Are you an Operations Manager with project management experience? Or a highly experienced Project Manager, who wants to move into a more operational role? Do you have an interest in education or development and experience with content development? Education.org want to hear from you!
ABOUT EDUCATION.ORG
Education.org is an independent non-profit foundation established to advance the use of research
and knowledge in global education. Our mission is to improve the learning of every child and
young person by helping education leaders – whether in national government ministries or international partners – to access and use the best evidence to guide their policies and plans.
We aim to be ‘a constructive disruptor’, adding value both as a ‘knowledge bridge’ – connecting
the right evidence with the right policy makers – and as a ‘knowledge integrator’, in making that
evidence useful and actionable.
Education.org’s first two reports, our White Paper, “Calling for an Education Knowledge Bridge” and our Evidence Synthesis on Accelerated Education Programmes (AEPs) in SubSaharan Africa are examples of our commitment to amplifying evidence in need of greater visibility and uptake. You can find these reports, our Strategy 2023-2028, which sets out our
ambitious plans for growth in the next five years, and much more information about us and our
work on our website: www.education.org. Established in 2019 and with offices in Zurich, Switzerland, and Nairobi, Kenya, we are supported by a visionary co-investor collective and are growing partnerships across governments, agencies, NGOs, universities, businesses and foundations in Africa, Middle East, Europe and North America.
CONTEXT OF THE POST
Education.org is a young organisation but builds on years of thinking and is supported by a
visionary co-investor collective. This role will be part of a young, but grounded, foundation that
aims to be a disruptor to the status quo in the education world, and therefore requires someone
who can work in an environment which is fluid, agile and responsive to change.
PURPOSE OF THE POST
For this mid-level position, we are looking for a qualified and innovative candidate to help
increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our organisational operations and programme delivery. The Operations/Project Manager will establish streamlined operational processes and project management systems, ensuring the timely delivery of initiatives and alignment with organizational goals. Additionally, they will foster strong relationships with external service providers, ensure compliance with internal policies across the Team, and maintain efficient financial, administrative, and IT operations across the organization. Flexibility and dynamism will be required in this start-up non-profit environment.
MAIN ACTIVITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Reporting to the Chief Communications Officer, the role will encompass on time and on budget
delivery of future projects, as well as offering a wider planning and execution responsibility
across key organisational initiatives, including our synthesis and in-country work.
Key responsibilities and activities:
- Leading on shaping and maintaining effective project and process management in
support of our mission and vision - Providing effective support to programme and projects formulation and implementation
- Managing projects and implementation, ensuring timely delivery to agreed milestones;
build project plans and management tools - Applying agile project and process management knowledge, skills, tools, and practices
to ensure that projects generate successful outcomes - Establishing and maintaining an operational rhythm for Education.org across finance,
admin, and IT - Creating and maintaining project schedules using project workflow documents; and
communicating roles to wider project team - Monitoring activity and budget implementation toward annual organisational and grant
planning figures and budgets - Maximising and managing day-to-day relationships with external service providers
across departments, such as IT, Accounting, HR, Legal Advice, Technical/Program
Assistance Consultants and Communication providers - Ensuring external service providers’ contracts (individual consultants and institutional)
are managed in accordance with their terms of reference - Supporting inter-departmental document management, organisational workflow
development and implementation - Contributing to the development of operational best practices and to ensuring
compliance throughout the global organisation, including HR policies and
organizational value promotion - Overseeing cashflow as per grants receipt, payment/bank processes and internal
financial transactions administration - As required, liaising with respective country authorities related to national Foundation
legal aspects, social benefits, etc. - Establishing service provider relationships for staff travels and logistics, and organise
national and international travels - Targetted administrative support for Leadership Team
SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND QUALIFICATIONS
Skills
- Exceptional teamwork and communication skills
- Exceptional organisational skills while reducing complexity and avoiding rigidity
- Exceptional time-management
- High-level of drive for results as well as efficiency
- Flexible in a fast-paced environment
- Treats all individuals with respect, and responds sensitively to differences
- Business-level fluency in English is required. French, Spanish or Arabic is a plus but additional languages are not a requirement.
Education
- A bachelor’s degree
Work Experience
At least 7 years of experience in an operations or project management position,
including experience in budget management
- MS Office proficient; very well versed in Outlook, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
- Proven experience with collaborative tools and project management systems,
including: Sharepoint, Trello and MS Teams - An understanding of how Ai can be integrated into project management to deliver
greater efficiency and effectiveness - In-depth understanding of and experience with budgeting and financial reporting,
financial transaction processes and monitoring - Working knowledge of good business practices and office management
- Broad understanding of the education and/or development and/or non-profit sectors is
a plus but not a necessity - Experience working in a small, start-up environment is desired but not a requirement
- Experience in a fast-paced, content development driven environment is a bonus, e.g.
working in marketing, advertising, media etc. - Experience working remotely and/or in a hybrid work environment
HOW TO APPLY
To learn more about Education.org and see examples of our work see: https://education.org/home. Please email a CV/Resume and a covering letter outlining how you match the required knowledge, experience and skills to: [email protected], with ‘Communications & Engagement application’ in the e-mail address line.
Deadlines: All applications to be submitted by 18 November 2024
Please note that we aim to interview preferred candidates between 25 November and 6 December, but reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as soon as possible. Please note that we actively encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds and underrepresented communities to apply with a specific interest in candidates based in the Global South.
We are unable to offer work visas or permits and so any candidate will need to ensure you have the right to work for whichever country you are applying from. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted
