Education Program Manager at International Rescue Committee (IRC)

The Boko Haram insurgency has created nearly 1.9 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in northeast Nigeria. Up to 40% of children aged 6-11 in the region are out of school. Factors impeding school attendance include children providing labor at home and on farms, widespread poverty and inability to afford fees, and cultural bias against formal education from parents, particularly for female students. The armed conflict has greatly exacerbated challenges in accessing education as Boko Haram deliberately targeted and destroyed education facilities, leaving communities without functioning schools and with no teaching or learning materials. Intensive violence, including violence targeted towards teachers and students, has created much fear of attending school among children. There is a shortage of teachers trained to deal with the psychosocial effects of the insurgency and even children with the desire and resources to attend school may opt to remain at home due to security concerns. IDP children are particularly affected. 

SCOPE OF WORK

The IRC Nigeria is currently expanding its education portfolio in the northeast of the country in line with its five-year Strategic Action Plan (SAP). A priority outcome for the country program is that girls and boys enroll in and attend safe, functioning, responsive education services. The IRC aims to both rebuild, reequip, and staff damaged school infrastructure and enhance the quality of education through curriculum improvements in formal and non-formal institutions, with a particular focus on building literacy, numeracy and social and emotional skills.

In May 2019 IRC will begin implementation of a two year project entitled: Adamawa State school-based education strengthening project (ASSESS) with the aim of ensuring education services are high quality, safe, functioning and responsive.  ASSESS will work with over 2,000 teachers, building their capacity to deliver high quality education developing their subject knowledge and pedagogical practices. It will also work with 50 School Based Management Committees to help ensure that schools are safe and functional.

The Education Manager will be responsible for the overall management of ASSESS education activities in Adamawa state. S/he will ensure that project activities are delivered on time, contribute to strategic objectives of the program, and meet global and IRC technical standards for education in emergencies. The Education Manager will supervise a team of education officers, providing supervision and guidance in line with agreed performance objectives. This position reports to the Education Coordinator. 

This position is contingent on funding. 

RESPONSIBILITIES

Program Development and Management

• Oversee the implementation of all education activities in Adamawa state, related to the ASSESS project.  
• Ensure that the identification of schools, teachers and SBMC members is conducted in a responsible manner, adhering to relevant policies and standards.
• In collaboration with Education Officers, develop actionable work plans to ensure the timely implementation of project activities. 
• Monitor progress towards the objectives and intended outputs of projects using routine data, spot checks, observation, and other methodologies. 
• Contribute to the development of robust data collection systems to ensure that the education program is data-driven and that programmatic decisions are grounded in evidence. 
• Keep abreast of the changing operational environment, including organization of assessments and identification of changing beneficiary needs. 
• Provide regular written and verbal reports on education activities to supervisor, senior management, project partners and donors.
• In collaboration with the supervisor, review Budget vs. Actual expenditures on a monthly basis, providing relevant feedback to the finance department and adjusting activities as required. 
• Enforce stewardship and accountability by ensuring that resources are efficiently and effectively utilized within the project for the intended purpose

Technical Quality

• Under the guidance of the Education Coordinator, provide technical supervision and guidance to Education Officers and implementing partners as required.
• Ensure that all education activities adhere to agreed technical standards, protocols, policies and guidelines, as outlined by the IRC, the Federal Ministry of Education and related State Ministries, Agencies and Departments. 
• Promote the quality of education activities by setting up quality assurance mechanisms and checks in collaboration with other staff. 
• Oversee training, coaching and on-going support of teachers in order to improve instructional. 
• Ensure that training materials and curricula are of high quality. 

HR & Team Management

• Provide supportive supervision to Education Officers
• Lead the development of performance plans for all Education Officers based on job descriptions, project objectives/work plans and past performance reviews. Review performance evaluation of direct reports on a bi-annual basis and oversee the performance review cycle for all direct reports.
• Actively build the capacity of education program staff, ensuring each staff member has a specific capacity development plan, receives opportunities for training, mentoring and on-the-job learning opportunities.  

Coordination

• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with key stakeholders including government actors, UN agencies, international and local NGOs, and other relevant actors. 
• Closely collaborate with all project partners
• Develop strategic partnerships with local organizations 
• Represent IRC to local communities, government departments, international agencies, and local partners as required.
• Coordinate education program activities with other IRC sectors, particularly water & sanitation and child protection. 

Other

• Any other duties as assigned by the supervisor to enable and develop IRC programs.

 KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

• Position Reports to:  Education Coordinator. 
• Position directly supervises:  Education Officers
• Other internal and/or external contacts: grants unit; finance, HR and supply chain departments

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct.  These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability.  In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Qualifications

• University degree in education; advanced degree preferred. 
• At least three years of relevant professional experience with an international or civil society organization, including direct implementation of education programming
• Experience in teaching and teacher professional development preferred
• At least one year of experience in a managerial position and demonstrated capacity in team leadership and capacity building
• Experience working with displaced or otherwise marginalized communities required
• Demonstrated experience in project management, including financial, HR, and grants management
• Strong verbal communication skills and effective in representation and liaison with external actors
• Excellent spoken and technical writing ability in English, including report writing 
• Excellent computer skills in programs including MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Outlook
• Ability to work under pressure in challenging working and living conditions
• Willingness to travel extensively in northeast Nigeria, including to remote and/or insecure locations