Save the Children is currently recruiting for a five-year USAID-funded opportunity in Ethiopia focused on improving the reading proficiency of 15 million students. The program will develop and implement interventions to meaningfully and measurably prepare vulnerable students for learning. It will provide a structured gender approach to increase boys’ and girls’ grade retention and grade progression at key grades in key regions or zones.
- The Project Director (PD) will work with the Chief of Party (COP) to manage the program’s technical, financial, and day-to-day operations to provide quality control for the program’s technical outputs. The PD will provide technical and managerial leadership. S/he will focus on overseeing the effective implementation of key project activities.
- The PD must bring a senior leadership profile with a proven record of accomplishment in managing complex programming delivery and diverse teams in the education sector. S/he must have significant experience implementing USAID programs and ensuring compliance with USAID regulations. S/he will provide technical leadership to project staff for education materials development, community engagement and refugee components of the project. The PD will develop work plans with technical staff and ensure deliverables are met in a high quality and timely manner.
- The PD will have demonstrated ability to organize program work teams, to collaborate with a wide range of diverse sectors and stakeholders, and to liaise as needed with USAID and home office personnel to ensure the smooth implementation of the program. S/he will work closely with program staff, local communities, and host government agencies, as well as other relevant stakeholders, to implement education focused community engagement activities.
Roles and Responsibilities
- Ensure that efficient systems are in place to support high quality programming, including sub-grantee/ grant management and project monitoring & evaluation, and that they support the effective use of project resources in compliance with USAID regulations.
- Ensure efficient and effective support from Save the Children (SC) operational units including HR, finance, procurement, and others.
- Make key operational and administrative decisions to mitigate challenges on a daily basis while maintaining operational and program quality and integrity.
- Work with partners to identify and develop relationships with appropriate local organizations to assist in the implementation of the project.
- Oversee the dissemination of reports and effective communication of learning and best practices related to project activities.
- Ensure that financial systems support Save the Children’s accountability to USAID and that financial reports are timely and complete.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for the Prime organization into the Save the Children International and SCUS office and structures
- Monitor, analyze and report significant variances between budget and actual expenditure.
- Ensure accurate recordkeeping of all committed costs and that procurement of goods and services (including staff costs, rental, freight, etc.) does not exceed the budget line.
- Ensure that the match plan is prepared and reviewed quarterly, match is properly documented and that documentation is appropriately saved and updated in the SC Award Management System.
- Strong technical skills in Education and multi-sector development experience.
- Exceptional interpersonal skills; Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.
- Minimum ten (10) years of relevant experience working in the education sector with at least five (5) years in a senior leadership role.
- Proven experience in leadership role and administrative oversight in primary grade education and development program management, including managing budgets and personnel, motivating and supervising team efforts and achieving success in complex, demanding environments.
- Experience in building organizational capacity and program activities related to primary education and development through both formal and non-formal approaches and possessing strong professional credibility within this field.
- Experience in curriculum development, teacher and administrator training and community engagement activities.
- Proven expertise in building and maintaining relationships with government counterparts at the central and local levels as well as with partners and beneficiaries.
- Experience managing large-scale USAID programs and expertise with donor rules and regulations.
- Commitment to ensuring a gender equitable and inclusive work environment, including in recruitment and staff development.
- Experience with community engagement and empowerment of vulnerable groups is a plus.
- Comprehensive understanding of the Ethiopian social and political context
- At least five years of professional experience working in Ethiopia is preferred, but not required.
The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.