Manager, Learning and Innovation, Early Childhood Development at BRAC

About the Role:

• BRAC International (BI) is seeking a Manager, Learning and Innovation, Early Childhood Development in Bangladesh or any BRAC operating country who is aligned with it’s ethos of working in partnership with communities to create impact for scale. Manager, Learning and Innovation, Early Childhood Development who will be part part of BRAC International’s core programme team. S/he will be responsible to play a pivotal role in leading the design, implementation, and enhancement of the learning strategies and initiatives aimed at fostering optimal development and learning outcomes for young children. She/He will spearhead innovative approaches, and develop learning frameworks for the programme. The incumbent will collaborate with stakeholders to ensure the integration of best practices and cutting-edge methodologies in early childhood education. This role will play a pivotal part in driving innovation through the application of research insights to enhance programme learning. This includes overall coordination, harmonisation and development of all planning, monitoring, evaluation, learning, documentation and reporting activities. S/he will also ensure that the core Values and Mission of BI are upheld, promoted, followed, and applied across various technical teams and country offices.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic:

• Lead the development of the learning agenda, and facilitate discussions on learning and knowledge generation to advance the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programme's goals and objectives and to ensure the wider alignment with the programme.
• Identify emerging trends, research findings, and best practices in early childhood education to develop and test innovative approaches in ECD and integrated development programme and inform programmatic decision-making.
• Lead the scoping exercise of the ECD programme for expansion in a new context
• Document and incorporate learnings in new concepts and proposals
• Foster a culture of collaboration, creativity, and continuous learning within the team to achieve organizational goals and objectives.
• Organize various cross-programme and cross-country learning-sharing events to generate and share learnings within the organization

Research and learning:

• Ensure execution of research studies and evaluations to assess the effectiveness of ECD interventions in promoting positive learning outcomes for young children.
• Build a culture of continuous learning and improvement among the team across different countries through capacity-building efforts.
• Utilize data-driven insights to identify areas for improvement and develop evidence-based strategies to address challenges.
• Identify strengths and weaknesses in existing data collection and data management systems and propose solutions.
• Facilitate the design of learning of learning framework, M&E framework, and Theory of Change and relevant indicators in coordination with the learning and effectiveness Team, and respective country teams.
• Ensure the learnings are documented, reported and contextualised across all ECD projects in all BI operating countries.
• Work closely with the communication team to develop program-level learning-sharing materials and disseminate it through different channels (events, webinars, meetings, social media, publications etc.)
• Development and contextualization of relevant monitoring and research tools aligned with the project outcomes and built capacity of the programme team across BI and countries.

Collaboration and partnership:

• Collaborate with internal technical teams and entities, BI country teams, external stakeholders and partners, to leverage resources, expertise, and networks in support of the Early Childhood Development Programme.
• Support the learning and effectiveness team in cultivating partnerships with educational institutions, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and community stakeholders to promote knowledge-sharing and collaborative initiatives.

Safeguarding:

• Ensure the safety of team members from any harm, abuse, neglect, harassment and exploitation to achieve the programme’s goals on safeguarding implementation. Act as a key source of support, guidance, and expertise on safeguarding for establishing a safe working environment.
• Practice, promote, and endorse the issues of safeguarding policy among team members and ensure the implementation of safeguarding standards in every course of action. 
• Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure in case any reportable incident takes place, and encourage others to do so.

Academic Qualifications: 

• Post-graduate degree in Statistics/ social science/ early childhood development/ education/economics or a related field from reputed Universities.

Required Skills, Competencies & Knowledge:

• Excellent communication (written, verbal, negotiation, presentation skills), facilitation and presentation skills.
• Ability to prioritise tasks and manage time efficiently.
• Strong interpersonal communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Highly mobile & flexible to work from distant location. (Relevant for specific role)
• Overseeing and travel to project site when required.
• Possess high ethical and moral standards.
• Sensible and adaptive to diverse work culture.
• Motivated and enthusiastic team player. 
• Good analytical, problem-solving, decision-making, interpersonal and negotiation skills. 
• Fluency in English, both written and verbal. 
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural team and create rapport with people from diverse backgrounds. 
• Ability to organise and facilitate training sessions, build and develop capacity frameworks and work plans. 
• Excellent communication skills, and ability to remain flexible to a changing environment.

Experience Requirements:  

• At least five years of experience in research and learning-related work.
• At least 3 years experience in the field of ECD or Education
• Proven experience of successful capacity-building of staff and partners on monitoring and evaluation, project cycle management, and learning and adaptation theories and practices.
• Proven experience in co-creating innovative solutions.