Head of government support Job opportunity at Chemonics International

Chemonics seeks a head of government support for an anticipated multi-year, DFID-funded education programme in Tanzania. Shule Bora seeks to improve quality, inclusiveness, and safety of learning for all 11.5 million girls and boys in government pre-primary and primary schools in Tanzania. In addition to providing support to government systems at the national level, Shule Bora will provide additional focused support to an estimated 4.4 million children in 9 regions. The head of government support will lead the programme’s support to the government of Tanzania to implement the PforR mechanism (Component B) in a timely and effective manner, as well as support the team leader in national-level coordination with the government of Tanzania. The position will be based in Dodoma and will require some travel to other parts of Tanzania. The project is expected to start in March 2021 and conclude in March 2027. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world.

Responsibilities include:

• Support the team leader in the day-to-day management of the programme as part of the senior management team
• Lead the team focused on delivering Component B of the programme
• Support the Ministry of Education Science and Technology (MoEST) and President’s Office Regional and Local Government (PO-RALG) in overall programme management including general management, education sector and resource planning, quality assurance, and internal monitoring and reporting
• Ensure performance against all Tanzanian government Development Linked Indicators (DLIs)
• Update the Programme Operations Manual annually
• Ensure analysis and capacity building in planning and resource allocation, including mathematical modelling
• Support the Tanzanian government in coordination within the education sector
• Support development of the Enabling Education Management Information Systems development (EMIS) and operations, including QA annual census; annual Education Sector Performance Report (ESPR) and Basic Education Statistics for Tanzania (BEST)
• Provide public financial management (PFM) and fiduciary risk mitigation expertise
• Conduct capacity building gap analysis and interventions (mentoring/coaching) for the government of Tanzania
• Oversee lessons learned documentation and communication
• Support the Tanzanian government to share and roll out lessons and best practices from interventions delivered in the nine focus regions as part of Component C.
• Work with the senior management team to support the DLI independent verification teams (IVT) from an independent learning and evaluation service provider
• Work with the senior management team to support the Tanzanian government to build awareness, understanding, and support of the education sector payment for results (PforR) mechanism at the regional and local levels
• Identify technical assistance needs, develop suitable scopes of work and recruit staff and consultants for new project interventions under Component B
• Contribute to the design and updates of the Theories of Change for each of the four outcome areas: learning, disability, girls’ education, and school safety
• Work with the senior management team to provide learning and evidence to the government of Tanzania on how to achieve outcomes affordably and at scale, enabling achievement of PforR targets
• Coordinate closely with the senior management team to ensure that successful pilots in the regions are scaled up at the national level and inform education policy and planning
• Work with the senior management team to identify and implement system-level reforms for more effective teaching; school, district, and regional planning and management; community engagement; use of data; and reforms relevant to advancing the outcomes for girls’ education, disability, and school safety
• Support the SMT to identify and design new project interventions under Component C of the project (support the Tanzanian government to test, adapt and deliver interventions at scale) based on evidence
• Manage monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning, as well as communications staff in a matrixed system, with a focus on adaptive management
• Take part in key strategic reviews of the project
• Act as the team lead as required
• Lead national-level liaison with the Tanzanian government, including MoEST, PO-RALG, the Ministry of Finance and Planning (MoFP), the President’s Office for Public Sector Management (PO-PSM), the Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE), and the National Examinations Council of Tanzania (NECTA)
• Coordinate with the senior management team to identify the most relevant Tanzanian government partners for design and delivery of project interventions and decide how to channel through Tanzanian budgeting and planning processes
• Work with other members of the SMT to manage relationships with DFID and other donor-funded programmes
• Meet Component B performance targets and complete deliverables outlined in the programme contract in a timely manner, offer value for money, and follow DFID and Chemonics regulations and procedures
• Work with the team lead in programme work planning, budgeting, performance management, risk management, monitoring and evaluation, and strategic communications
• Manage communication and agreements with component subcontractors and provide monitoring of technical deliverables
• Ensure that lessons learned from the implementation of the PforR mechanism are well-documented and communicated

Qualifications:

• Experience of and ability to collaborate and build partnerships with host-country governments, UK government agencies, donor agencies, and international organisations; existing strong relationships with Tanzanian government and other key stakeholders strongly preferred
• At least eight years of professional experience managing or providing technical oversight for large (£15 million), complex projects in developing countries, including at least four years as a team leader, chief of party, project manager, deputy team leader, or deputy chief of party, ideally for a DFID-funded project
• Record of thinking and working politically and navigating complex political environments. Ability to apply systems thinking
• Experience in education sector and resource planning; quality assurance; monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning; EMIS and other data management and analysis systems and operations; PFM and FRM; institutional capacity building gap analysis and interventions (mentoring/coaching); and/or supporting partner governments on PforR mechanisms
• Knowledge and experience working on donor-funded education programmes
• Experience leading large teams and managing programmes that achieve results, with a focus on adaptive management and technical implementation
• Proven project-management skills, ideally with a project management qualification
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Experience in Tanzania or East Africa is required
• Demonstrated leadership, versatility, and integrity

Chemonics is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factors.

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