Education Specialist - BRAC International

BRAC International (BI), a leading non-profit organization, is on a mission to empower people and communities facing poverty, illiteracy, disease, and social injustice. Our vision is to create a world free from exploitation and discrimination, where everyone has the opportunity to realise their potential. We design proven, scalable solutions that equip people with the support and confidence they need to achieve their potential.

BRAC was founded in Bangladesh in 1972 and over the last five decades has grown to become one of the world’s largest non-governmental organisations (NGOs), reaching over 100 million people. We started our first international operation by venturing into Afghanistan in 2002, building on lessons from our work in Bangladesh to support a nation devastated by war. Currently operating in 16 countries across Asia and Africa.

Born, proven and led in the Global South, BRAC International brings a unique Southern perspective and commitment to continuous learning, providing a depth of insight, experience and evidence to meet the needs of diverse communities with humility and courage across Asia and Africa. To learn more about BRAC International, please visit (www.bracinternational.org.com)

Our Core Values

• Integrity: We approach our work with honesty and integrity.
• Innovation: We innovate and iterate to improve our impact.
• Inclusiveness: We foster inclusion to reach those who need it most
• Effectiveness: We strive for effectiveness to better serve people in poverty

If you feel you are the right match for the below-mentioned positions, please follow the application process to grab your dream opportunity!

PURPOSE

The Specialist, Education, AIM will manage the overall planning, coordination, and implementation of the AIM Education pathway in BRAC Ghana. This exciting role involves the overall management, leadership and oversight of the education pathway, under the direct supervision of the AIM Program Manager, BRAC Ghana, and with technical and programmatic supervision (dotted/indirect supervision) received from BRAC International’s (BI's) Early Childhood Development & Education (ECDE) team and support from the AIM central team at BRAC International.

This will be a full-time position based in BRAC’s country office in Ghana. Apart from the overall management, coordination, leadership, and oversight of the education pathway, the role includes direct and indirect management, coaching, and capacity building of BRAC AIM program implementation staff, budget management, internal and external stakeholders, and partnership management, effective communication and reporting, and promotion of safeguarding in the program.

The specialist will serve as the technical focal person for the AIM Education pathway, and s/he under the supervision of the AIM program manager, will support the AIM program manager in any internal and external stakeholders’ engagement and/or communication of the AIM Education pathway.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

Develop, Contextualize and Manage the AIM Education Pathway for Adolescent Girls (AGs):

• Lead the AIM education pathway in the attainment of measurable impact in the lives of VYA & AGs to ensure the completion of their education journey.
• Foster an understanding of the context – political, cultural, etc, and community expectations, within the AIM education team and country education team in Ghana – and contribute to the development and implementation of contextually appropriate education design and operational manual.
• Manage stakeholder coordination to develop, adopt and deliver localized and comprehensive solutions for achieving education goals for the very young adolescents (VYAs) & adolescent girls (AGs) in targeted communities, relationship building, and carry out the approval process with the respective authorities at district and national level.
• Oversee overall implementation and supervision of the AIM education pathway-related interventions in the targeted areas. Ensuring that the AIM education interventions are delivered on time, on budget, and in compliance with BRAC and donor regulations.
• Ensure the establishment of a robust system for the smooth channelling of the school grants for financial support for the VYAs and AGs.
• Support and provide indirect/dotted supervision to the AIM Technical Sector Officers for Education to ensure smooth, timely, and quality implementation of the gender responsive training and other pedagogical interventions at the school level.
• Lead the AIM education pathway to develop work-plans and follow up with team members regularly to ensure that activities are on track.
• Monitor the AIM education pathway progress against both the AIM programmatic and budgetary targets and propose making adjustments in consultation with the AIM program manager, to the program design as necessary.
• Help the AIM program manager to prepare timely and high-quality program and donor reports on project activities in compliance with internal requirements and any relevant external donor requirements.
• Follow-up AIM education field-level program activities and provide supportive supervision to improve the quality and staff knowledge
• Where needful, contribute to country-level contingency plans and support the integration of contingency planning for the AIM program.

