Expertise France is the French public agency for international technical cooperation. Present in over 100 countries, the agency engineers and implements capacity-building projects, mobilises technical expertise, and acts as project coordinator across four priority areas: democratic, economic and financial governance; stability in crisis and post-crisis contexts; climate change and sustainable urban development; and strengthening health systems, social protection and employment. About TVET Agri – Ubuhinzi Skills+” is on of Expertise France projects that is being implemented in Rwanda. The “TVET Agri – Ubuhinzi Skills+” project aims to contribute to the National Strategy for Transformation and Vision 2050 established by the Government of Rwanda to guide the socio-economic development of the country towards a prosperous and high-income economy by 2050. Representing 25% of GDP and 70% of Rwanda’s active population, agriculture is a key sector targeted in order to boost the country’s economy and create jobs. The development of agricultural skills is one of the priorities for the sector’s transformation, with the national objective of establishing TVET Centres of Excellence in Agriculture (CoE, also referred to as Centres of Vocational Excellence). These centres will help develop a new generation of qualified workforce, capable of stimulating sustainable agricultural development, contributing to food security, economic growth and improved livelihoods for rural communities in Rwanda.

The “TVET Agri – Ubuhinzi Skills+” project is implemented by Expertise France to support the national agency Rwanda TVET Board (RTB) in the establishment of TVET Centres of Excellence in Agriculture. In line with national priorities, the project aims to increase the sustainability, climate resilience and inclusion of agricultural practices by strengthening the skills of women and youth in Rwanda.

The project is structured around two specific objectives:

• Improve access of women and youth to quality skills and formal certification in agricultural practices.
• Improve the effectiveness of mechanisms for integrating women and young people into the agricultural labour market, with an emphasis on sustainable agriculture.

In Rwanda, 77% of farmers are women, mainly in subsistence agriculture, vulnerable to climate change. The project is classified under the OECD-DAC Gender Equality Policy Marker 2: gender equality is a principal objective of the intervention, and the project implements transformative and sustainable actions for women, young girls and their communities.

The project is implemented over a period of five years, with a budget of +16 million euros financed by the EU and the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. It includes technical assistance at the national level in support of RTB, and two Technical Secondary Schools — Kisaro TSS (Rulindo District) and AEF Nyagahanga (Gatsibo District) — are also supported with technical assistance, infrastructure rehabilitation and procurement of agricultural equipment as they transform into Agricultural TVET Centres of Excellence. The project is implemented in collaboration with the beneficiary partner RTB, as well as with donors and project partners, such as LuxDev.

The project is led by the Project Manager, with direct support from the Deputy Project Manager, and the team consists of 4 Technical Experts, a MEAL Officer, and 2 Project Advisors based in targeted TVET schools. The team is supported by Expertise France’s Kigali-based Project Support Unit (PSU) for administration, finance, Human Resources and procurement, as well as Paris-based HQ.

The project has adopted and validated a Gender-Transformative and Socially Inclusive Framework Strategy (2024–2029), with an accompanying Training Architecture and a detailed, DAC-aligned Action Plan. The project is now entering its transition phase — running for a minimum of three years — during which this strategy moves from formulation to full institutional implementation across both Centres of Excellence. This phase places substantially higher technical and delivery demands on the position than the project’s start-up year.

Responsibilities or duties

1. To provide strategic and technical advice in TVET

• Provide strategic and technical advice to the Project Manager and team on TVET programming.
• Advise RTB and project partners on enhancing TVET curricula, pedagogy, and assessment methods to meet excellence standards in agriculture.
• Assess the current state of agricultural TVET in Rwanda, identify gaps, and contribute to defining and implementing excellence standards.
• Engage stakeholders in Rwanda’s TVET sector to ensure complementarity and synergies.
• Support the development of employment and skills surveys, capturing evolving roles of women in agriculture and emphasising climate action strategies.
• Lead the engagement with TVET institutions and facilitate linkages with agricultural market actors, in collaboration with the Agricultural Labour Market Expert.
• Organise workshops and capacity-building sessions for partners and TVET trainers.
• Contribute to defining the project’s digital and blended learning strategy for agricultural TVET, in support of trainers and adult learners.

