Programme Manager, Education, BRAC Afghanistan

Career with BRAC International

BRAC is an award-winning international non-governmental development organisation, with the vision of a world free from all forms of exploitation and discrimination, where everyone has the opportunity to realise their potential. BRAC is a leader in developing and implementing cost-effective, evidence-based programmes to assist poor and disadvantaged communities in low-income countries, including in conflict-prone and post-disaster settings. It is an organisation of and for the people of the Global South, pioneering new development and social enterprise approaches to equip communities to achieve prosperity. As well as being the world’s biggest NGO by number of staff and people directly reached, BRAC has regularly been ranked the number one NGO in the world by the Geneva-based NGO Advisor, an independent organisation committed to highlighting innovation, impact and governance in the non-profit sector. BRAC retained the top spot in 2020 among the top 500 NGOs for the fifth consecutive year.

BRAC was founded in Bangladesh in 1972 by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed. It started its first programme outside of Bangladesh in Afghanistan in 2002, and has since reached millions of people in 11 countries in Asia and Africa. BRAC has a holistic approach to development that uses a wide array of programmes and social enterprises, including in microfinance, education, health, agriculture, gender and human rights. BRAC believes that every person has inherent potential, and when an enabling environment is created and that potential is unleashed, even the poorest can become agents of positive change in their own lives, for their families and their communities.

BRAC International (BI) is seeking application from competent, dynamic and self-motivated individuals to fill the following position:

Programme Manager, Education, BRAC Afghanistan

The Program Manager, Education will provide overall strategic direction, leadership, and management of BRAC Afghanistan’s education programme. Her/his leadership, management and knowledge will enable BRAC Afghanistan to deliver high-quality education programming and continuously work toward improving the impact of its programming. As part of the Senior Management Team, she/he will proactively manage security and mitigate security risks.

Key Responsibilities:

• In collaboration with the Country Director, provide leadership and strategic direction for the design of BRAC Afghanistan’s strategic frameworks and plans, including the development of resource mobilization strategies to optimize the impact of large and complex programming interventions in line with regional and global strategic priorities.
• Lead high-quality project design with innovative approaches that incorporate project management standards and MEAL methods, appropriate to scope, context, and technical requirements of large and complex projects. Contribute to establishment of new project management standards. Lead planning of activities across projects to ensure integration and efficiency in implementation.
• Effectively manage senior programming talent across various Projects in the Education Program. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Provide coaching and mentoring for all reports. Strategically tailor individual development plans and complete performance assessment for direct reports. Contribute to developing staffing plans for large and complex projects and to the recruitment process of senior project staff.
• Create and maintain proper conditions for learning, ensuring all team members are appropriately trained and supported. Establish a safe environment for sharing of ideas, solutions, and difficulties and the capacity to detect, analyze and respond quickly to deficiencies. Promote accountability, learning and knowledge management, as well as cross-sectoral and cross-department learning.
• Create a platform for countrywide delivery that involves stakeholders (educators and administrators) with country standards, benchmarks and the policies & strategies applicable for the ECD, Primary, Secondary, and Higher Secondary education including vocational training.
• Work with education and vocational institutes to coordinate learning structures in operating areas in line with the existing projects interventions and ensure timely achievements of projects’ milestones.
• Develop and maintain productive relationships with all stakeholders including community, Line Ministries, Provincial Education Directorates, and Donors
• Ensure appropriate project budgeting and oversee efficient use and stewardship of project resources.
• Coordinate with research and monitoring teams in reviewing, evaluating and reporting on education program interventions.
• Ensure compliance with all aspects of grant agreements with all donors
• Lead the business development cycle of increasingly complex, strategic, and competitive growth opportunities from intelligence gathering and positioning to proposal development to learning and marketing to ensure quality proposals per agency and donor standards.
• Lead the identification, assessment and strengthening of appropriate partnerships and the appropriate application of partnership concepts, tools and approaches.
• Attend relevant cluster meetings
• Be a member of Country Management Team
• Draft and submit monthly/quarterly reports
• Analyze the audit and monitoring findings consistently, undertaking necessary steps as required.
• Support to the development of an organizational culture which supports safeguarding staff, children and communities across the programmes/operations.
• Regular field visits. Is expected to spend 25% of his or her time traveling to the 10 provinces where BRAC Afghanistan is currently implementing Education Programs.
• Ensure technical assistance and capacity strengthening for project teams and partners across the Education Portfolio. Implement monitoring and evaluation tools that ensure operational activities comply with best practices in project management standards, related MEAL, business development and system strengthening recommendations. Identify training opportunities, develop pedagogically sound training curriculums and deliver effective trainings.

Safeguarding:

• Establish a safeguarding culture across all level of the programme by implementing the safeguarding policy. Act as a key source of support, guidance and expertise on safeguarding for establishing a safe working environment.
• Responsible to ensure team members are appropriately trained, supported and have access to resources regarding issues that are identified and actioned in accordance with the safeguarding policy and procedure.
• Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure in case any reportable incident takes place, encourage others to do so.

Educational Requirements:

Master’s degree in Education/ Educational Research is required.

Required Competencies

• Excellent strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment and decisions.
• Strong relations management abilities. Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally. Strategic in how you approach each relationship.
• Team leadership abilities with diverse/multi-disciplinary teams.
• Coaching/mentoring skills
• Presentation and facilitation skills
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions oriented and results-oriented
• Have clear understanding on educational environments, issues and challenges.
• Ability to work in a stressful situation and must be able to identify and communicate potential challenges and propose solutions to solve them.
• Must be able to function effectively in a loosely structured but complex work environment that is consistently and rapidly changing.
• Must be comfortable in being a pro-active member of the senior management team to contribute to the broader vision of the organisation.
• Computer literate including Word, Excel, Power Point. Comprehend in e-mail and internet browsing.
• Written fluency in English and outstanding report writing skills

Experience Requirements:

• Minimum of 15 years work experience programming with progressive responsibilities for an international NGO, including at least 5 years of successful performance in a Head of Education Programming position.

Employment type: Contractual

Salary: Negotiable

Job Location: Kabul, Afghanistan