Project Lead (LEGO Foundation)

ROLE PURPOSE:

Save the Children is seeking a Project Lead for the 5 year $5 million LEGO Foundation funded project Teachwell Voices.  The project aims to improve quality of instruction and wellbeing of teachers in RHC to support in including and holistic education for children. The project goal is to contribute to an enabling policy and legislative environment that promotes integration of refugee teachers into the national Kenyan education system; by securing policy change across the following three outcome areas; strengthen policy frameworks and legislation, amplify teachers’ voices and engagement and increase financing for professional development for refugee teachers

The Project Lead will take a leadership role and assume the overall responsibility of the consortium’s deliverables in the project. The position holder will be  responsible for providing strategic vision and leadership, including leading the development and delivery of TeachWell Voices and advocacy strategy. The position holder will manage the execution of the overall project plans as as well as ensure consortium management, broker and maintain strategic partnerships, that will advance the projects mission. The holder of this position will convene and coordinate advocacy and policy expertise across the project, represent the consortia in the steering working group and draw from technical expertise, experience and learning strategic areas of implementation in carrying out this work.  S/he has responsibility for ensuring quality deliverables are delivered on time and on budget. The Project Lead will directly supervise Deputy Team Lead and the and work closely with relevant Technical Specialists and different internal teams and functions in the consortia and across the Refugee TPD movement to ensure project results are met. 

This position is contingent upon donor approval and funding.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Director of Program Operations Save the Children Kenya  

Indirectly reports to: The Programme Steering Committee 

Staff reporting to this post: TBC

Country Dimensions: Save the Children has been operational in Kenya since the 1950s, providing support to children through developmental and humanitarian relief programmes delivered both directly and through local partners. Current programming focuses on child protection, child rights governance, education, health, HIV/AIDS, livelihoods, nutrition and WASH. In 2012, as part of a global reorganization process, Save the Children combined the programmes of SC UK, SC Canada and SC Finland to create a single operation in Kenya. In Feb 2014, we completed a second transition, which saw us join forces with the British INGO, Merlin, and merge their health and nutrition programmes with our own. Save the Children now has an operational presence in Bungoma, Dadaab Refugee Camp, Garissa, Mandera, Turkana and Wajir and we work through partners in many other parts of the country. In total, we employ around 200 staff and had an operating annual budget in 2019 of approximately US$13 million.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY: 

Policy & advocacy lead 

• Ensure accountability for all advocacy and policy aspects and provide strategic direction for the project. 
• Define clear policy goals with the implementation team and consortia partners execute a highly coordinated advocacy strategy and plan. 
• Set vision and strategy for consistent and deepening leadership within the consortium and inside and outside of the consortium through advocacy actions. 
• Manage tracking of advocacy actions and initiatives and dissemination of evidence based findings. 
• In partnership with consortia partners, oversee and support the development and dissemination of the projects policy and advocacy assets.
• Oversee and manage engagement in high level advocacy coalitions and networks  and manage high level external partnerships related to the project. 

Representation and Relationship Building 

• Develop and nurture strategic and working relationships with senior level government stakeholders on refugee education and other related policy interventions. 
• Lead collaboration with a broad range of state and non state counterparts and support the consortium to achieve the goals through creative, innovative, and effective interventions.
• Manage team engagement on key working groups and   clusters in order to build alliances. 
• Link in country advocacy interventions and results to the regional and global advocacy agenda on refugee education and Teacher professional Development (TPD) 
• Undertake high level representation in country with strategic partners such as relevant UN agencies, development partners, African Union agencies and others., 

Consortium and Team Management 

• Represent the consortia in the steering working group. 
• Provide programmatic and strategic leadership, setting priorities in designing and managing the implementation of the project’s activities in collaboration with the technical and operational staff.
• Brings strong leadership to ensure the delivery team is well functioning and able to achieve its set objectives, and provides guidance, support and mentoring to team members.
• Working with partners in ensuring shared, harmonised, and integrated technical learning approaches are adopted. 
• Ensure strong communication and coordination with and between all team members to effectively achieve optimal project success.

Oversight of  Project Operations & Grant Management 

Work with Deputy Team Lead to: 

• Ensure technical rigor and efficient and effective delivery of the project objectives;  Project has an up-to-date work plan, in line with the approved annual Detailed Implementation Plan (DIP) and phased budget.
• Project teams receive appropriate and timely support from technical advisers and programme quality teams for program delivery. 
• Ensure that all programs progress in accordance with grant agreements, are completed within time, budget, and quality.
• Ensure compliance with all grant provisions and timely fulfilment of all project programmatic reporting requirements including donor  internal reports. 
• Oversee timely expenditure of approved budgets, avoiding under both spending and overspending on grant line items, and implementing plans for expenditure modification.

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability:

• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• Future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
• Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• Willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s / post graudate degree or Ph.D in law, public policy, political science, , public administration, or any relevant qualification 
• Recommend a minimum of 10 years of relevant technical experience in policy and advocacy related work in education, teacher professional development, refugee education and other related sectors.
• Recommend a minimum of 10 years of expertise managing large and complex grants (ideally LEGO), managing multiple partners, and working in consortia 
• Excellent experience in external representation with donors, local/national governments, communities, and partners 
• Experience of solving complex issues through analysis, adapting and innovating where necessary, and defining a clear way forward and ensuring buy in
• Ability to extensively travel for project monitoring and provide on-site technical support to field teams 
• Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills including influencing, negotiation and coaching
• Highly developed cultural and political awareness and ability to work well in an international and matrix management environment with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures
• Strong results orientation, with the ability to challenge existing mindsets
• Ability to present complex information in a succinct and compelling manner
• Fluency in English, both verbal and written, required
• Commitment to Save the Children values