Team Leader (Long-Term Adviser) - Pathways to Employment Readiness for Maiuraoim (PERforM)

Overview

Background

Australia has supported Kiribati's skills and workforce development sector since 2010, including through assistance that helped transform the Kiribati Institute of Technology (KIT) into a regionally accredited training provider and supported system development at the Ministry of Employment and Human Resources (MEHR). PERforM builds on this partnership, continuing to support quality, inclusive and increasingly sustainable technical and vocational education and training (TVET) course delivery through KIT, integrating Kiribati-based Australia Awards activities, and working to promote increased Government of Kiribati (GoK) engagement and active management of the skills sector. The program's goal is increased access to decent employment opportunities for all I-Kiribati, in support of Australia's partnership with Kiribati to promote inclusive and stable economic growth and reduce poverty.

 

PERforM's mandate includes building the capacity of KIT and MEHR to plan, deliver and manage their own functions, with KIT's executive team engaged as decision-makers on matters within its institutional authority. The Team Leader carries substantial responsibility for putting this approach into practice on the ground, working closely with KIT's leadership to support a confident, well-functioning institution as project-funded roles and resourcing progressively transition toward GoK ownership.

 

Position Objective

The Team Leader is responsible for the overall program leadership and accountability for PERforM’s performance within budget.  This position is responsible for coordination of PERforM's implementation, including overall responsibility for managing program risks. The Team Leader is the focal point between the program and KIT, and the principal point of day-to-day contact with DFAT, leading the program's annual planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting and stakeholder engagement functions.

 

Reporting Arrangements

The Team Leader reports to Banyan Global's Contractor Representative, works day-to-day with DFAT's Program Manager for PERforM and engages the KIT executive team as the decision-making counterpart on matters within KIT's institutional authority. The Team Leader supervises short-term advisers and PERforM administrative staff. S/he is accountable for all project-funded personnel – including locally engaged staff whose day-to-day supervision is provided by KIT – for matters relating to their compliance, conduct and performance under the project.

 

Duration and Location

This is a full-time position based in Tarawa, Kiribati, from October 2026 through June 2030.

 

Country Context

Kiribati is a remote, low-lying Pacific atoll nation facing significant development constraints, including geographic dispersion across a wide ocean area, limited infrastructure and connectivity, a narrow domestic labour market for specialised technical roles, and acute vulnerability to climate change. The Team Leader should expect to work and live within these constraints, including limited access to goods, services and amenities relative to many other postings, while also engaging with a close-knit community, a strong sense of national identity, and the opportunity to contribute to institution-building that offers substantive and visible development impact.

 

Responsibilities

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Institutional Partnership and Leadership

• Serves as the program's principal point of contact with KIT, engaging the KIT executive team as decision-makers on matters within KIT's institutional authority, and acts as a mentor and technical adviser to KIT's Director, leadership and staff rather than as an organisational lead, consistent with the program's localisation mandate.
• Supports the progressive transfer of project-funded KIT positions and operational functions to GoK ownership, working in partnership with the KIT Director and Executive Committee and building sustained local commitment to that transition.
• Documents PERforM's systems, processes and institutional knowledge on an ongoing basis and maintains program records in a manner that supports orderly transfer to KIT and MEHR, culminating in a completion and handover report at the conclusion of the contract.
• Supports KIT's middle management tier, including Deputy Directors and Heads of School, to strengthen leadership succession and reduce reliance on externally funded positions over time.

 

Annual Planning and Resource Management

• Leads the program's annual planning cycle, including designing and leading substantive consultations with DFAT, MEHR and other PERforM stakeholders to identify and document PERforM priorities and activities, and associated staffing and procurement decisions
• Confirms available budget resources with Banyan Global's Contractor Representative and informs DFAT of those resources before broader stakeholder consultations begin.
• Engages the KIT executive team to review enrolment projections and align project-funded support with KIT's own resourcing, drawing on Labour Market Analysis findings, KIT student data, graduate tracer studies, and Course Advisory Committee recommendations.
• Drafts, presents to the PERforM Joint Steering Committee, and revises and finalises per stakeholder feedback PERforM’s Annual Plan and Budget by 15 February each year.
• Reviews and approves minor out-of-cycle requests within existing budget and resourcing parameters, reporting these to the JSC as a matter of record, and brings material requests to the JSC for endorsement.

