British Council Nigeria - Call for Application: Girls' Education and Advocacy Research Network (GEARn)

The British Council is the world's leading cultural relations organization and creates opportunities for people in the UK and worldwide to understand each other, to work together and learn from one another. We see this as crucial to building secure, more prosperous and sustainable futures for us all. We build trust and understanding between different countries and cultures and develop strong international links that are of benefit to people in Britain and the rest of the world.

We seek the services of suitably qualified candidate to fill the below position of:

Job Title: Call for Application: Girls' Education and Advocacy Research Network (GEARn)

Location: Nationwide

Job Descriptions

• The British Council is soliciting Expressions of Interest (EoI) from teams interested in producing high quality research on inclusive education models in northern Nigeria, particularly work which has an impact on how education systems support learning outcomes for girls in primary and junior secondary school.
• Research teams will be part of the Girls' Education and Advocacy Research Network (GEARn), whose primary purpose is to contribute to the body of knowledge on issues of inclusion and equity in basic education in Nigeria and globally. This will be achieved through supporting the production of peer reviewed research output of the highest quality which will support the use of evidence in developing education policy in Nigeria.
• The network will also produce forward looking research which will support the development of government and donor policy in response to the adoption of the new Sustainable Development Goals, in particular, those focusing on education quality, access and equity. This project is particularly interested in identifying and explaining where education systems, models, innovations and institutions have resulted in improved participation and outcomes for girls and other marginalised populations.
• Research teams are expected to work at state level and the British Council has prioritized the following states; Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto and Zamfara. Proposals from other states will be considered, but will have to make a stronger case for inclusion. Each state research team should be made up of three members, drawing from academic and research institutions, civil society organisations and the public sector preferably the Ministry of Education or State Universal Basic Education Board.
• In the first phase of the project, the British Council expects to select six (6) state research teams.

Requirement
Who can Apply:

• This project is open to early career researchers, below the level of Lecturer I or its equivalent.
• We also strongly encourage female researchers to apply and teams that meet our principles of equality, diversity and inclusion (as contained in the EDI section below) will score higher during the EoI evaluation.

Costs

• The British Council will cover the costs of all training sessions, including travel and related allowances for the state research teams.
• The British Council will also provide research grants which will cover data gathering and analysis, report production and dissemination activities in state.
• The British Council will also fund a national dissemination event, where the initial findings from the state research which will be shared with stakeholders.

Timeline

• The request for EoI will open on 14th of September, 2015 and the deadline for submission is noon on 09th of October, 2015. Between the 14th September and 2nd October, the British Council will respond to all requests for clarification received via gearn@ng.britishcouncil.org and will respond via email. All EoIs that have been received before the deadline will be evaluated by an independent expert panel and shortlisted teams will be notified by the 23rd of October.
• Selected state research teams will be expected to participate in an initial feedback and research training workshop in Abuja between the 09th and 13th of November, 2015. A second training workshop will hold between the 7th and 10th of December, 2015, with a final workshop in February 2016. All members of the state research teams will be expected to participate fully in all three workshops.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should download and fill in Expressions of Interest form and submit to: gearn@ng.britishcouncil.org by 12 noon on 9th October, 2015.

The completed form should not exceed five (5) pages (at 11 point Arial font, single spacing with minimum margin of 1 inch). Any references cited should be provided in a separate bibliography in an annex. Detailed CVs may also be included in the annex, but should not exceed four pages for each member of the research team.

Requests for Information And Clarification

• Requests for further information and clarification on the EoI process and the GEARn should be sent to gearn@ng.britishcouncil.org
• All emails received before 12 noon on 2nd October will be answered. To ensure full disclosure, responses to all requests for information or clarification will be posted on our website in a FAQs section.