Bridge Program Officer at Skills Outside School Foundation

ABOUT SKILLS OUTSIDE SCHOOL FOUNDATION (SOSF)

The SOSF is the leading pan-African education, entrepreneurship (social & commercial), and employability organization, with data, interventions, and advocacy as pillars. We believe that through lifelong learning and development, people can be equipped with the right education (mindset, competence, and tools) to be productive whether they choose the path of entrepreneurship or employability.

Our vision is a world with human capital to drive transformational social & economic development. Our mission is achieving data-driven innovative entrepreneurship, education & employability interventions & advocacy that drive sustainable growth and development.

Our core values are - Integrity | Collaboration | Service. Our work contributes to the following SDGs – zero hunger; quality education; no poverty; reduced inequalities; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation & infrastructure; and responsible consumption & production.

We have reached 50,000+ beneficiaries across 7 countries, published 100+ articles, reports, and baseline studies. We have mobilized 150+ partners and 1195 volunteers.

DEPARTMENT SUMMARY

The SOSF Bridge program builds Life, Career, Academic, Technical, Vocational, and Enterprise Skills development in youth in state secondary schools (from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds) through workshops, sessions, and insights deployed by trained school teachers’ / external trainers and opportunities provided through partners and mentors deployed in Skills and Career Clubs in schools. Specifically:

a. Life Skills:

These competencies (communication, problem solving, critical thinking, leadership, self-management, confidence building, citizenship development) are developed through interactive workshops with the aim of enhancing participants’ short term higher education experience and long-term career/business prospects. A social change project is organized at the end of the program cycle allows participants apply the skills they have learnt in presenting solutions to challenges around them as a way to pay it forward.

b. Career Awareness and Skills Development:

Deployment of a series of career and education sessions through workshops; deploying SOSF proprietary career and educational resources in schools through trained guidance & counsellors, and teachers; access to mentors; access to opportunities with support in accessing said opportunities.  The various levels of intervention is dependent on the outcome of the baseline studies once conducted at state level prior to deployment of the Skills and Career Club.

c. Academic Skills:

This involves literacy and numeracy skills using the TARL approach especially in states where the literacy and numeracy levels following the conduct of baseline studies is low. Academic skills also include revision techniques, past question papers access, reading support, third-party subject specific learning resources especially for difficult subjects e.g. mathematics, physics, etc. to enhance academic outcomes for students.   

d. Technical, Vocational and Enterprise Skills

This involves deployment of context specific technical and vocational skills – website design, graphic design, soap making, beadmaking, detergent making, honey making etc. ; and enterprise skills – focused on how to start and sustain a business around the technical and vocational skills, to provide students an opportunity to turn their skills into practice through a business; or provide a means to earning a livelihood through sales of output of the implementation of the skills, to enable them meet their needs.

For further information: www.skillsoutsideschool.com

JOB DESCRIPTION

Summary

The Program Officer oversees the coordination and administration of all aspects of the Skills Outside School Foundations’ ongoing Bridge Program including planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the program activities. The officer also works with other interventions team members to deploy their programs led by SOSF and/or partners.

ROLES and RESPONSIBILITIES

The SOSF Bridge Program Officer will perform a wide range of duties as outlined below:

