The Firelight Foundation is seeking two Education Program Officers to develop, direct and deliver our education programs in Africa.
ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION: The Firelight Foundation (www.firelightfoundation.org) is a public charity based in California, USA. Firelight Foundation believes in the power of African communities to create lasting change for at-risk children, youth and families. We identify, fund, and strengthen promising community organizations that are working across the spectrum of need in order to promote the education, protection and long-term success of children and youth in Africa.
Through a combination of multi-year financial grants, capacity building and mentoring, Firelight strives to support and foster local community organizations that are working holistically to achieve better protection and education systems for children and youth in Africa. We work with these organizations as they seek to strengthen their programs, their infrastructure, their ability to effect long-term social change, and their own community’s capacity to address its needs. We work to foster community organizations so that they can take care of children today, strengthen their own capacity for tomorrow and be agents of long-term structural change structural in the future.
OVERVIEW OF ROLE: The Education Program Officers will be responsible for the overall management and direction of the Firelight Foundation’s education initiatives. The Education Program Officers will work closely with the Firelight team and our grantee partners to ensure strategic program development, effective grant-making, successful program implementation, responsive capacity building for partners, thoughtful monitoring and evaluation, multi-faceted reporting and ongoing reflection. The Education Program Officers will also be responsible for advising on Firelight’s strategic direction in the areas of education for children and youth in Africa.
At this time, Firelight’s education programs are based primarily in Tanzania, Zambia, and Malawi. The Education Program Officer role will be based in Eastern Africa.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Develop, plan, and manage the implementation of initiatives focused on improving access to quality education and learning opportunities at early childhood, primary and/or secondary levels.
Based on Firelight’s strategic direction and our ongoing major partnerships, build and/or manage a portfolio of community organizations that are working towards better education or early learning outcomes for at-risk children and youth.
Manage ongoing relationships with grantee-partners with the aim of delivering high quality programs, high capacity community organizations and high impact social change.
Provide capacity building, mentorship, and development support to community partners.
Manage the work of Program Consultants and Lead Partners when needed for the success of programs.
Collaborate with the Senior Officer for Learning and Evaluation to develop and implement thoughtful monitoring and evaluation plans and frameworks.
Document effective models, good practice, lessons learned and initiative outcomes.
Facilitate application and external sharing of knowledge generated.
Work closely with Firelight’s Development Team to build, manage and grow Firelight’s relationships with its donor partners. This will include including ongoing communication and collaborate with Institutional Partnerships Officer on proposals and reports, development of materials to share with present and potential donor partners and facilitation of donor collaborations, visits and learnings.
Develop and maintain relationships with individuals and networks that are critical to Firelight’s goals of helping community organizations achieve better education and protection outcomes for children and youth. This could include governments, other donors, thought-leaders, networks of education and early learning practitioners, and others that are striving to build stronger community organizations for Africa’s children and Africa’s future.
QUALIFICATIONS
Master’s degree (or equivalent experience) in education, international development, or other relevant field.
Experience in developing and executing impactful, collaborative programs in Africa focused on education or early learning.
Experience in organizational leadership development and capacity building for community organizations.
Experience in project management, including program planning, design implementation and evaluation, in African contexts.
Insight and sound judgment in evaluation of leadership, organizational capacity, and education program design of community organizations.
Ability to work collaboratively and constructively with community organizations that are on the front lines of impact for at-risk children and youth.
At least 5-7 years work experience with progressive responsibility in program management.
Strong time management skills with the ability to effectively multi-task and prioritize to meet deadlines.
Ability to maintain timely, meaningful and collaborative communication with a multi-country, bi-continental team and a wide range of grantee-partners and other collaborative partners.
Excellent written and oral communications skills in English.
Intellectual curiosity completed by sound analysis and critical thinking skills.
Excellent interpersonal and team skills.
Ability to maintain a fairly rigorous schedule during travel; ability to travel over 50% of time.
PREFERRED
Fluency in one or more local languages spoken in Tanzania, Malawi, or Zambia.
Grantwriting and grant management experience.
Strong work ethic.
Good sense of humor.
How to apply
APPLICATION PROCESS
Send updated CV and cover letter to careers@firelightfoundation.org.
Please note “Education Program Officer” and your full name (last name first) in subject line of e-mail.
This position is open until filled. Only persons short-listed for interviews will be contacted. No phone calls please.