2. To lead the project’s TVET activities

• Support the Project Manager in the planning, budgeting, and alignment of TVET activities with project goals.
• Coordinate the review and development of competency-based curricula and training materials for TVET in agriculture, animal health and food processing with the support of the project’s sector experts.
• Coordinate curricula revisions with the project team to align with market needs and excellence standards, integrating climate-smart, gender-sensitive, and inclusive approaches.
• Ensure that practice-based, hands-on learning is embedded throughout TVET delivery, including on-farm and workshop-based instruction, applied demonstrations and supervised field practice, so that trainees acquire employable agricultural competencies.
• Lead the contracting and coordination of external experts, ensuring high-quality deliverables.
• Contribute to procurement and administrative processes related to TVET activities (e.g., drafting terms of reference, evaluating technical proposals), in line with Expertise France’s internal procurement procedures and applicable donor rules.
• Conduct training needs assessments for adult farmers and develop modular, mobile training programmes tailored to their constraints, especially for women.
• Lead the digitalisation of training programmes and the deployment of digital and blended learning for students and adult learners (farmers and members of agricultural organisations), including the delivery of a trainer digital-skills gap assessment, a digital learning roadmap and a blended-learning scale-up plan.
• Provide regular progress reports on TVET activities highlighting achievements, challenges, and recommendations.
• Support the monitoring and evaluation efforts, to ensure the effectiveness of the project’s TVET activities.

3. To support targeted TVET schools’ transition to TVET Centres of Excellence in Agriculture

• Assess and plan the technical, pedagogical, and infrastructure needs of the targeted TVET schools to achieve TVET Centre of Excellence in Agriculture status.
• Support infrastructure feasibility assessments through TVET technical expertise.
• Evaluate and address learning capacity gaps, including teacher training needs, learning materials, and training methods.
• Offer capacity-building for management and pedagogical staff on new curricula, teaching methods (including digital for blended learning), and TVET CoE in Agriculture standards.
• Develop governance models, accreditation frameworks, and assessment guidelines for TVET Centres of Excellence in Agriculture.
• Support the schools in delivering revised curricula and teaching materials.
• Contribute to developing trainers’ guides, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) frameworks, and short courses for students and communities.
• Facilitate learning exchanges among TVET schools.

Qualifications or requirements

Skills

• Strong understanding of TVET systems, labor market dynamics, and skills development strategies, especially for women and youth.
• Good understanding of the challenges in TVET and/or agriculture sectors, especially for women and youth.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills, with an excellent ability to translate technical concepts to a wide variety of audiences.
• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Initiative-taking and sense of responsibility.
• Proficiency in office tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and familiarity with digital learning platforms (LMS, e-learning tools).
• Perfect command of English and Kinyarwanda; fluency in French is an asset.

Experience needed

• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in TVET systems and curricula development, particularly in agriculture, with a focus on competency-based education.
• Solid project management experience, including planning, budgeting, monitoring, and evaluation of TVET or similar projects.
• Experience in strategic advisory roles, providing technical support to stakeholders in TVET or related sectors.
• Proven track record in capacity building and training delivery, including mentoring instructors and developing training materials.
• Experience coordinating multi-stakeholder initiatives, including collaboration with government institutions, private sector actors, and academic institutions.
• Knowledge of climate-smart and inclusive approaches in TVET programming, including gender-sensitive and digital transformation strategies.
• Experience with digital and blended learning platforms and EdTech tools in TVET or education projects is an asset.

Any other provided details

The TVET Education Expert will be based within the project team in Kigali, under the direct supervision of the Project Manager. He/she will be responsible for the full implementation of a package of activities, and will provide TVET technical expertise to the project team, RTB and stakeholders, and contribute to the strategy, methodology and policy frameworks for TVET in agriculture, and any other pedagogical and technical processes that will enable the transition of TVET schools into TVET Centres of Excellence in Agriculture. The TVET Education Expert will work closely with the project team, partners and donors, for the successful implementation of the project.

