Country Manager - Luminous Fund

Luminous Fund, an education-based NGO seeks to engage the services of a Country Manager in Ghana.

Country Director Company Details

The Luminos Fund, an international non-profit bringing education opportunities to the world’s most vulnerable children, seeks an experienced and dynamic Country Director for the development and launch of its new Ghana program.

This Country Director role will report to the Senior Director of Programs and oversee the delivery of the Luminos Second Chance program pilot in Ghana.

The ideal Country Directors are accomplished professionals with exceptional people, program, operational, and financial management experience.

The Country Director is experienced at working on education programs in Ghana and a passion for driving transformative results for children is essential.

The Country Director will lead the launch of a pilot of the Luminos Funds award-winning catch-up education program, Second Chance, that would build on the Ghanaian Ministry of Education’s efforts to scale the Complementary Basic Education (CBE) national accelerated learning program.

The pilot program would be strongly aligned with the Ministry of Education’s National Education Sector Plan 2018-2030 and ongoing back-to-school initiatives in the country, with a view to improving equitable access to quality education for all children, including the most marginalized.

This full-time Country Director position will be based in Accra and will require regular travel to Ashanti and possibly the Eastern Regions.

ABOUT THE LUMINOS FUND

The Luminos Fund (www.luminosfund.org) believes that no child should be denied the chance to learn.

Launched in 2016, Luminos is scaling up Second Chance: an accelerated learning program that enables children who have been kept out of school by crisis or poverty to catch up to grade level and return to learning all in 10 months.

A registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, we operate programs in Ethiopia, Liberia, Lebanon, and are expanding to new geographies. To date, we have helped over 152,000 children secure a second chance to learn.

As school reopens across the globe following the COVID-19 pandemic, Luminos is rising to meet the moment launching new country programs and developing new ways of delivering at scale.

With up to 24 million additional children expected not to return to school in the aftermath of COVID-19, our mission is more important than ever.

Luminos is supported by premier philanthropic organizations, including UBS Optimus Foundation, Dubai Cares, Cartier Philanthropy, Legatum, and a community of high-net-worth individuals.

Luminos has been recognized for its achievements globally, receiving the Library of Congress International Literacy Prize, Lipman Family Prize, the Hundred Global Innovation Award for the last four years, and the WISE Award.

Country Director Duties

Program Development and Management

• Lead the effort to shape and direct proven Luminos techniques and approaches to deliver transformative education for Ghana’s out-of-school children.
• Contribute to overall strategic direction for Luminos work in Ghana, in consultation with the international team to set and deliver key growth and quality targets.
• Work with the Luminos Fund’s programs team on program planning and design, including identifying appropriate regions/districts for the pilot and advising on the most suitable implementation and monitoring and evaluation strategy to facilitate continuous learning.
• Provide leadership in the contextualization of the Second Chance program for Ghana, ensuring there is alignment with Ghana’s Education Sector Plan 2018-2030, local needs and priorities, and the Luminos Fund’s broader organizational goals.
• Support in the identification and onboarding of all Implementing Partners (IP) and lead IP engagement on budgeting, impact, learning, compliance, and reporting.
• Liaise closely with the Ministry of Education, District Education Offices, and IPs to support teacher and student selection, community engagement, procurement and distribution, data collection, monitoring, assessment administration, teacher training and support, and transition of students into government schools following completion of Second Chance.
• Manage day-to-day operations and overall delivery of Luminos Second Chance program in Ghana, including child protection and safeguarding, field operations, program monitoring, management and support for field-based staff, vendor and inventory management, and finance functions.
• Review reports from partners and field-based teams, liaise with both through daily and weekly check-in calls and respond appropriately based on the needs of the team and the program.
• Oversee writing and timely submission of reports on program activities, data, and finances.
• Update Luminos global executive team on Ghana operations, successes, and challenges.

Staff and Stakeholder Management

• Build a strong, small local team with a wide array of talents, held together by strong core Luminos values and ways of working. Participate in and contribute to Luminos team's regular staff meetings.
• Lead Luminos engagement with stakeholders in Ghana including government, civil society, and the donor community. Serve as the principal liaison between Luminos and the Ministry of Education.
• Provide support to Luminos law firm to ensure the annual legal compliance process is successfully completed (e.g., registration renewal, tax clearance, annual audit, annual reporting to the Department of Social Welfare, etc.).
• Establish and build collaborative relationships with education sector stakeholders, partners, government, and the donor community.
• Assist and guide Luminos in identifying and managing consultants and other service-rendering firms, if and when deemed necessary.

Fundraising and Communications

• Provide technical inputs to fundraising proposals and support in identifying new fundraising opportunities.
• Support collection of compelling student and classroom stories to communicate Luminos work in Ghana to a variety of audiences.
• Plan and lead classroom visits for Luminos partners and funders.

Country Director Experience

• Bachelors degree required.
• Masters degree strongly preferred.
• Preference for candidates with a degree in Education.
• Minimum 5+ years work experience with increasing levels of responsibility, including in Ghana and in education.
• Experience working with NGOs is desirable.
• Strong track record of leadership, people management, program management, office operations, and grant management.
• Excellent writer and persuasive communicator in English.

• Additional language skills are a plus.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills.
• Strong track record of success building and managing relationships with a variety of stakeholders, including government.
• Experience in establishing strong networks and partnerships to achieve impact.
• Experience leading the delivery of teacher training and continuous professional development for teachers is preferred.
• Advanced skills in the Microsoft Office suite (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

Core Attributes of the Country Director

• Belief and demonstrated passion for the mission, vision, and values of the Luminos Fund.
• Impeccable integrity, professionalism, and a solutions-oriented, can-do attitude.
• Affinity for data and data-driven decision-making.
• Ability to wear multiple hats, transitioning seamlessly between supporting teachers and staff in rural classrooms to representing Luminos in senior meetings with donors and government.
• Natural curiosity and hunger for continuous learning and improvement.
• Believe that success lies in the details.
• Innate sense of responsibility for delivery of quality work, even in challenging, adverse circumstances.
• Self-motivated, with the ability to work independently. Experience working with diverse constituents, teams, and colleagues.
• Readiness to problem solve creatively on a myriad of fronts and go above and beyond to deliver outsized success.