Education Project Manager at Norwegian Refugee Council, Uganda

Position: Education Project Manager

Reports to: Area Manager

Supervisor of: Education Coordinator, Team Leaders, Officers and Assistants

Duty station: Kampala

Travel: 50%

Duration and type of contract:     10 Months

All NRC employees are expected to work in accordance with the organisation’s core values: Dedication, Innovation, Inclusivity and Accountability. These attitudes and believes shall guide our actions and relationships.

Position open to Ugandan Nationals only

Responsibilities

Generic responsibilities

1. Line management of project staff, including performance management.
2. Adherence to NRC policies, guidance and procedures.
3. Contribute to the development of Country, Area and CC Strategies; initiate and participate in the development of relevant CC projects.
4. Coordinate and manage CC project implementation (activities, budget and project documentation) in line with proposals, strategies and donor requirements.
5. Provide technical direction and ensure high technical quality of projects.
6. Provide regular progress reports to the Area Manager and the Education CC Specialist.
7. Ensure that projects target beneficiaries most in need of protection, exploring and assessing new and better ways to assist.
8. Develop and manage project budgets (in cooperation with others) and coordinate across CCs.
9. Ensure capacity building of project staff and transfer of key skills.
10. Liaise and collaborate with relevant local authorities and other key stakeholders.
11. Promote the rights of IDPs/returnees in line with the advocacy strategy.

Specific responsibilities

1. Manage NRC education activities in West and South Western Uganda; ensuring quality standards; conducting field visits and ensuring that project implementation is in compliance with the donors’ agreed requirements, global standards, NRC strategy & programme policy, government requirements, UNHCR policies; and managing assessments and evaluations for education projects.
2. Develop and expand NRCs Education Programmes in West and South Western Uganda in accordance with NRC strategy and policy documents. This includes development of project proposals based on needs assessments, expanding on existing interventions and identification of potential areas for expansion, e.g. a specific focus on potential development of Cash and Voucher approaches in education activities.
3. Promote meaningful participation of the community, including children and youth, in project design and implementation, explore and implement new and better ways to assist the most vulnerable, especially girls, young women, children and youth with disabilities or special learning needs. In particular, integrate education projects with community-based child protection and psychosocial support interventions, through partners where necessary, and support the implementation, management and monitoring of NRC’s Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Education initiative throughout the education programme.
4. Maintain overall responsibility for monitoring budgets; ensuring project implementation staff are adequately trained in tracking expenditure; working with finance teams to ensure accurate charging of expenditures to projects, monthly BVA monitoring and support to project teams to improve value for money and cost efficiency.
5. Ensure the effective, accurate and timely monitoring, supervision, evaluation and reporting of projects; providing M&E support to implementation; gathering information for donor reports and compiling project documentation; identifying opportunities to undertake appropriate research into education in the context; and ensuring learning from M&E activities is fed back to staff and stakeholders and used for continuous quality improvement of programming.
6. Collaborate with relevant local authorities, UNHCR and other key stakeholders, and work closely with the Uganda Education Specialist, and other education staff to contribute to continuous quality improvement of NRC’s education programming.
7. Support the recruitment of technical staff across the programme and performance management through NRC performance management system.
8. Establish a competency-based teacher training programme, defining training content through needs-based assessment of teachers, coordinating with partners, and delivering and monitoring training. In particular, establish long-term, classroom-based coaching/mentoring models, including through partnerships.

Competencies

Generic professional competencies:

• Minimum three years of experience in a senior-level project implementation position in a humanitarian/recovery context.
• Experience working in complex and volatile contexts.
• Technical education expertise.
• Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities.
• Knowledge about own leadership skills/profile.
• Fluency in English, both written and verbal.

Context/specific skills, knowledge and experience:

• Qualified Education/ Social Sciences Professional Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree; preference for a higher degree in education, project management or a related discipline.
• Programme and project management experience, gained from coordinating and/or managing education interventions (including formal and non-formal education and education in emergencies), especially in displacement-affected humanitarian/early recovery contexts.
• Strong co-ordination competence, with the ability to establish and supervise technical lines, promote communication and knowledge sharing, manage multiple work streams, and ensure quality.
• Understanding of Uganda’s basic Education system, and key related policies such as Education Sector Strategic Plan, and related Refugee Education guiding documents.
• Understanding and experience of project monitoring, evaluation and reporting, with the ability to design effective M&E tools and train staff in their use, and to use evidence to inform programme design and management.
• Ability to use ICT software to develop proposals, budgets, training and work plans, and monitoring and evaluation tools.
• Sound interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills, with in particular the ability to write concise, accurate reports in easily-understood language.
• Experience with start-up, exit or effective and efficient handling of emergencies.
• Knowledge of the refugee context especially in the West and South Western Uganda.

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