• Provide strategic and technical advice to the Project Manager and team on TVET programming.
• Advise RTB and project partners on enhancing TVET curricula, pedagogy, and assessment methods to meet excellence standards in agriculture.
• Assess the current state of agricultural TVET in Rwanda, identify gaps, and contribute to defining and implementing excellence standards.
• Engage stakeholders in Rwanda’s TVET sector to ensure complementarity and synergies.
• Support the development of employment and skills surveys, capturing evolving roles of women in agriculture and emphasising climate action strategies.
• Lead the engagement with TVET institutions and facilitate linkages with agricultural market actors, in collaboration with the Agricultural Labour Market Expert.
• Organise workshops and capacity-building sessions for partners and TVET trainers.
• Contribute to defining the project’s digital and blended learning strategy for agricultural TVET, in support of trainers and adult learners.
• Support the Project Manager in the planning, budgeting, and alignment of TVET activities with project goals.
• Coordinate the review and development of competency-based curricula and training materials for TVET in agriculture, animal health and food processing with the support of the project’s sector experts.
• Coordinate curricula revisions with the project team to align with market needs and excellence standards, integrating climate-smart, gender-sensitive, and inclusive approaches.
• Ensure that practice-based, hands-on learning is embedded throughout TVET delivery, including on-farm and workshop-based instruction, applied demonstrations and supervised field practice, so that trainees acquire employable agricultural competencies.
• Lead the contracting and coordination of external experts, ensuring high-quality deliverables.
• Contribute to procurement and administrative processes related to TVET activities (e.g., drafting terms of reference, evaluating technical proposals), in line with Expertise France’s internal procurement procedures and applicable donor rules.
• Conduct training needs assessments for adult farmers and develop modular, mobile training programmes tailored to their constraints, especially for women.
• Lead the digitalisation of training programmes and the deployment of digital and blended learning for students and adult learners (farmers and members of agricultural organisations), including the delivery of a trainer digital-skills gap assessment, a digital learning roadmap and a blended-learning scale-up plan.
• Provide regular progress reports on TVET activities highlighting achievements, challenges, and recommendations.
• Support the monitoring and evaluation efforts, to ensure the effectiveness of the project’s TVET activities.
• Assess and plan the technical, pedagogical, and infrastructure needs of the targeted TVET schools to achieve TVET Centre of Excellence in Agriculture status.
• Support infrastructure feasibility assessments through TVET technical expertise.
• Evaluate and address learning capacity gaps, including teacher training needs, learning materials, and training methods.
• Offer capacity-building for management and pedagogical staff on new curricula, teaching methods (including digital for blended learning), and TVET CoE in Agriculture standards.
• Develop governance models, accreditation frameworks, and assessment guidelines for TVET Centres of Excellence in Agriculture.
• Support the schools in delivering revised curricula and teaching materials.
• Contribute to developing trainers’ guides, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) frameworks, and short courses for students and communities.
• Facilitate learning exchanges among TVET schools.

• Strong understanding of TVET systems, labor market dynamics, and skills development strategies, especially for women and youth.
• Good understanding of the challenges in TVET and/or agriculture sectors, especially for women and youth.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills, with an excellent ability to translate technical concepts to a wide variety of audiences.
• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Initiative-taking and sense of responsibility.
• Proficiency in office tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and familiarity with digital learning platforms (LMS, e-learning tools).
• Perfect command of English and Kinyarwanda; fluency in French is an asset.

• Master’s degree or equivalent university degree in education, project management, agricultural sciences, rural development or any other field relevant to the position.
• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in TVET systems and curricula development, particularly in agriculture, with a focus on competency-based education.
• Solid project management experience, including planning, budgeting, monitoring, and evaluation of TVET or similar projects.
• Experience in strategic advisory roles, providing technical support to stakeholders in TVET or related sectors.
• Proven track record in capacity building and training delivery, including mentoring instructors and developing training materials.
• Experience coordinating multi-stakeholder initiatives, including collaboration with government institutions, private sector actors, and academic institutions.
• Knowledge of climate-smart and inclusive approaches in TVET programming, including gender-sensitive and digital transformation strategies.
• Experience with digital and blended learning platforms and EdTech tools in TVET or education projects is an asset.