Senior Program Officer or Program Manager (Education)

Date of Publication
Application Deadline
Company
WUSC EUMC
Brief Description

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

WUSC EUMC

 

POSITION TITLE

 Senior Program Officer or Program Manager (Education)

POSITION LOCATION

Ottawa (consideration given to other locations)

REPORTS TO

Director of Programs

CONTRACT TERM

Indeterminate

APPLICATION DEADLINE

June 20, 2021

EXPECTED START DATE

August2021

LANGUAGES

English essential, French is an asset

POSITION LEVEL

PRO 2 (56k to 65k ) or  PRO 3 (65k to 76k)

 

BACKGROUND

WUSC (World University Service of Canada) is a Canadian non-profit organization working to create a better world for all young people. We bring together a diverse network of governments, civil society organizations, schools, training institutions, private sector partners,  and volunteers who share this vision. Together, we develop solutions in education, economic opportunities, and empowerment to overcome inequality and exclusion for youth around the world, particularly young women and young refugees. WUSC currently works in 25 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, with an annual budget of approximately CAD $40 million. We have over 90 staff in our Ottawa office, and over 200 people overseas implementing 16 development projects in collaboration with donors such as Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the African Development Bank.


The AGENCI Project:

The Adolescent Girls’ Education in Crisis Initiative (AGENCI) is a CAD$ 17 million, four-year project (2020-2024) that will enhance the empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Female Youth (AGFY) pursuing educational pathways in crisis affected areas of South Sudan, Uganda and Syria. AGENCI was funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and is being implemented by the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) and Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC). This initiative will improve the education and empowerment outcomes of beneficiaries comprising of girls, female youth and women between the ages of 10-24 in the target areas of Uganda, South Sudan and Syria.

 

The LEAP Project:

The Learning through Education and Access to Skills for Employment (LEAP) Project is a CAD $12, four-year project (2019–2024) being implemented by World University Service of Canada (WUSC) in Kenya. It was funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC). The LEAP Project focuses on increasing the empowerment of adolescent girls and young women through two key interventions: improving learning outcomes at primary and secondary school level, and increasing equitable participation in the formal and informal workforce.

Nature and Scope:

The individual selected for this position will support the strategic implementation of two education projects, namely, the AGENCI Project and the LEAP Project. The SPO/PM - Education, will report to the WUSC Director of Programs, but will also work closely on a day-to-day basis with the AGENCI and LEAP Project Country and Team leads based in Uganda, South Sudan and Kenya, as well as consortium partners based in Ottawa.  The SPO/PM - Education will play a critical role in: supporting the Project Teams to comply with donor policies and project reporting requirements; manage the WUSC Ottawa portion of the Project Budgets; foster collaboration and communication between WUSC Ottawa and WUSC Country teams; manage quality control processes of WUSC’s education interventions; and supporting the growth of WUSC’s education portfolio. Duties include:

Program Management

  • Provide support to project teams on the technical direction and implementation of the Projects including preparation of Workplans, Monitoring and Evaluation Plans, Gender Strategies, Teaching and Learning Plans, and other relevant documents required by the donor;
  • Effectively manage relationships with project partners in collaboration with the Project Director, including developing Memoranda of Understanding, supporting the Project Steering Committee and day-to-day operations;
  • Act as a coordinator with various functional units within WUSC’s HQ (e.g. communications, IT, human resources, etc.) to deliver support to WUSC country teams;
  • Support project reporting in collaboration with the WUSC country teams;
  • Provide general troubleshooting and facilitation support to requests from the WUSC country teams;
  • Oversee logistics for project personnel missions to and from the field;
  • Ensure WUSC’s Gender Equality Policy is applied and support gender mainstreaming in projects, including participating in the development of project-specific gender strategies and providing coaching to staff in gender equality;
  • Exercise budget control and manage project procurement for international contracts in accordance with contractual obligations and in consultation with the Financial Analyst, the Project Director; and
  • Work with the Financial Analysts assigned to each project to monitor budgets, prepare financial reports and provide financial analysis.

