National Coordinator – Schools2030 359 views0 applications

Reporting /Supervisor : Country Manager

Location : Kampala, Uganda

Travel : 25% field travel

Position Description

AKF is seeking a dynamic, enthusiastic, and self-motivated individual to lead Schools2030 in Uganda. Working under the direct supervision of the AKF Uganda Country Manager, the Schools2030 Coordinator will be responsible for operationalising Schools2030. This will include direct delivery and support to schools, developing and managing positive partnerships with government and non-government stakeholders, effectively communicating Schools2030, and leading on all project management. This role will demand the person to work within a dynamic, fast-paced environment and work closely with the Regional Education and ECD Advisor and other Schools2030 team members in the region to ensure the timely, quality implementation of all Schools2030 activities.

About the Aga Khan Foundation

The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), was established by His Highness the Aga Khan in 1967. AKF is a private, not-for-profit international development agency that seeks to provide long-term solutions to society’s problems. AKF brings together human, financial, and technical resources to address challenges faced by the poorest and most marginalised communities in the world. AKF has a special focus on investing in human potential, expanding opportunity, and improving the overall quality of life, especially for women and girls. AKF’s primary areas of focus are; Education; Early Childhood Development (ECD); Health and Nutrition; Civil Society; Agriculture and Food Security; and Economic Inclusion.

AKF is committed to ensuring girls and boys, women and men, are equipped with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values to help them interact effectively with the world and be contributing members of a pluralistic society. This demands AKF assumes a holistic, life-long, and systems approach to education. AKF ensures all interventions are globally informed, locally rooted, are embedded in government and community interests and structures, and work to promote social inclusion, equity, and pluralism.

About Schools2030

AKF, in partnership with a global consortium of private foundations, is co-launching Schools2030, a 10-year (2020-2030) learning improvement programme. Schools2030 will partner with national governments and 1000 school sites (pre-primary, primary, secondary, and youth education providers) across 10 countries from around the world to develop understanding and evidence of ‘what works’ in equipping children and young people with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values needed to successfully navigate uncertainty and become contributing members of society. In Uganda, AKF will partner with 100 school sites to drive classroom level innovation to enable teacher generated solutions to identify and inform ‘what works in education’ for Uganda.

Coordinators to ensure the timely, quality implementation of all Schools2030 activities.

Principle Responsibilities

a. Lead the national implementation of Schools2030 across 100 school sites. This will include direct delivery and managing other staff or partners to deliver activities on time, on budget, and with quality

b. Lead high quality management of Schools2030 through the effective management of project workplans, budgets, Performance Management Frameworks, and any others as required. Ensure all project staff access and understand project progress and challenges and promote participatory project planning and reviews

c. In partnership with the M&E team, ensure Schools2030 learning agenda, frameworks, and tools are contextualised to Tanzania and are being effectively implemented, including timely data collection and analysis

d. Lead on the development of high quality and accurate narrative reports that meet internal and donor requirements.

e. Ensure all project funds are fully accounted for and financial reports and documentation are accurate and in-line with project delivery

f. Provide regular project management reports to AKF leadership to demonstrate project progress and identify any areas of concern

g. Ensure all project operations and interventions adhere to government legal requirements, internal policies, and donor compliance.

h. Ensure all learning is effectively informing project planning and revise programme strategies in consultation with local, national, and global Schools2030 teams

i. Lead on partnerships, communication and public visibility of schools2030 in Tanzania and coordinate with the AKF and Schools2030 communications teams, AKF education teams, and consultants to develop offline and online strategic communications, research briefs, and social media posts.

j. Lead the team and ensure the team is motivated, competent, and effectively supported. Any other responsibilities as determined by the supervisor

Required Experience and Skills

Personal Suitability

• Ambitious, energetic, innovative, and hard-working professional committed to improving lives among Uganda’s most marginalized communities. Must share a sense of urgency about development.
• Analytical, articulate and well versed in education policy and practice to communicate effectively and succinctly the impact of the programme to a wider audience.
• Solution-oriented, creative and needs to be comfortable dealing with ambiguity
• Strong interpersonal skills, ability to manage culturally diverse teams and ability to operate under high pressure
• Strong communication skills written and oral, fluency in English
• Strong leadership skills
• ICT skills

Qualification, Knowledge, and Experience

BA in a related field from an accredited university/college. MA is preferred. A range of degrees could be acceptable for this position such as sociology, education, business administration, communications/public relations.

• Proven experience in managing high impact social programming in challenging contexts in partnership with other organizations. Minimum of 5 years of project experience, at least two years in management
• Excellent planning, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills required
• Proven experience of managing budgets and financial management capacity
• Strong understanding of the Ugandan education system and/or of resource constrained education systems.
• Knowledge of emerging technologies in the education and development sector.
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of gender and social inclusion issues and proven experience of delivering programmes that explicitly address these inequalities
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of child and community safe-guarding issues and proven experience of operationalising relevant policies and procedures
• Evidence of drawing on learning and evidence to inform and improve internal project delivery
• Evidence of developing strong partnerships with government, development partners, and no-government partners to increase impact and influence in practice and policy