Education Program Manager

ROLE PURPOSE:

The Education Program Manager (PM) will have the overall responsibility for overseeing the implementation of early childhood education, lower, middle and high school education in the East Area Office. In addition to directly managing awards, the Education PM will be expected to provide input into program planning, have oversight of program implementation, recruitment and procurement. A key role is to lead the Education Coordinators and Education teams in the respective field offices, to ensure evidence-based interventions that are accountable and safe for children, building Education team capacity in project management. The Education PM will additionally support partners to deliver quality projects, including (1) timely activity implementation according to plan and routine monitoring against agreed indicators, (2) high quality progress and final reports for external and internal use and (3) strong budget oversight: monthly forecasting and spending according to plan; quarterly revisions, as needed; and budget (spending) reporting. The Education PM has a strong interface with Awards department, including leading on kick off meetings for program aspects, reporting and award close out. 

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY   

Program Management: 

• Overall responsible for the timely implementation of education project activities ensuring that services are delivered on time, on budget and in compliance with donor regulations.
• Ensure the education program is implemented in ways responsive to communities, partners and children in line with SC's principles, values and strategic plan and compliant with SC's procedures
• Ensure award/grant kick off and management tools, including implementation plans, MEAL plans, procurement plans and distribution schedules of program inputs in line with program logistics/supply chain capacity are in place, tracked and updated regularly in Prime. 
• Manage program budget, including phased budgets, monthly budget forecasting and quarterly budget revisions for all grants – including for partners.
• Ensure proper and effective use of program resources, ensuring that all resources/assets in project are managed in line with SC and Donor policy.
• Monitor program progress against both programmatic and budgetary targets and collaborate with the Technical Advisors/Specialists to adjust program design as necessary. 
• Prepare timely and high-quality program and donor reports on project activities in compliance with internal SC requirements and any relevant external donor requirements. 
• Responsible for liaising with Operations/Field Management and Security on the movement planning of team and any necessary security assessments or reassessments of operational areas. 
• Close coordination with CP, CVA, WASH, Shelter and NFI teams on cross cutting needs and issues. 

Partner management

• Work with the Partnership team to identify appropriate partners for implementation of the education response, including conducting capacity assessment and developing capacity strengthening plans based on gap assessments.
• Work with the partners to develop their program design and proposals, ensuring they align with SC strategy and Award design.
• Ensure frequent review of partner progress against the budget and work plan and support partners to alter activities/strategies in light of context changes or operational challenges.
• Review partner narrative and financial reporting as well as MEAL data, in line with CO internal deadlines for MEAL and Awards Review Meetings.

Needs Analysis, Program Design and Implementation:

• Contribute to situation/response analysis, sector strategy documents and sector response plans as well as program design, working with the partner teams to ensure design is appropriate and implementable. 
• Support the Technical Advisors in the development of project and donor proposals in close coordinator with Supply Chain, finance and Awards units ensuring effective integration at design phase. 
• Undertake consultation with partners and support with partner proposal work
• Contribute to country level contingency and emergency preparedness plans and where possible, integrate contingency planning for education in all program planning and proposal design.
• Support partners to respond to new emergencies and sudden shocks. 

Monitoring, Evaluation and Accountability

• Support the Technical Advisors and MEAL department to develop M&E and indicator tracking plans for all grants, inputting into the development of additional M&E tools as necessary to monitor project progress. 
• Support MEAL to collect appropriate, timely and accurate data against agreed indicators to enable both internal and external reporting.
• Work with MEAL team to identify and incorporate project suitable accountability mechanisms and take programmatic action based on complaints and feedback.

Staff Management, Mentorship, and Development 

• Ensure appropriate staffing within the education team and ensure that all education staff understand and can perform their role. 
• Establish performance management of all education staff through effective use of the Performance Management System including the establishment of clear, measurable objectives, on-going feedback, quarterly reviews and fair and unbiased evaluations. 
• Support, mentor and develop SC education team to develop leadership, management and technical capacity and develop succession plan.

Coordination:

• Regularly coordinate and collaborate with other program managers and program teams to strengthen programmatic synergies and impact for children.
• Ensure external representation and coordination with relevant area level Forums and Local Authorities 

General

• Comply with Save the Children policies and practice with respect to child protection, code of conduct, health and safety, equal opportunities and other relevant policies and procedures.
• Other duties as assigned by line manager. 

SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS (SCI Values in Practice) 

Accountability:

• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values.
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same.
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• Future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters.
• Values diversity sees it as a source of competitive strength.
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions.
• Willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

Honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity.

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND ATTRIBUTES:

Qualifications/Accreditations:

• Advanced Degree in relevant subject: Education, Social Sciences, Development Economics, or International Development, or a Bachelor's degree with equivalent field experience 

Knowledge/Experience:

• Understanding of education programming, particularly in emergency settings 
• Previous experience working in emergencies, preferably in Ukraine 
• At least 4 years of project management experience in emergency, fragile state or development programmes related to primary, secondary and/or early childhood education
• Understanding of remote management of programmes in complex settings
• Proven capacity to supervise, and coach staff and partners in program management
• Experience of, and commitment to, working through systems of community participation and accountability
• Specific experience of managing ECW, Sida, ECHO, Lego and other major donor projects and understanding of donor compliance
• Fluency in spoken and written English, Ukrainian is preferred 
• The maturity and experience to effectively building relationships with key NGO and government partners
• Experience to identify problems and develop appropriate solutions
• Strong relationship building, negotiation and interpersonal skills

Skills/Abilities:

• Ability to analyze information, evaluate options and to think and plan strategically
• Good analytical (thinking) skills with ability to produce quality analytical reports, case studies
• Ability to work under pressure
• Ability to take initiative, independently as well as part of a team 
• Strong commitment to providing high levels of service delivery (both internal and external stakeholders)
• Commitment to and understanding of Save the Children's mission, vision and policies
• Excellent communication skills – presentation, negotiation, analysis, reflection 
• Understanding of the complex issues that affect children's access, participation, inclusion and retention in education in Ukraine 
• Excellent knowledge on the MS Word, Excel, Power Point

Attitude: 

• To work in a team and able to work under pressure
• To protect children in connection to the work
• To be non-discriminatory and gender sensitive 

Desirable:

• Experience of remotely managing programmes in complex settings
• Experience or knowledge of working and living in relevant regions/contexts
• Experience in any of the relevant fields, such as ECCD and/or Youth programming, teacher professional development, wellbeing and psychosocial support programmes, in emergency contexts
• Experience in representing an organisation in the coordination mechanism in emergency contexts