County Programme Officer, Lamu at Aga Khan Foundation

Reporting /Supervisor County Programme Coordinator

Location - Lamu 

Travel 50 % field travel

Duration 2 Years

Role Summary

Based in Lamu and reporting to the County Programme Coordinator, the Programme Officer will be responsible for the delivery of AKF Education programme activities on time, on budget, with quality. The Programme Officer will be part of a broader Coast Region education team responsible for the delivery of the Education Improvement Programme (EIP) theory of change to ensure AKF quality long-term support and programming to improve the quality of the Coast Region education system.

Education Improvement Programme Summary

AKF is committed to ensuring girls and boys, women, and men, are equipped with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values to help them interact effectively with the world and be contributing members of a pluralistic society. This demands AKF to assume a holistic, life-long, and systems approach to education. AKF ensures all interventions are globally informed, locally rooted, are embedded in government and community interests and structures, and work to promote social inclusion, equity, and pluralism.

As a development agency, AKF partners with a global network of local government schools, government education actors and systems, and civil society actors within education systems to co-develop and test affordable and scalable evidence-based models about how best to create quality, equitable learning environments and improve holistic learning outcomes for the most marginalised children. In Kenya, AKF delivers the Education Improvement Programme in the Coast Region.

In Mombasa, AKF is currently implementing three projects as part of the EIP, Tucheza Kujifunza, Values-Based Education, and Schools2030. In 2021, the Programme Officer will predominately focus on TuKu, a project that aims to institutionalise playful pedagogies within formal, non-formal, and informal learning opportunities to equip primary aged children with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values they need to contribute effectively to society. To achieve this, TuKu will work with national and county governments, education leaders, schools and education institutions, civil society, community partners, and parents to enable teachers and schools to effectively implement the competency-based curriculum using a variety of playful learning approaches.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain positive, respectful, and trusted working relationships with key stakeholders including, headteachers, teachers, county government, community partners, and CSO.
• Facilitate teacher professional development courses, including in values-based education and learning through play.
• Promote and support teacher-led solutions to improving the learning environment and learning outcomes across AKF’s network of schools in Mombasa.
• Effectively manage processes to provide teachers with the opportunities to develop globally informed locally rooted solutions.
• Partner with local CSO to deliver the whole school approach at the school level to promote greater parental and community engagement in their schools and their children’s in and out of school learning.
• Partner with CSO to develop inclusive community engagement plans to conduct activities ranging from community events to targeted in-home visits.
• Contribute to the planning and delivery of an annual County Education Event as a platform to showcase successful solutions, raise the profile of teachers, and promote teacher networking.
• Ensure all funds are utilised in line with AKF financial procedures and policies as well as donor requirements.
• Contribute to EIP learning.
• Compilation of quality and timely activity reports.
• Any other duties assigned by the County Programme Coordinator

Qualification, Knowledge, and Experience

• Strong knowledge and proven experience of working in the education sector, preferably primary education with formal and non-formal learning Systems.
• Experience delivering participatory development tools and community-driven approaches.
• Experience delivering teacher professional development courses.
• An in-depth understanding of the local context in Mombasa and including community dynamics.
• A University degree in education, community development, or social sciences.
• At least 3 years relevant working experience in the Education sector.
• Thorough knowledge of the Kenyan education system and the policy context.
• Proven problem solver with the ability to work in an adverse team environment.
• Proven facilitation skills.
• Flexible, professional with the ability to manage multiple responsibilities with strict deadlines.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to communicate and interact at all levels of the organization.
• Excellent MS Excel and MS Word skills.