Job Openings at Aga Khan Foundation

Position Summary

AKF is seeking an experienced Regional Project Manager to oversee the overall grant management and coordinate monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and gender equality (GE) technical support for the Advancing Gender Equality through Civil Society (AGECS) Sub-Granting component. The AGECS Sub-Grant component is a part of the Global Affairs Canada-funded Foundations for Education and Empowerment (F4EE) in Africa.

F4EE will be active in five countries (Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda) and will improve education systems at the pre-primary and primary level, in addition to strengthening women’s empowerment, and gender equality. As part of the AGECS component up to 16 Sub-Grants will be issued to partnerships comprised of Women’s Organizations and Gender-Equality focused civil society organizations (CSOs) implementing gender equality targeted and gender equality transformative programming.

The Regional Project Manager for the AGECS Sub-Grant component will be based in Nairobi, Kenya, and will likely include regional travel of up to 40% per year to project countries.

Responsibilities

The Regional Project Manager will provide oversight, leadership, and coordination support to all AGECS Sub-Grants and their implementing partners to ensure the project is implemented on time, on budget, achieving all intended project outcomes, and remaining compliant to all donor requirements. S/he will also provide high-level technical support on M&E and Gender Equality and coordinate more detailed support alongside the Regional GE and Regional M&E Manager.

Specifically, Regional Project Manager will:

• Be responsible for the regional grant management of the AGECS Sub-Grants, including assessing partners’ needs, coordinating human resources and financial inputs.
• Build relationships and maintain coordinated communications with AKF’s Global Partnerships Team and Global Programme Team, AKDN implementing agencies, and other local partners.
• Be responsible and accountable for all AGECS Sub-Grants’ reporting and donor compliance requirements, including the preparation and submission of their final proposals, project implementation plan, annual work plans, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual technical reports, oversight of financial reports and other deliverables as stipulated in the F4EE Grant Agreement.
• Analyze field performance with monitoring and evaluation benchmarks and recommend and implement procedural changes to improve operations to meet objectives.
• Collaborate with AKF field units’ finance teams, and the F4HE/F4EE Finance Managers to ensure timely and quality financial reports are produced.
• Ensure integration of gender equality considerations in all aspects of programme design, implementation, and management.
• Provide technical support and coordination for the AGECS sub-projects during design, implementation, and evaluation, in collaboration with F4EE country gender advisors, AKF’s technical advisory team, and implementing agencies.
• Facilitate the ongoing review and engagement by key partners on the implementation of the project gender equality strategies and programming interventions and report on progress to Project’s Oversight Committee and the global AGECS leads.
• Provide technical support to ensure the AGECS Sub-Grant strategies and programming are either gender equality targeted or transformative and lead to positive gender equality outcomes for all.
• Distill gender equality related lessons learned from programme implementation and ensure these are documented, shared, and used in subsequent adjustments to programme implementation.
• Promote the culture of sharing lessons learning and networking on gender equality across the F4EE/AGECS teams and implementing partners.

Coordinate with / support the Regional F4EE M&E Advisor to:

• Finalize Sub-Grants’ M&E plans, including the selection of appropriate indicators.
• Engage Sub-Grants’ teams to support regular data collection, analysis, interpretation & learning.
• Ensure all data collection processes adhere to robust ethical standards, including AKF’s Safeguarding Policy and all relevant national research and ethics standards, such as obtaining research permits required by national authorities in each country.
• Provide technical and operational oversight of regional M&E-based consultancies, learning components, and policy engagement to elevate visibility and learnings from the programme approach.

Required Qualifications, Experience, and Competencies

• A post-graduate degree in international development, social science, especially gender studies, and/or other relevant disciplines. Additional educational background in design thinking and/or civil strengthening is an asset.
• Minimum seven (7) years of grants and project management experience, preferably with projects funded by Global Affairs Canada.
• Experience with developing and overseeing the implementation of organisational capacity building, data collection tools, and systems for the entry, analysis, and storage of data.
• Exceptional analytical and English writing skills. Samples of past writing will be reviewed, and a written test might be required.
• Experience in conducting gender analysis, using analysis findings to inform program design and implementing gender equality activities and programs.
• Demonstrated capacity to respect and safeguard vulnerable populations.
• Be able to travel to F4EE countries.
• Ability to work well in teams and particularly teams that span across multiple geographies.
• Demonstrated ability to transfer knowledge through training, capacity building and mentoring.
• Capacity to work independently, take initiative and manage a variety of activities simultaneously while meeting strict reporting deadlines and keeping colleagues and senior managers well informed.**
• Ability to facilitate collaborative and participatory processes with partners and stakeholders.
• Excellent analytical, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills in a cross-cultural context.
• Ability to work in local languages relevant to the countries of project implementation is an asset.

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Position Summary

AKF is seeking an experienced Regional Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Coordinator to provide direction and technical oversight of programme M&E across the new Foundations for Education and Empowerment (F4EE) programme co-funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and Aga Khan Foundation (AKF). The Regional M&E Coordinator will ensure F4EE is results-oriented and in line with GAC’s result based management policy and guidelines. The position will ensure that F4EE M&E tools, systems, and processes are aligned with AKDN’s broader education portfolio and all AKDN partners are confident and able to effectively collect and analyse data to inform programme performance, iteration, and reporting. The successful candidate will support development and implementation of a robust gender sensitive M&E system[1] for F4EE, while providing relevant technical support and playing a key coordination role amongst implementing partners in the region.