 

Governance and Stakeholder Engagement

• Supports the JSC and its Strategy Development and GEDSI Working Groups through the program's secretariat function and maintains the day-to-day operating relationships that sit beneath the program's governance structure.
• Maintains regular, structured contact with DFAT, including participation in monthly Contract Management Group meetings and ad-hoc meetings as required.
• Engages with MEHR directly on matters of program implementation.
• Supports KIT to arrange and facilitate Course Advisory Committee meetings.

 

Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting

• Oversee the program's monitoring, evaluation and learning function, ensuring MEL outputs inform annual planning and resourcing decisions.
• Responsible for drafting or assigning drafting of the program's reporting obligations to DFAT, including the Annual Report, Six-Monthly Progress Report, Quarterly Financial Reports, Exception Reports, and other contributions DFAT requests.
• Agrees on the format and content of deliverables and reports with DFAT before drafting and submission.
• Oversees PERforM communications.

 

Financial and Procurement Oversight

• Works with the KIT executive team to determine PERforM-supported annual staffing and procurement priorities within the resourcing parameters confirmed through the annual planning process.
• Oversees compliance with Commonwealth Procurement Rules and the program's localisation objectives in procurement, including progressively shifting procurement functions to GoK systems as KIT and MEHR's capacity allows.
• Reviews KIT's endorsed annual procurement requests against enrolment projections, inventory levels and prior procurement performance.
• Works with the project team to manage the budget and control costs. 

 

Australia Awards

• Works with DFAT to determine the number of scholars and level of in-country support the program will resource each year, within that year's available budget.
• Supervises the Australia Awards Coordinator's management of in-country screening, selection, mobilisation and alumni engagement functions.

 

Human Resources and Personnel Management

• Accountable for program personnel matters, including compliance with Banyan Global and DFAT personnel-related policies and disciplinary matters.
• Conducts or oversees six-monthly performance appraisals for PERforM personnel.

 

Risk, Safeguarding, Compliance and Performance

• Responsibility for managing program risks, including oversight of the program's risk register, fraud control strategy, and child protection and PSEAH policies.
• Holds overarching responsibility for GEDSI integration across all program activities, and for safeguarding, including child protection, PSEAH and broader safeguarding obligations.
• Ensures compliance with the Commonwealth Supplier Code of Conduct and other integrity obligations under the contract.
• In collaboration with the Contractor Representative ensures overall contractual compliance.
• Ensures overall project performance in line with the contract, annual plan and budget.
• Ensures implementation of Australia’s Development Priorities. 

Qualifications

Qualifications

Essential

• Substantial senior-level experience leading donor-funded TVET, education, or workforce development programs, including direct responsibility for program risk management.
• Demonstrated experience in organisational change management or organisational development, with a track record of leading institutional counterparts through a transition from a directive or operationally embedded delivery model to a capacity-building, systems-partner or mentoring model.
• Strong experience working with government counterparts in a technical assistance or advisory capacity, including navigating institutional authority, sensitivities, and capacity constraints diplomatically.
• Demonstrated experience with DFAT or comparable donor program management requirements, including annual planning cycles, results-based reporting, and financial and procurement oversight.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary teams, including long-term and short-term advisers and locally engaged staff.
• Relevant tertiary qualifications in international development, education, organisational development, business administration, or a related field.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, including experience drafting donor-facing deliverables and reports.

 

Preferred

• Prior experience in the Pacific region, and familiarity with Kiribati's institutional, cultural and labour market context.
• Experience with GEDSI-responsive program design and implementation.
• Formal qualifications or training in change management or organisational development (for example, a recognised change management certification).