers.
- Very good knowledge of current national and international policy challenges in OECD countries.
- A proven record of conducting relations at senior level and within a political decision-making environment.
- Languages: Excellent written and oral command of, and ability to draft policy, analytical and technical papers in at least one of the OECD’s two official languages (English and French), and working knowledge of, or willingness to learn, the other. Other languages are an asset to engage with the global reach of the Directorate.
Major Responsibilities:
The Deputy Director will work closely with the Director to coordinate and manage the Directorate’s work, engage with committees and expert groups, and drive collaboration with other OECD areas. This role requires the ability to provide intellectual leadership, strategic direction, and represent the OECD at international events.
Strategic Leadership:
- Support the advancement of the strategic orientations of the Secretary-General, in particular as they relate to education and skills.
- Identify new strategic priorities, develop high-impact policy advice.
- Lead activities and advance collaboration within EDU, with other parts of the Organisation and with other Organisations in order to enhance the OECD’s position as a leading player in comparative educational and skills policy analysis.
- Contribute to the development of medium and long-term strategies in education and skills.
- Work with the Director on the planning, orientation, oversight and control of the Directorate’s activities.
- Ensure the global impact of the OECD’s education and skills work, including through increased engagement with key partners.
Representation and liaison
- Promote co-ordination and collaboration with the Secretary-General’s Office and other Directorates, ensuring effective relations with the Council’s Standing Committees, working parties, expert groups, and permanent delegations.
- Represent the OECD at high-level meetings and conferences involving senior policy makers and representatives of business, labour, academia, NGOs, and the media. Lead high-level missions to OECD and non-OECD economies.
- Establish and maintain high-level close contacts with national authorities, the private sector, academia, research institutes, and the media.
- Act on behalf of the Director in his absence.
Management and co-ordination
- Contribute actively as a member of the senior management team of the Directorate and the OECD.
- Adhere to and promote the highest professional standards and the ethical principles of the OECD’s Code of Conduct in all internal and external matters.
- Lead the development of talent in EDU as well as the effective use and allocation of talent across projects and divisions.
- Mobilise and secure voluntary funding from a variety of sources to support all the main policy areas of the Directorate’s work.
- Co-ordinate inter-directorate projects and foster collaboration and joint work with other parts of the OECD in which the Directorate is involved, particularly in horizontal projects of strategic priority.
- Contribute to corporate management reforms and initiatives
All applications are screened based on the criteria for the position. For candidates who are screened-in, written tests and/or video-recorded interviews are foreseen between September and October 2024, and panel interviews are tentatively planned for end October 2024. A leadership assessment will also be requested for candidates in the final selection stage.