Foundations for Education and Empowerment (F4EE) programme will be active in five countries (Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda). The Regional M&E Coordinator will be based in either Kenya, Tanzania, or Uganda and report within the AKF East Africa structure. The position will include approximately 40% travel per year to enable in country support. This individual will work closely with AKF’s technical programme team in East Africa (including education, ECD, and civil society advisors), the partner AKDN agency’s programme and M&E teams in all five countries of implementation, AKF’s Global Programme Team, AKF Canada (AKFC), and the AKDN Quality of Life unit.

Specifically, the Regional M&E Coordinator will:

Design and Planning

• Contribute to the M&E-specific components of the programme implementation plan, taking a lead role in ensuring M&E activities are comprehensively designed and budgeted.
• Work with programme staff, technical specialists, and M&E staff to develop and plan key components of the F4EE gender sensitive M&E system, contributing to annual work planning processes.
• Support in the development of country-specific M&E plans, including data collection tools.
• Identify platforms and mechanisms to systematically store all project data, including using AKF’s Award Information Management System (AIMS).

Data Collection and Quality Assurance

• Collaborate with the programme teams to integrate data collection into existing programme tools and where applicable design additional gender sensitive M&E data collection tools and processes.
• Collaborate with AKF M&E and technical programme teams to ensure real-time data collection from all stakeholders, engaging ICT enabled systems where applicable.
• Provide technical and operational oversight of regional M&E-based consultancies.
• In collaboration with country and agency M&E teams, coordinate F4EE data quality assurance and auditing processes.
• Ensure all data collection processes adhere to ethical standards, including AKF’s Safeguarding Policy and obtaining national government research permits in project countries.
• Work with AKF regional technical team, Global Programme Team, and AKDN sister agencies to contribute to the effective implementation of the research and learning agenda.
• Coordinate project studies and (if relevant) evaluations, ensuring quality, alignment with project needs and adherence to ethical standards.

Data Analysis and Use

• Ensure real-time data analysis of all F4EE data. This will include cross analyses of data to identify correlations.
• Ensure data, data analysis, results, and lessons learned are effectively documented and communicated to internal teams and external partners.
• Facilitate regular review of project and annual targets and theory of change based on all data collected and analysed.
• Support national-level data interpretation sessions, ensuring data is thoroughly reviewed and used effectively.

Technical Support, Coordination, and Development

• Coordinate a capacity assessment to identify strengths and capacity gaps across the F4EE M&E team and coordinate the delivery of a targeted, collaborative capacity development plan to the team.
• Coordinate a regional M&E community of practice to enable F4EE M&E stakeholders to connect and learn from one another virtually and in-person.
• Build relationships and maintain coordinated communications with all F4EE stakeholders.

Reporting and Governance

• Contribute to F4EE M&E reporting and donor compliance requirements, including reviewing data in Performance Measurement Frameworks, reports, work plans and communications pieces, and ensuring reports and work plans are results-focused.
• Participate in relevant project and governance meetings.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• A graduate degree in international development, social sciences, gender studies, or statistics, ideally with a focus on M&E.
• Minimum of five years of relevant practical experience designing, implementing, and managing gender sensitive M&E systems for donor-funded development projects, with specific experience in education, ECD, civil society, or gender equality and women’s empowerment projects.
• Knowledge of gender analysis and assessments, including approaches, methods, and frameworks.
• Experience managing real-time end-to-end data management systems and solutions, including ICT, enabling data collection, analysis, and rapid feedback loops.
• Experience with the development and overseeing the implementation of data collection tools and systems for the entry, analysis, and storage of data.
• Experience with adaptive management, iterative M&E, and effective feedback loops to ensure the use of data in strategic and programmatic decision-making.
• Experience with developing successful knowledge translation strategies and tools to capture, use and communicate results and learnings to inform and strengthen strategies, program design, and practices.
• Experience using quantitative and qualitative data analysis tools (e.g., SPSS, NVIVO, etc.) is an asset.
• Experience in providing remote support or willingness to learn effective remote facilitation and support skills.
• Experience working in project geographies, i.e., Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda.**
• Knowledge and experience with Global Affairs Canada’s (GAC’s) results-based management tools, donor requirements, and reporting processes, including M&E gender equality results is an asset.

Competencies and Attributes

• Ability to develop strong, collaborative working relationships in diverse teams located across multiple offices, organisations, and geographies.
• Demonstrated ability to support M&E teams to effectively implement project M&E systems and tools or willingness to learn.
• Excellent analytical, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills in a cross-cultural context.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills in English; ability in any of Kiswahili, French, and Portuguese is an asset.
• Demonstrated capacity to respect and safeguard vulnerable populations.

[1] A gender sensitive M&E system is one that incorporates gender throughout all aspects of M&E, including the tracking of gender sensitive and gender targeted indicators, the use of appropriate methodologies that are gender sensitive (including the use of ethical and participatory methodologies), being able to track changes in gender relations, and conducting evaluations and research studies that are focused on gender equality and inclusion.

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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.

go to method of application »

Reporting /Supervisor County Programme Coordinator

Travel 50 % field travel

Duration 2 Years

Role Summary

Based in Mombasa 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.