Mercy Corps Senior Secondary Education Manager Job

Position Title: Sr. Secondary Education Manager --- Somali Advancing Girls Education (SAGE)
 

Duty Station:  Hargeisa, Somaliland (40%) with frequent travel to project field offices (60%)
 

Position Category:  Full-time

This position is contingent upon funding

Program/Department Summary:
 

The SAGE Girls Secondary Education Manager will provide technical assistance and oversight for all aspect of the girls’ secondary education programming.  

SAGE is a 3-year program for to $30 million (£19.3 million) program to improve educational outcomes, enrolment and retention of 25,000 vulnerable primary and secondary school girls across Somalia.  

SAGE will work with girls between the ages of 6 to 19. SAGE will: 

1) improve the quality of teaching to increase girls’ learning outcomes, 

2) increase enrolment and retention of girls in formal and non-formal education, 

3) improve Somali families’ acceptance and ability to pay for girls education and 

4) expand Ministry of Education policies and capacity to integrate marginalized girls and ensure that girls’ educational gains are sustainable.  SAGE will work with the four Ministries of Education operating across Somalia (Somaliland, Puntland, Central, and Mogadishu).

General Position Summary:
 

The Girls Secondary Education Manager will lead the development and implementation of secondary education programming. 

This requires being responsible for the overall management of all aspects of SAGE secondary education programming, including assessment, planning, implementation, monitoring, capacity building of local government partners and Mercy Corps staff, reporting, and ongoing evaluation. 

These activities should be in line with government policies, Mercy Corps strategic plan, and education strategies as outlined in the Mercy Corps and DFID agreement. 

Essential Job Functions:
 

Program Management

• Collaborate with program, finance and administrative staff.
• Ensure monitoring of secondary education activities is on time, target and budget, using effective M&E systems to reach desired impacts in order to assess the SAGE effectiveness and impact and propose recommendations for improvements.
• Create and maintain systems ensuring effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in line with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.
• Implement and model Mercy Corps’ philosophy of social entrepreneurship and leverage Mercy Corps’ best practices.
• Manage technical aspects of secondary education programming for SAGE including developing incentives for girls to enter into secondary school, promoting female teachers and administrators at school, improving teacher performance and motivation, and tracking the development of female teachers who are simultaneously completing their secondary degree. 
• Design and coordinate secondary education surveys, need assessments, data and information collection for on-going monitoring. 
• Review teacher training materials and courses designed by the various Ministries of Education, teacher training institutes, teachers in process, or at the school level.  Recommendations how these materials and delivery of them can be improved to be more responsive to adolescent girls.
• Train Education Ministries, teacher training institutes, teachers in progress, teachers and school administrations.
• Liaise closely with the SAGE personnel coordinating the delivery of the conditional cash transfers for Grade 9 students. 
• Maintains links and keep current on up-to-date best practices around innovative strategies of promoting girls education; disseminate technical information and assistance where necessary.
• Coordinate closely with other SAGE personnel to ensure all objectives of the proposal and activities are met.
• Organizes site-visits to the projects sites and host visitors and consultants, as needed.

Representation

• Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with consortium partners, sub-grantees, donors, local governments and other stakeholders.
• Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets and donor obligations are met.
• Participate in education coordination meetings as requested by the Project Director. 

Team Management

• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews.
• Recruit and supervise SAGE secondary education staff members, including setting program tasks to ensure the fulfillment of program goals.
• Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.
• Provide team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance & reach objectives.

Supervisory Responsibility: National staff and coordinating with implementing partners.

Accountability
 

Reports Directly To: Project Director, SAGE
 

Works Directly With: All SAGE Team Members

Knowledge and Experience:

• MA/S or equivalent in education, management, social sciences, international development or other relevant field.
• A minimum of 7 years of overseas experience in active conflict or post-conflict environment including 3 years in a senior management or technical advisory role on large, education focused program.
• Experience advising Education Ministries.
• Strong understanding of DfID compliance issues;
• Strong written and oral communication skills in English required, including report development, writing and editing.
• Strong management skills, with good understanding of relevant cross-cultural issues in high security environment.  Experience managing a multi-organizational team (international and national partners) is a plus.
• Somali language skills preferred
• Experience managing girls’ secondary education programs required.  Prefer expertise in at least one of the following areas: Ministry of Education capacity building, teacher training (primary and secondary level), community-based education targeting community acceptance of girl’s education, and design and implementation of smart subsidies to increase education enrollment and retention.
• Experience working in the Horn of Africa is preferred, especially in Somalia
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members.
• Demonstrated experience working with country-level ministries and government officials, Ministry of Education experience preferred.

Success Factors:
 

The successful Manager will combine exceptional management skills and technical skills with a focus on innovative interventions to enroll and retain Somali girls in school. 

S/he will also have proven experience with providing technical training, cross-cultural teams and capacity building, individual staff development, and strong mentoring skills. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail and strategic vision are essential.  

The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.

Living Conditions/Environmental Conditions:
 

The Project Director will be based in Hargeisa, and manage activities throughout the country with an estimated travel of up to 60%.  This is an unaccompanied post in an insecure, conservative environment.  Mercy Corps team members live in group housing given security risks. 

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. 

Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

To apply, please use the following link to our jobs page: http://bit.ly/S6kXEG