Ensure the Implementation of a Robust, Inclusive Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) System:

• Enhance quality programming in the education pathway through incorporating quality planning and system monitoring, evaluation, and learning.
• Ensure appropriate, timely, and accurate data collection against agreed indicators to enable both internal and external reporting.
• Work closely with the M&E and knowledge management teams to collate lessons learnt and best practices among internal and external stakeholders.
• Work with the MEL team to identify and incorporate project-suitable accountability mechanisms for the AIM education pathway.
• Regular visits to monitor and verify program performance.

Manage Stakeholder Coordination, Advocacy, and Networking:

• Lead internal coordination, especially with the schools, district, and national level education officials, education partners in the countries implementing similar kinds of programs, and other global technical/functional teams.
• Collect different levels of government approval needed for the implementation of the AIM Education pathway.
• Manage day-to-day coordination with country support teams in areas of human resources, finance, procurement, administration, IT, communications, etc.
• Support the AIM program manager to oversee BRAC and relevant partner staff involved in the education pathway to ensure effective coordination of integrated programming and multi-sectoral interventions.
• Support technical donor reviews and external engagement activities, including meetings with implementation partners, government agencies, civil society, and local community-based organizations, organizing learning and knowledge-sharing sessions.
• Strengthen/create a local and national-level advocacy network to support VYAs and AGs education goals.
• Support the AIM program manager with linkages between the internal and external stakeholders and the AIM program in-country.

Grants, Knowledge, Risk management and Reporting:

• Proactively monitor the AIM education pathway performance, identifying and mitigating programmatic and organisational risk, and escalate as necessary.
• Support the AIM program manager in the implementation of standard award contracts, coordinate approval of agreements and sub-agreements, amendments, and extensions, where applicable related to the AIM education pathway.
• Support and coordinate with country-level Grants Managers, M&E, and Finance teams to ensure timely submission of quality narrative and financial reports quarterly. Additionally, frequently (at least monthly) monitor the AIM education pathway budget intake.
• Support the AIM program manager in the AIM program database management, including updates for pipeline reports, grant stewardship, and prospect research relevant to the AIM education pathway.
• Lead and contribute to the capturing and documentation of the AIM education-related knowledge and learnings, and contribute to process development and documentation

Team management and overall stewardship:

• Support and coordinate the AIM education team, ensuring competent and motivated staff, as well as manage the performance of the AIM education staff, and encourage on-the-job coaching, identify and address learning and training needs and opportunities.
• Support the development of capacity-building plans for the AIM Education team
• Manage external technical consultants and partners involved in the AIM education pathway in the country.
• Support the AIM communication team with up-to-date content to create presentations and marketing materials to showcase program and project successes.
• Act as a mentor and role model for less experienced staff.

Safeguarding responsibilities:

• Ensure the safety of team members from any harm, abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation to achieve the program’s goals on safeguarding implementation
• Act as a key source of support, guidance, and expertise on safeguarding for establishing a safe working environment
• Practice, promote, and endorse the issues of safeguarding policy among team members and ensure the implementation of safeguarding standards in every course of action
• Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure in case any reportable incident takes place, and encourage others to do the same

Required Skills or Experience

EXPERIENCE (Including sector/industry)

• Minimum 8 years work experience with at least 3 years of managerial/leadership experience in managing and implementing education program(s), international development, working with ultra-poor and marginalized communities to implement education and/or girl’s and women’s empowerment programs
• Experience in project management and coordination, including supervision and monitoring, administration, finance, and logistics

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

• Proven aptitude in proposal development and writing including advanced budgeting skills
• Experience in representation and negotiation with government, donors, partners and other stakeholders
• Ability to interpret financial data and prepare budgets and financial grant reports
• Strong Microsoft Office skills, especially Excel
• Strong problem-solving skills, highly organized, strategic thinker with a strong attention to detail.
• Strong sense of teamwork and collaboration and demonstrated ability to build relationships with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
• Diplomatic and highly effective on an interpersonal level in addition to cross-cultural sensitivity
• Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, and dedication to the mission of BRAC.

SPECIFIC EDUCATIONAL/PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION

• Minimum qualification: Master’s degree
• Concentration / Major: Education/Development Studies /Anthropology/Sociology/Business Administration and/or other relevant fields

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