Programme Coordinator at Aga Khan Education Service, Kenya (AKESK)

The Programme Coordinator will be responsible for the high-quality delivery of all projects under the Education Improvement Programme (EIP) operating within the County. This will include direct delivery of programme activities, developing and managing positive partnerships with government, civil society partners and other stakeholders through effective communications. This role is dynamic and fast paced and it is critical for the Program Coordinator to ensure compliance by working closely with colleagues on the Coast, EIP colleagues from the region, and the Coast Region Programme Manager.

Education Improvement Programme
The EIP articulates how AKF partners with a global network of local government schools and civil society actors within education systems to co-develop and test affordable and scalable.
AKF is delivering a programme approach in the Coast Region of Kenya under which different projects contribute to the EIP Theory of Change to achieve AKF’s education goal of equipping all boys and girls with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values needed to successfully navigate uncertainty and become contributing members of society. Under the Kenya education portfolio, AKF has several projects funded by bilateral, non-traditional, and private foundation donors with an emphasis on values-based education, gender-responsive and inclusive education, and play-based learning. AKF will develop its partnership approach over the coming two to three years to directly partner with 400 primary schools and 30 secondary schools across four counties on the Coast.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery of EIP at the county level. This will include direct delivery and managing other staff or partners to deliver activities on time, on budget, and with quality.
• Lead the county EIP team and ensure the team is motivated, competent, and effectively supported.
• Lead high-quality management of all projects under the EIP portfolio through the effective management of work plans, budgets, Performance Management Frameworks, and any others as required. Ensure all EIP staff access and understand progress and challenges and promote participatory project planning and reviews.
• In partnership with the M&E team, ensure all data requirements are met to enable effective measurement of impact and learning to inform iterations of programming across the Coast Region and regionally.
• Ensure all reporting from the county level are submitted on time and with quality to enable the effective development of high quality and accurate narrative reports that meet internal and donor requirements.
• Ensure all funds are fully accounted for and financial reports and documentation are accurate and in-line with project delivery. This will include regular updates to the Coast Region Programme Manager.
• Work with the Coast Region Programme Manager to ensure all project operations and interventions adhere to government legal requirements, internal policies, and donor compliance.
• Ensure EIP learning is effectively communicated to all EIP stakeholders including government and civil society partners, schools, parents, and children.
• Be the day-to-day contact for the County Government and civil society partners.
• Assume technical leadership for an EIP technical domain (for example, teacher professional development, parental engagement, Value Based Education, etc) in Kenya and collaborate with other AKF technical leaders regionally to design new programming and documents and drive improvements.
• Actively contribute to AKF’s regional EIP community of learning & education programming

The requirements

Required Skills & Competencies

• Ambitious, energetic, innovative, and hard-working professional committed to improving lives among Kenya’s most marginalized communities. Must share a sense of urgency about development.
• Analytical, articulate, and well versed in education policy and practice to communicate effectively and succinctly the impact of the programme to a wider audience.
• Solution-oriented, creative and needs to be comfortable dealing with ambiguity.
• Strong interpersonal skills, ability to manage culturally diverse teams, and ability to operate under high pressure.
• Strong communication skills; written and oral, fluency in English.
• Strong leadership skills.
• Strong in a relevant EIP technical domain.
• ICT skills.

Qualification, Knowledge & Experience

• BA in education or a related field from an accredited university/college. MA is preferred. A range of degrees could be acceptable for this position such as sociology, education, business administration, communications/public relations.
• Proven experience in managing high impact social programming in challenging contexts in partnership with other organizations. Minimum of five years of project experience, at least two years in management.
• Excellent planning, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills required.
• Proven experience in managing budgets and financial management capacity.
• Strong understanding of the Kenyan education system and/or of resource-constrained education systems.
• Knowledge of emerging technologies in the education and development sector.
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of gender and social inclusion issues and proven experience of delivering programmes that explicitly address these inequalities.
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of child and community safeguarding issues and proven experience in operationalizing relevant policies and procedures.
• Evidence of drawing on learning and evidence to inform and improve internal project delivery.
• Evidence of developing strong partnerships with government, development partners, and non-government partners to increase impact and influence in practice and policy.