In-Country Manager

DRS is looking for a Project Manager on behalf of the leading academic publisher and assessment organization to manage the successful delivery of education reform projects with governments and organizations around the world, managing resources and ensuring that deliverables are completed to quality, cost, and time standards as specified in the contract, aiming to manage, meet and exceed customer expectations throughout the project lifecycle.

Role Title: In-Country Manager

Role Reports To: Portfolio Development Manager

Location: Saudi Arabia

Contract duration: 2 years, with the possibility to renew

Purpose of the Role

The role of the In-Country Manager is to work with the relevant Project and Programme Managers on the delivery of projects and programmes in a specific country or region. The In-Country Manager will be the lead client-facing contact and will facilitate excellent communications and strong, mutually respectful relationships between staff, local partners, suppliers, and the clients in relation to live projects and new opportunities.

Key Accountabilities

This role works closely with the relevant Project and Programme Managers on large and complex education reform projects for Ministries of Education in the region. Responsibilities may vary depending on the projects and will include:

• Assisting in creating detailed descriptions of services for Ministry clients, ensuring they are realistic and deliverable.
• Identifying and, in collaboration with colleagues, on-boarding new local suppliers or freelancers to deliver services supporting reform projects.
• Providing local contextual knowledge to teams to ensure the appropriateness of proposals, communications, and other interactions.
• Supporting the Programme Manager in establishing project plans by liaising with the client and local stakeholders to negotiate details, particularly delivery dates.
• Attending meetings with Ministry of Education officials at all levels to discuss project progress, ensuring projects remain on track and meet Ministry standards.
• Influencing the client to ensure the completion of their responsibilities within mutually agreed timelines to keep the project on schedule.
• Attending meetings with internal and external stakeholders to discuss project progress, resolve challenges or issues, highlight and manage risks, and obtain feedback.
• Chairing meetings with key in-country stakeholders, ensuring these are appropriately recorded and shared with relevant parties.
• Managing specific work streams, ensuring activities are completed and deliverables are presented to clients on time, clearly, and consistently.
• Quality-assuring training materials, publishing and assessment deliverables, and other content sent to Ministry clients to agreed parameters.
• Coordinating on-the-ground delivery of training programs, working closely with the Professional Development lead and other project team members to ensure client needs are met.
• Representing the organization at public events related to education reform projects, working with the Commercial Lead, Education Content and Solutions, and Marketing teams on event strategy and engagement plans.
• Supporting the management of local suppliers to ensure adherence to schedule, budget, and quality specifications.
• Liaising with the Commercial Lead and Project or Programme Manager on key issues in the account and action plan, including handing over relevant leads to the Commercial Lead for qualification.
• Participating in Working Groups and Steering groups as required to support project governance.
• Where relevant, carrying out duties related to branch management of in-country offices, including liaising with local law firms to renew licenses, applying for visas for colleagues or suppliers visiting for business purposes, reviewing new office space (if required during the contract period), and ensuring compliance with all local laws, following the guidance and requirements of internal teams, such as finance, tax, treasury, legal, HR, and payroll. Training in processes will be provided as needed.
• Supporting the Portfolio Development Manager in costing and resource planning for new opportunities in the region, as required.

Key Relationships (Internal and External)

Support the development and management of complex relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.

Develop and maintain relationships with senior-level Client stakeholders (Ministry/Department of Education or Higher Education) and Funders (e.g., World Bank, UNICEF, etc.).

Collaborate internally to navigate and manage Client expectations to ensure successful project delivery.

Direct Costs: The In-Country Manager is not expected to have any direct budgetary responsibility.

Indirect Costs: The role may involve authorizing spending on a budget delegated by the budget holder.

People: This role has no direct line management responsibility but does have responsibility for managing suppliers and freelancers during periods spent in-country.

Other Numbers: This role may be called upon to support more than one programme/project at a time.

The role of the In-Country Manager is central to success in the region. By developing strong working relationships with key stakeholders in-country, including Ministries of Education, partners, and suppliers, the In-Country Manager significantly impacts the work of the Partnership for Education. These relationships also have the potential to aid the Commercial team in identifying potential opportunities and providing local context.

Decisions and Recommendations

The In-Country Manager is expected to work autonomously when required but will also understand when to refer decisions to the Portfolio Manager, Programme/Project Manager, or Steering Group. The In-Country Manager can make decisions relating to client and partner relationships where appropriate and will play a key role in informing decisions and recommendations at a service, programme, or project level.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Educated to degree level or equivalent.
• A deep understanding of the educational environment in the country or region in which they are based.
• Experience supporting the delivery of large and complex projects to demanding clients, ideally in the region where the role is based.
• Strong client management skills, representing the organization professionally and developing strong working relationships between the client and the organization.
• Background in education, teaching, assessment, and/or publishing.
• Good leadership skills.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to multi-task, work under pressure, and adhere to tight deadlines.
• Experience in developing and maintaining relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Attention to detail.
• Cultural awareness and understanding of working with people from diverse backgrounds.
• Highly organized, able to gather, provide, and analyze various levels of detail.
• Self-starter, able to work remotely and effectively, communicating regularly with remote teams to ensure a collaborative approach across teams working apart from one another.

Key Competencies (Organizational Values)

Empowerment: Empowered to make decisions and recommendations within the programme or project.

Innovation: Identifying and developing innovative solutions to issues that arise during the programme or project.

Collaboration: Central to the role’s success, the In-Country Manager should collaborate with both internal and external stakeholders.

Responsibility: As the organization’s representative in-country, the In-Country Manager has a responsibility to present the organization positively at all times.

Key Competencies (Functional)

Good understanding of education, ideally from firsthand experience as a teacher, in the region.

Strong relationship-building skills with both internal and external stakeholders.

Ability to articulate a good understanding of the international education reform marketplace.

Key Competencies (Leadership)

Achieving: Responsive, decisive, and accountable in furthering the mission.

Inspiring: Optimism, motivation, authenticity.

Inclusive: Curious, open-minded, and ready to learn from others.

Trusted & Trusting: Enables individuals, teams, and organizations to collaborate with integrity.

Confidence with Humility: Confident in abilities, with the willingness to learn and adapt.