• Map, drive and close partnerships with organizations that align with the Bridge program mandate.
• Liaise with the finance team to plan expenditure for the Bridge program.
• Develop, implement and update the project management plan and budget.
• Develop, update, implement and manage overall program management plan and budget and ensure that SOSF Bridge operates within the approved budget.
• Lead research, development and preparation of grants proposals and fundraising for Bridge program.
• Maintain positive relationships with fund providers and other stakeholders.
• Maintain records and submit reports related to grant opportunities.
• Ensure documentation required for monitoring and evaluation and other program documentation is tracked; retrieved; administered and stored appropriately. Ensure any mentor-mentee re-allocations occur in a timely manner.
• Coordinate the Bridge Skills and Career Club mentoring engagements between the teacher trainers, mentors and the participants.
• Respond to the specific needs of the students and mentors as required.
• Onboard new mentors; screen all new professional mentors ensuring that they receive the starter pack and are offered sufficient training on child safety and project expectations; manage communication with mentors; and send regular curated content to mentors.
• Coordinate the weekly and regular SOSF ambassadors’ initiatives.
• Develop and implement stakeholder engagement strategy and plans.
• Update the partner schools on program milestones and liaise with the partner schools on all matters.
• Communicate with partners/sponsors and other stakeholders to understand how the delivery of the Bridge Skills and Career Club can be enhanced.
• Lead and coordinate the teacher training before the commencement of the Bridge Skills and Career Club in any partner school. Conduct refresher training and deliver M&E assessment to them.
• Monitor the program activities on a regular basis and conduct a quarterly evaluation according to the program evaluation framework.
• Provide the necessary information to the Media and Communication’s team for appropriate and targeted social media updates on the Foundations activities in relation to the program.
• Develop and lead program expansion plan into new states for implementation and seek relevant internal approvals including management and board.
• Provide regular reports to management and the board.
• Liaise with HR/Admin team to recruit Field Officers across all implementing states.
• Provide guidance to Operational Partners on educational contents, processes and materials
• Attend relevant conferences, seminar and fora to keep abreast of new developments relevant to the bridge program, build new partnerships & relationships etc. 
• Manage parents/guardians as key stakeholders of the bridge program beneficiaries
• Manage alumni relationships through the SOSF bridge ambassadors connect 
• Provide guidance to Operational Partners on educational contents, processes and materials
• Analyse capacity problems and conduct and facilitate training to build capacity of Operational and strategic Partners or stakeholders
• Engage governments to secure approvals, permits and strategic relationships in program implementation and sustainability post intervention 
• Source, onboard and manage volunteers and consultants working with the admin and HR team to support program implementation 
•  Conduct regular field monitoring visits and provide technical support to Operational Partners
• Support data and research team in setting up, designing, implementing and sustainability relevant monitoring and evaluation frameworks, plans and tools 
• Develop and regularly update curriculum, delivery plans, training manuals, assessments, materials, resources in line with M&E results, best practices, and emerging trends, as required for the SOS bridge program 
• Ensure internal and external communications about program benefits, progress and outcomes suit audience and are timely
• Drive thought leadership through webinars articles reports etc leveraging on program outcomes, lessons learnt, and key recommendations 
• Engage in continuous advocacy with key stakeholders to ensure program outcomes are met and institutionalized 
• Anticipate, track and document program risks and issues, communicating them to stakeholders and internally whilst, taking action to resolve them.
•  Maintain relationships with key stakeholders to fulfill SOSFs objectives, representing SOSF at external events and on media platforms as necessary.

ABOUT YOU

Education and Experience

You possess the following:

• University degree in project management, business administration/management, or a related field of study.
• Experience working in the education sector or education-related sector is a plus.
• Business management/administration, Grant writing/ Fundraising, or otherwise experience is a plus.
• 3-4 Years of project management expertise is required.
• Basic knowledge of grant writing and fund raising is required.

Skills

• Proficiency in MS Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).
• Proficiency in the use of computers for

Word processing
Basic accounting
Databases
Spreadsheets
E-mail
Internet
Google Docs, Sky Drive, DropBox

• Strong strategic, analytical, and project management skills
• Strong written and oral communication specifically report writing skills
• Demonstrated ability to take responsibility for a diverse number of projects and to complete them in a timely manner with limited supervision
• Ability to work under pressure
• Ability to solve problems
• Strong leadership ability
• Strong stakeholder management skills
• Experience in designing and holding ToT training
• Experience in curriculum development, teaching, and assessment 
• Proven track record of coordinating projects involving different stakeholders

JOB BENEFITS

At SOSF, we value diversity and inclusion — in backgrounds, and experiences and also encourage a gender Friendly work Environment.

We offer:

• Paid Time off (PTO) which includes;
• Sick (sick leave based on the duration of sickness after a verified Doctor’s report)
• Exam (A Maximum of 1-week paid examination leave annually)
• Annual (25 days for full-time staff and 20 days for contract staff)
• Maternity (3 months for confirmed female staff)
• Paternity leave (5 working days for male employees)

Group continuous Learning and Development: As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient, and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Skills outside foundation as well as themselves. The team has a learning and development WhatsApp group where all posts are shared.

External Engagement policy: SOSF Encourages people to have other external engagements outside SOSF which support the vision and mission of the organization as well as their interests.

A flexible working structure that entails a 90% Remote and 10% Physical work structure.

SOSF has an excellent career growth pathway for its staff through its 2-promotion cycle in a year.