James is an Education Development Specialist with over 20 years’ experience working in Education and Leadership Management roles across East Africa. With an academic background focusing on Education in Conflict Contexts (the title of his Master’s thesis being: Educational Leadership in War Zones); James possesses an in-depth understanding of the sector in South Sudan and the subsequent impact of instability and violence on Education systems at local, regional and national levels. He specialises in designing, managing and evaluating complex educational programmes, strategic management, institutional development, policy formulation and implementation, human resource management, financial management, development administration and research.
He currently serves as the principle of the Yei Teacher Training College, where he has worked in a number of roles throughout the years including as a teacher, a dean of students, a director of studies, and a head of department since 2005. Further to this, James is the founder and coordinator of numerous national and international teacher associations such as the South Sudan Association of Teacher Training Institution and the Partners in Education Group; both umbrella organisations designed to bring together Education NGOs and institutions to promote best practice and shared learning.
He has successfully carried-out many consultancy and research projects with educational agencies in South Sudan including UNICEF, Mott McDonald/BSF, Save the Children, UNESCO, and DFID, and has managed grant funds from UNICEF, UNHCR, Save the Children, Windle Trust International, and Plan International, among others. Within these roles James works with experts to conduct policy research and advocacy for improving education policy, systems and management, development of education materials, educational governance, organizational development, grants and contracts negotiation and management, project planning and management, research administration as well as finance and operations management.