Jobs and Opportunities at EdTech Hub
About EdTech Hub
Our goal is to empower people making decisions about technology in education.
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the global learning crisis was affecting millions of children around the world.
Technology could play a huge role in helping to solve this crisis, if used appropriately.
There are thousands of tools, products, services, and ideas for using technology in education. New ones appear almost every day. For decision-makers, the choices can be overwhelming. The EdTech Hub takes away that burden.
We do the research, to rigorous academic standards. We try out new ideas by supporting innovators. We advise partners as they plan and implement education programs, finding the right role for technology.
With EdTech Hub’s help, decision-makers inside and outside government can benefit from free access to high quality professional research and advice.
Current Opportunities
EdTech Hub Specialist Network: Asia Specialists
About the EdTech Programme
R4D is the prime contractor for the FCDO Directorate for Research and Innovation Hub on Technology for Education (EdTech Hub) programme. The aim of the EdTech Hub is to empower people by giving them the evidence they need to make decisions about technology in education as part of a global non-profit partnership focusing on research, innovation, and engagement.
EdTech Hub is a global research partnership that aims to empower people by giving them the evidence they need to make decisions about technology in education. EdTech Hub:
- Undertakes and funds robust and rigorous research in five key topic areas.
- Delivers support in up to six core countries to develop and deliver Sandboxes to learn about technology in education in a specific environment.
- Delivers Technical Advice and Helpdesk support to FCDO, UNICEF and World Bank advisors as well as government officials on technology in education.
- Functions as a Hub and shares a range of Learning Products to make evidence available to a wide audience.
EdTech Hub is delivered through a consortium of R4D and five core sub-contractors as well as range of country and activity specific local and international sub-contractors. From a management perspective, it is a complex programme funded by multiple donors including various departments within the FCDO, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank and UNICEF. EdTech Hub is in the 4th year of an anticipated 8-year funding period, with a secured budget of £24M and a projected total life budget of at least £30M.
What We’re Looking For
The Specialist Network contributes to EdTech Hub’s mission to build and apply the global evidence base about the use of technology in education in a practical way that supports decision-makers. Consultants who are part of the Specialist Network will be called on by EdTech Hub to carry out specific assignments based on their area(s) of expertise. The Specialist Network will also receive opportunities to connect, network, and learn from their peers around the globe.
EdTech Hub seeks applicants with experience developing, implementing and / or evaluating education policies and programmes in South or Southeast Asia. Applicants have deep knowledge of the education and political landscape of one or more South or Southeast Asian countries. Experience working on initiatives or research related to girls education, out-of-school children and youth, and education in emergencies will be viewed as an asset. Fluency in a local language will also be viewed as an asset. Applicants with experience living and working in one or more of the following countries strongly preferred:
- Cambodia
- Indonesia
- Laos
- Philippines
- Thailand
- Timor Leste
- Vietnam
- Pakistan
- Bangladesh
EdTech Hub seeks to ensure equal opportunities and an inclusive working environment for all team members. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, sex, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity. We embrace diversity and difference.
Responsibilities
The Consultant will work with our Helpdesk and/or our Country Engagement teams and may have a range of responsibilities. These may include one or more of the following tasks:
- Prepare research or synthesise existing literature on country context and EdTech tools and innovations
- Project management responsibilities
- Prepare guidance materials, draft strategies and related policy advice related to EdTech for country governments
- Provide expert advice to country governments and their partners on EdTech issues
- Support education implementers to design for scale through rapid data collection and user testing of their models
- Develop and facilitate workshops comprising key stakeholders (government and development partner) to support capacity development and / or program and policy design
- Provide support to a new area of work that provides evidence-based technical input on the use of technology to support girls’ and marginalised children’s learning to improve foundational learning outcomes in ASEAN Member States
Given the flexible and demand-driven nature of the work, selection into the Hub Specialist Network does not guarantee a minimum amount of work. Consultants should clearly communicate their availability to allow for project planning.
Qualifications
- Extensive knowledge of the education and political landscape of one or more South or Southeast Asian countries
- Experience working and / or living in one or more of the following countries strongly preferred: Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, Timor Leste, Vietnam, Pakistan, Bangladesh
- Expertise in digital learning and / or development of EdTech and education strategies, policies, and research / evaluation documents
- Experience working on initiatives related to girls education, out-of-school children and youth, and/or education in emergencies.
- Experience working with ministries of education and / or multilateral and bilateral education funders
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
- Highly collaborative and approachable
- Strong meeting facilitation, interpersonal, and project management skills
- Strong analytical and research skills
- Reading, speaking, writing and listening compréhension skills in languages relevant to the region, including but not limited to Vietnamese, Khmer, Lao, Malay. Burmese, Tagalog, Thai, Tetun, Bengali, and/or Urdu are a plus.
- Candidates from South or Southeast Asia are strongly encouraged to apply.
How to Apply
Please apply by completing this application form, applications are due by Friday 31, January, 2025.
EdTech Hub Call for Concept Notes: Implementation research in new thematic areas
EdTech Hub is a global non-profit research partnership supported by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the World Bank, the Gates Foundation, UNICEF, Canada’s International Development Research Centre, and others. Our goal is to empower people making decisions about technology in education in LMICs. Technology has the potential to help address the global learning crisis, but that potential is not being realised. Policy makers and other decision makers face an overwhelming choice of technology solutions, are unclear on what works and what doesn’t and are forced to make decisions based on low- or no-evidence. Further information about the Hub is available at https://edtechhub.org/.
To further expand available evidence on the use of EdTech to support the most marginalised, the Hub will be launching a round of implementation research partnerships focusing on new thematic areas. These areas include: Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND), education in emergencies, and education resilience against climate change.
Implementation research examines how interventions—policies, programs, or practices—are carried into effect. While established in fields like healthcare and poverty alleviation, it remains underexplored in EdTech, particularly in LMICs. This approach generates evidence in real-time, enhances scalability, and prioritizes sustainability, distinguishing itself from evaluation or design-based research.
EdTech Hub will engage partners who are implementing EdTech interventions in these thematic areas, and co-design implementation research partnerships with them. These partnerships will generate rigorous, practical evidence on how EdTech can improve teaching, strengthen education systems, and, ultimately, children’s learning outcomes.
Those submitting concept notes (2-5 pages in length) should be implementing EdTech interventions in one or more LMICs. The concept note should describe the intervention and the research questions they propose to answer through an implementation research partnership. They should also describe their organisation’s capacity to contribute to the implementation research (beyond doing the implementation itself) through, for example, data collection, ongoing monitoring, complementary research efforts, in-house research or monitioning and evaluation capacity, etc. This should include the amount of funding they would need to support their component of the implementation research. Importantly, the concept note should describe the potential impact of the implementation research with regard to scalability, sustainability, evidence generation, etc.
Interested parties should reach out to the contact listed below if they would like to have a meeting with the EdTech Hub team about the implementation research partnerships before submitting a concept note.
Please send your application or any questions to opportunities@edtechhub.org by February 9, 2025. Please include ‘Concept Note Submission’ into the subject line of your email.
Key Details
- Deadline for expressions of interest: 9 February 2025
- Length of concept note: 2 – 5 pages in length
- Duration of research: Up to 2 years
- Value: Up to 150,000 GBP total for a portfolio of up to 8 implementation research partnerships
- Contact details:
- Email: opportunities@edtechhub.org
- Subject: Concept Note Submission
