Project Lead – PlayMatters (Education)

Job Overview:

IRC is seeking a Project Coordinator in Ethiopia for a five-year project that is currently in its beginning of 4^th year of implementation, “PlayMatters”, funded by the LEGO Foundation. This position will be a part of the larger PlayMatters initiative to increase play-based learning opportunities for nearly 200,000 pre-primary andprimary school aged refugee and host community children. PlayMatters is a consortium project, led by the IRC and includes Plan International, War Child Holland, Behavioral Insights Team, and Innovations for Poverty Action in partnership with the LEGO Foundation. PlayMatters promotes an active teaching method that capitalizes on a child’s natural desire to engage in play, focusing on building skills so that teachers and communities to intentionally plan to deliver contextually and age-appropriate guided play experiences to achieve specific learning objectives.PlayMatters promotes LtP experiences that promotes child-centered learning, allowing peer interactions that provides children aged 3-12+ with the platform to question, experiment, practice, and discover, developing critical skills that they need to thrive today and in future.

The Project Coordinator for Ethiopia will be responsible for coordinating across these partners and IRC Ethiopia staff to ensure the project delivers high impact programming for children. In addition, the Project Coordinator will be responsible for ensuring design and implementation of project activities engages other key stakeholders required to achieve results such as government officials, the UN and other humanitarian coordination actors, as well as other implementing agencies outside of the consortium. The Project Coordinator will ensure that the project achieves the expected results in Ethiopia and is implemented in accordance with the donor agreement, donor regulations, and internationally recognized quality of assistance standards. The Project Coordinator will report both into the IRC Country Program Senior Management Team as well as into a PlayMatters Senior Regional Management Team based in Uganda. The Project Coordinator will jointly work with the regional management and technical team to also ensure a coordinated and cohesive program approach across Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda, to jointly learn and ensure results across the three countries.

Major Responsibilities:

Consortium Technical Leadership

• Collaborate with the Director of Programs in Ethiopia and the Project Director (based in Uganda), to facilitate and coordinate project management through the Country Steering Committee (CMC).
• Collaborate with the Deputy Project Director (based in Uganda), to lead the Project Management Committee (PMC) as per the partnership terms of reference.
• Represent and coordinate the PlayMatters project with Government stakeholders, UN agencies, and other humanitarian actors in Ethiopia and ensure internal and external dissemination of information about the project’s progress.
• Lead and coordinate technical planning, implementation, and monitoring of PlayMatters project activities in IRC and among consortium partner organizations.
• Establish, manage, and maintain relationships with key system actors to advance evidence-based policy discussions to integrate Learning through Play within existing education and humanitarian systems.
• Jointly work with the PlayMatters regional team to provide strategic and technical leadership and define country-level activities to achieve the greatest impact toward project goals and objectives.
• Develop, review, and monitor, in coordination with key country, and regional project staff and partners, annual work and performance plans to ensure long-term and short-term priorities are on track.
• Maintain active and cooperative relationships with all key stakeholders, including government officials, project partners, other implementing agencies, and related institutions.
• Regularly communicate and coordinate with the Regional PlayMatters Project Director, Deputy Director, and Technical leads on technical and project management issues.
• Collaborate with partners on project design, review, and provide feedback to partners on program reports and monitoring outcomes.
• Review & reflect on project performance, proactively anticipate and resolve any issues impacting partnership performance.

Program Management

Work Planning and budgeting

• In consultation with the grants and partnership unit, regional project management, and technical team, provide leadership in work planning, and work plan review processes within IRC and partner organizations.
• Led the coordination ofPlayMatters reporting process working in close collaboration with consortium members.
• In consultation with the finance department, consistently track and review project budget performance in IRC and lead discussions on budget performance, and value for money alongside progress on target.
• Initiate realignments in close communication with the Grants Focal Point.
• Oversee technical direction and project delivery to ensure activities are in line with the project-wide performance, framework, and work plan and meet all the standard operational policies and procedures.
• Coordinate technical PMC staff participation in outcome reference group meetings and ensure that decisions made in these reference groups are communicated and implemented in the PMC agenda.

Research Monitoring Evaluation Accountability & Learning (RMEAL)

• Lead the development and tracking of Key Performance Indicators for project progress monitoring and learning
• Conduct regular visits to project sites, as possible, to provide technical assistance and ensure proper implementation and monitoring of project activities.
• Support field staff to use project data to track progress and engage in meaningful course correction discussions at regular and frequent intervals; as well as ensure data is tailored to facilitate similar discussions at the country and regional senior management level.

Reporting

• Contribute to monthly, quarterly, and annual donor reports through both formal and informal debriefings and written inputs.
• Lead in proper utilization of data and evidence using simple tracking tools e.g., dashboards to inform on project progress, learning opportunities for informed decision-making at implementation and regional level.
• Provide monthly updates to the Director of Programs and Grants and Partnerships Unit on project technical and financial progress of the project.

Human Resource Management

• Identify capacity-strengthening opportunities for staff on project strategy, planning, budgeting, reporting, approaches, and Learning through Play Methodology and ensure adequate and appropriate training is given.
• Maintaining a work environment that promotes teamwork, trust, and mutual respect, and empowers staff to take responsibility.
• Lead planning for and conducting timely performance management discussions and reporting for staff.
• Conduct timely human resource planning and recruitment based on prevailing needs, in consultation with the country and RPT HR and technical teams.

Safeguarding Responsibilities:

• Promote and actively participate in initiatives and efforts to build team engagement, inclusion, and cohesion throughout IRC Ethiopia.
• Foster ongoing learning, honest dialogue, and reflection to strengthen safeguarding and promote IRC values and adherence to IRC policies.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum of 8 years of experience managing education programs for refugees or crisis-affected populations.
• Experience managing large-scale, multi-million-dollar, complex, multi-partner projects.
• Experience working alongside government, UN, and other humanitarian actors in development and emergency contexts.
• Demonstrated success in staff capacity-building and participatory, flexible, and gender-sensitive programming and implementation.
• Strong communication skills, both oral and written.

Educational Requirements:

• Advanced degree from an accredited university in education, international development, or related field.

Preferred experience & skills:

• Positive, helpful attitude and willingness to learn new skills is essential. Must be excellent coordinator and great teammate; this role collaborates across different organization and ability to influence colleagues, often without line management is essential.
• Experience in successfully executing presentation,withtheabilitytodevelop,implement,facilitate,and impartlearningtoawide rangeof audiences in a creative/interactive manner.
• Demonstrated ability to successfully work in a fast-paced environment, within and across departments/functions, and develop positive relationships with locally and remote-based staff
• Excellent computer skills: MS Word, Excel, file sharing, and database software.
• Experience working in conflict and crisis settings and knowledge of humanitarian programming is preferred.
• Strongsupervision,coaching,andmentoringskills.
• Excellent organizational, interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills. Experience managing communications and documenting decision-making processes for large projects/organizations is desirable.
• Exceptional ability to track and manage work planning for large, multi-faceted projects and deliverable timelines. Demonstrated competence to quickly problem-solve planning issues to mitigate delays and support timely delivery.

Language Skills: 

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and Amharic as well as, an overall ability to be clear and concise in all communications.

Certificates or Licenses:

• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification a major plus

IRC is an equal employment opportunity employer.  IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability.

IRC strives to build a diverse and inclusive team at all levels who as individuals, and as a group, embody our culture statement creating a working environment characterized by critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity for us to achieve our aspirations as a team and deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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