Networking, Thought Leadership, and Positioning

  • Participate in learning clusters and policy groups in order to share learnings and advocate for WUSC;
  • Ensure a robust approach to teaching and learning, drawing from international best practices, within each project, by collaborating with the WUSC technical advisors;
  • Collaborate with WUSC’s current network of education technical experts in multiple project countries in order to develop WUSC’s toolbox and approaches to relevant issues within the education sector;
  • Identify potential international, Canadian and local partners for new education initiatives in target countries or the region;
  • Seek opportunities for WUSC to convene and collaborate with peers and thought leaders in the education sector, especially on issues related to girls’ education in fragile and conflict affected states;
  • Represent WUSC at relevant conferences, fora, working groups and meetings and maintain close working relationships with counterparts in other relevant international NGOs, donors, partners, and academia; 
  • Prepare and deliver presentations about WUSC’s education programs as required;
  • Seek opportunities to increase the awareness, commitment and involvement of WUSC’s University and College members, private sector partners and other key stakeholders; and
  • Participate in WUSC’s communications work by providing data, information and other material for use with WUSC’s Canadian and international constituency and assist in implementing constituency building, communication strategies, and fundraising activities.

Quality Assurance and Capacity Development

  • Ensure the consistent identification and application of internal quality standards, lessons learned and external best practices in both projects; 
  • Support program staff in the development or revision of program/project-specific education strategies, plans and activities;  
  • Assist program staff in project planning and management approaches (including results based management tools) and propose strategies to increase project/program impact in Education; 
  • Collaborate with existing WUSC technical resources to identify strengths and weaknesses in existing education practices, leading the development of improved systems, processes, and tools for improving our results; 
  • Collaborate with existing WUSC technical resources to create resources and tools (i.e. tipsheets, webinars, etc.) that to assist staff in effectively prioritizing and integrating best practices in Education in their work; and
  • Support capacity building efforts related to education programing for WUSC Ottawa and field staff, including training and coaching to WUSC staff and partners.
  • Supporting on digital education initiatives and further team knowledge and development on this subject.

Any other duties as assigned.

 

Qualifications and Competencies:

  • A minimum of 7 years of experience working for international development organizations, preferably in developing countries and in Canada; 
  • Bachelor’s degree in a related field (social sciences, education, international development). Master’s degree in a related field an asset;
  • Knowledge of education sector, including specialization in education in fragile and conflict affected contexts and girls’ education; 
  • Excellent working knowledge of Results Based Management approaches including Logic Models and monitoring and evaluation tools; 
  • Experience with a range of institutional donors, especially with Global Affairs Canada. 
  • Experience managing, advising or developing digital education programs is an asset.

Competencies:

  • Strong capacity for strategic analysis and research skills;
  • Excellent administration and organizational skills, including ability to prioritize tasks and handle multiple initiatives under tight deadlines;
  • Preference for working in teams;
  • Proven ability to work productively with a variety of stakeholders to run participatory processes and meet tight deadlines with an emphasis on producing quality products; 
  • Effective interpersonal and influencing skills, including the ability to build relationships, network, communicate and represent at a senior level are essential; 
  • Flexibility, with a strong work ethic and an entrepreneurial spirit to accommodate high levels of responsibility and multiple priorities; 
  • Excellent capacity building skills, with demonstrated experience in effective training, coaching and facilitation;
  • Passion and commitment to gender equality and youth empowerment.

Languages and Other:  

  • Complete fluency, oral and written in English essential; French is an asset.
  • Ability to travel internationally to East Africa and other regions if needed;
  • Ability to work a flexible schedule. 

 

WHY WORK WITH WUSC?

Join Us. Our work is important, cutting-edge, and fast-paced. We encourage curiosity, innovation, and flexibility, and we provide a phenomenal learning experience.

WUSC offers a dynamic international work environment with a diverse intercultural workforce. We offer employees exciting opportunities to apply their skills and gain experience all while making a difference in the lives of youth around the world. Employees at WUSC work hard to create lasting change in education, economic opportunities and empowerment.

The WUSC office is in centrally located Hintonburg in Ottawa. Currently WUSC team members  are working remotely. WUSC offers flexible working arrangements, competitive benefits, four weeks of annual leave (for full-time employees), safe and healthy working conditions, and fair compensation. Click here to learn more about WUSC Top 100 Employers of National Capital Region 2021. 

 

APPLICATIONS

WUSC’s activities seek to balance inequities and create sustainable development around the globe; the work ethic of our staff, volunteers, representatives and partners shall correspond to the values and mission of the organization. WUSC promotes responsibility, respect, honesty, and professional excellence and we will not tolerate harassment, coercion, sexual exploitation or abuse of any form. Successful applicants will be required to undertake an enhanced criminal record check where appropriate.

WUSC is an equal opportunity employer.  We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.  Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. No telephone calls please.

If you wish to apply for this position, please follow this link to register on WUSC’s candidate database.