ECD Project Coordinator – Hargeisa, Somaliland

Organisation Overview

Pharo Foundation (the “Foundation”) is a privately funded entrepreneurial organisation that runs philanthropic programmes as well as the for-profit arm, Pharo Ventures. The vision of the Foundation is an economically vibrant and inclusive Africa. The mission is to achieve our vision by investing in Africa’s human and physical capital with a strong focus on job creation.

Established in 2011 as a UK based non-profit, the Foundation has since made a strategic shift to directly design and implement its own programmes to ensure greater engagement with communities, better results and increased accountability. The Foundation has carried out numerous projects in East Africa, with a focus in Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Somaliland. The key themes for the philanthropic side of the Foundation are education, health, water and agriculture. At the end of 2019, the Foundation started its Pharo Ventures franchise to prioritise sectors where the Foundation believes a real impact can be made by establishing self- sustaining businesses that focus on job creation.

Headquartered in London, the Foundation has an operational Head Office in Nairobi, Kenya with country offices in Ethiopia (Addis Ababa and Assosa), Somaliland (Hargeisa) and Rwanda (Kigali) with further expansion plans in East Africa.

Position Summary

Job Title: ECD Project Coordinator

Reporting to:  ECD Programme Manager

Location: Hargeisa, Somaliland

Contract Type: Fixed Term - One year

Functional Relationships: Pharo Education Team lead by the Head of Education

We are looking for an enthusiastic and hardworking Early Childhood Development (ECD) Project Coordinator. The incumbent will focus on the academic side of the Early Childhood Education (ECD) Programme and be fully in charge of the Primary Literacy Programme. He/she will be responsible for ensuring that the implementation and learning outcomes of the programmes are met. The role involves direct supervision and support to Gov. Primary teachers and Pharo ECD Education officers to improve their capabilities and the programme’s needs.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Assist with planning and coordination of Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Professional Learning Programmes (PLP) and their activities.
• Monitor the implementation of programme policies and practices.
• Work to keep programmes on schedule, within stated budgets and functioning smoothly.
• Support programme growth and development as necessary.
• Facilitate the smooth transition of children from ECE to formal schooling (Primary School).
• Coordinate programme communications between stakeholders.
• Manage staff work assignments, workloads, and weekly/daily work schedules.
• Assist the Programme Manager in the interviewing, training, and supervision of Leaders in Training.
• Develop a monitoring schedule for officers to make sure teachers are following the approved curriculum.
• Undertake scheduled and surprise monitoring visits to ECE centres and Primary School classrooms to see adequate teaching and learning is taking place. (ECE – play-based learning, Primary- T&L)
• Organise and lead formative, summative, and continuous learning and development assessments of children in class.
• Monitor the PLP budget, including tracking billing (BvA) and payments to vendors.
• Coordinate interactions/relationships between staff, clients, administrators and all other PLP stakeholders.
• Schedule in advance and organise programme-related meetings and events.
• Oversee the use of technology for programme operations, such as EMIS.
• Create and maintain programme records, reports, presentations, and proposals.
• Provide and collect monthly, quarterly, and annual ECE and PLP reports.
• Analyse and disseminate findings from the education assessments to all stakeholders.
• Facilitate positive relations between the programme team, the public, the media, other departments within the organisation, and all other involved parties.
• Promote the advancement of ECD at the community and school level.
• Provide feedback to the line manager on the quality of the ECD Programme.
• Always uphold the 6 child safeguarding principles and confidentiality.
• Any other duties assigned.

Qualification Requirements

• Master’s level qualification in Social Sciences, Education, Psychology, Human Development, Social Work, or related subject; bachelor’s level qualification with additional work experience in the below area will also be considered;
• Demonstrated 3 years of overall experience in ECD and a minimum of 1-year specific experience of managing people.
• Passion for children’s issues especially in child development, child health, and early childhood education with proven experience in managing and/or technically supporting early childhood development, education, health or child protection programs.
• Good critical thinking; ability to synthesis a wide scope of information.
• Solid organizational skills, with a proven ability to prioritize projects with attention to detail.
• Understanding of monitoring and evaluation systems and use of data for learning.
• Strong leadership, staff management and project management skills; Strong budget management and reporting skills.
• Good understanding of education concepts and issues in development context.
• Strong interpersonal & team building skills and excellence as a team player.
• Ability to develop and maintain productive and effective working relationships.
• In-hand experience of using Microsoft Office (MS Word, MS Excel, PowerPoint etc.)
• Must be fluent in English and Somali – written and spoken.

Behavioural Competencies

• A passionate and driven individual with high social and emotional intelligence.
• Open-minded and flexible individual.
• Creative thinker who can think outside the box.
• Respect and understand the local culture and values while embracing and can work within international work ethics and standards.
• Dedicated team player with demonstratable experience in setting up good governance and processes at scale.
• High levels of integrity, professionalism, resilience, accountability, commitment and determination.

This position is open to both female and male nationals from Somaliland.

The application deadline is September 22nd, 2023.

Review of applications will begin as soon as they are received, and only complete applications will be considered. In the event that an outstanding applicant is identified early in the search process, we reserve the right to appoint before the deadline. For this reason, we encourage interested candidates to apply at the earliest possible time.

Due to the high volume of applications, we regret that we will only be able to contact shortlisted candidates.

Application Requirements:

• A detailed CV.

• Cover letter - In your cover letter, please indicate your motivation for the role and state where you heard about this position or saw it advertised e.g. through our website, jobs board, etc.
• An updated list of at least six (6) referees with their names, titles, current email addresses, and phone numbers.
• Essay of not more than 1,000 words outlining the experiences you have gained that makes you the most qualified candidate for the role.

Please click on the link to apply https://pharofoundation.bamboohr.com/careers/96