Education Program Officer

Job Description

 Position Summary:

The Luminos Fund, an international non-profit bringing education opportunities to the world’s most vulnerable children, seeks an Education Program Officer to support the implementation, evaluation, and iteration of a bespoke education project. The winning candidate will have experience designing education programs and will possess excellent analytical skills. Responsibilities will broadly include project and Implementing Partner management, data oversight, donor stewardship, and curriculum tool development. The Education Program Officer will have frequent interactions with the program technical team, government stakeholders, and Implementing Partners.

About The Luminos Fund

The Luminos Fund (www.luminosfund.org) believes that no child should be denied the chance to learn. Luminos is an international non-profit that provides transformative education programs to thousands of out- of-school children, helping them to catch up to grade level, reintegrate into local schools, and prepare for lifelong learning. Luminos currently operates classrooms in parts of Ethiopia, Liberia, Ghana, Lebanon, and the Gambia.

For nearly a decade in Ethiopia, Luminos has implemented the Second Chance program, an evidence-based accelerated learning model that targets marginalized out-of-school children between 9-14 years old. Over the course of 10 months, Luminos helps children to become literate and numerate and then to transition into government schools with their age peers. Luminos works in partnership with trained local Implementing Partners to deliver intensive, assessment-informed, activity-based instruction using local learning materials and authentic pedagogies. In Ethiopia, the Luminos Fund has worked closely with the Ministry of Education on the development of a government-adoption model, known as the Accelerated Learning Program. Today, the Luminos team is responsible for national and regional MoE engagement, curriculum, pedagogy and training design, monitoring and evaluation, and funding for local Implementing Partners.

Luminos Fund Ethiopia, a legally registered INGO with a CSA license number 5731, is seeking an Education Program Officer. This position is based in Addis Ababa, but will require extensive domestic travel and some international travel. The Education Program Officer will report to the Senior Program Manager.

Key Performance Indicators

Program Management and Development

• Maintain an integrated/coordinated project plan, including project implementation activities, key milestones, operational activities, monitoring and evaluation activities, etc.
• Ensure that program monitoring and evaluation system/tools are utilized, and program progress, results, and immediate objectives are systematically tracked, documented, and shared as appropriate based on Luminos’ and donors’ requirements.
• When required, coordinate external EGRA/EGMA consultants to deliver high quality baseline and endline evaluations, even in challenging circumstances.
• Supervise and support Implementing Partners, ensuring that projects are efficiently and effectively run and adhere to Luminos Fund standards.
• Track and deliver against program and country budgets to ensure efficient resource utilization and accurate reporting.
• When required, coordinate external EGRA/EGMA consultants to deliver high quality baseline and endline evaluations, even in challenging circumstances.
• Develop sound processes for the collection, cleaning, and analysis of student data.
• Leverage student data to recommend revisions to curriculum tools and project model.
• Support the Senior Program Manager and Country Director to ensure delivery of timely, accurate, and accessible reporting on a range of donor requirements.
• Together with IP staff, identify lessons learned, best practices, and challenges, and compile for future learning.
• Support other projects within the Ethiopia portfolio as needed

Implementing Partner Management

• Identify performance gaps, provide on-site consultation and professional assistance, and arrange continuous improvement trainings for IPs’ education program staff.
• Spot check the financial, material, and human resource utilization of the IPs in line with project Memorandum of Understanding.
• Support the Senior Program Manager to maintain relationships with existing partners and stakeholders including the relevant government offices.
• Assist the Senior Program Manager to develop and formalize Memoranda and/or contracts to formalise and clarify relationships with implementing partners.
• Coordinate program and finance staff to compile and submit timely reports and key performance indicators to Luminos Fund HQ and relevant government offices in Ethiopia.
• Support and collaborate with the program team in designing, scheduling, and executing field visits for donors, Luminos Fund HQ staff, potential donors, government officials, and sister country program staff.
• Conduct routine monitoring visits to Luminos and government- adoption classrooms.

Job Requirement

• At least a bachelor’s degree in Education, Educational Psychology, Social work, Pedagogy and/or Educational Research is preferable.
• Minimum of 5 years of project management and/or educational research experience.
• Demonstrated experience in basic computer programs, particularly data management programs.

• An understanding of the Learning Crisis, particularly as it affects Ethiopia and knowledge of effective approaches to support children to develop foundational skills in literacy and numeracy.
• Belief and demonstrated passion for the mission, vision, and values of Luminos Fund
• Impeccable integrity
• Able to plan, coordinate, and prioritize assignments and workload in an extremely fast-paced environment.
• Self-motivated, with the ability to work independently.
• Team player, with a belief in the power of positivity and appreciative inquiry
• Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication skills
• Analytical thinking skills and a strong and dedicated work ethic are required.
• Leadership skills
• Adaptable
• Readiness to problem solve creatively on a myriad of fronts and go above and beyond to deliver outsized success.