Program Manager II, Education – Egypt At Catholic Relief Services

Background:

The CRS Egypt country program began in 1956 at the invitation of the Egyptian president Nasser by providing relief assistance to the victims of the Suez War. Over the following few decades, CRS Egypt moved from large-scale food relief to long-term poverty alleviation and development programs. CRS Egypt works in a wide variety of areas within the development field.

Currently, CRS Egypt has three main programs: education assistance program and livelihoods program for refugee support, and local partnership. Projects under these programs range from the provision of technical assistance and capacity building to partners, promoting peace and tolerance, educational grants for refugees and assistance to refugee community schools, and technical support and start-up funds for refugee and vulnerable Egyptian entrepreneurs. Additional programming includes Emergency Preparedness and Response projects that arise as needed. The Operations department, supported by a regional Management Quality unit, ensures the country program develops and maintains the highest level of operational standards.

CRS Egypt currently holds a both a main office and a refugee support office in Maadi with activities in Greater Cairo, Upper Egypt and the North Coast.

Job Summary:

You will manage and provide technical oversight of the development and implementation of the Country Program (CP) education programming, particularly for large and complex projects, ensuring effective systems and processes are in place that support high-quality programming advancing Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) work in serving the poor and vulnerable. Your management skills and knowledge will ensure that the CP delivers high-quality programming and continuously works towards improving the impact of its education programming.

Under the supervision and guidance of the Head of Programming (HoP), you will be responsible for the planning, implementation, and monitoring of CRS Egypt’s education portfolio. You will provide technical support to project staff and partners, ensure timely and accurate reporting to the HoP and donors, and represent the project in a variety of contexts at the governmental and nongovernmental levels. You will also provide support to growth opportunities within sector, including new business and partnering opportunities. This will include identifying potential partners, donor scoping/mapping, intel gathering, and leading proposal development.

Job Responsibilities:

Provide management, guidance, and technical oversight of all new and existing projects within the CP education program throughout the project cycle to ensure project design, start-up, implementation and close-out are in line with CRS quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices. Ensure project team and partner staff use the appropriate systems and tools, including for both technical and financial management.
Effectively manage and supervise talent. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Provide coaching, strategically tailor individual development plans, contribute to the recruitment process of project staff, and complete performance management for direct reports.
Lead the development of program learning – identify opportunities for learning, research and publications in the area of education and implementation of MEAL policy. Facilitate the dissemination of promising practices and lessons learned to contribute to the agency knowledge management agenda. Ensure integration of innovations and best practices.
Share project learning and experiences in broader discussions, with donors, with relevant stakeholders, and with beneficiaries, as relevant, through the production of high-quality communication documents.
Contribute to the proactive pursuit of opportunities for new funding to ensure growth of the CP education sector portfolio in line with agency, regional, and CP strategic priorities. Serve as the technical lead and technical writer to ensure quality proposals in education per agency and donor standards. Contribute to budgeting and staffing plans and activities for proposals.
Oversee the identification, assessment and strengthening of relevant education and the appropriate application of education concepts, tools, and approaches.
Lead reporting efforts for projects under the portfolio, ensuring products are of high quality and utilize CRS tools and best practices.
Manage identification, assessment, and integration of education concepts, tools, and activities in other program sectors and project activities.
Ensure timely and appropriate project expenditures in line with financial plans and efficient use and stewardship of project material sources. Lead the budget pipeline and management oversight process for both direct project implementation and partner implementation, including providing training as needed.
In coordination with the portfolio’s MEAL staff, oversee implementation to ensure projects meet their impact targets and are incorporating data-driven lessons learned into their programming approaches. Integrate data analysis, reflection and interpretation and use with ongoing project activities. Ensure compliance with donor and agency MEAL requirements.

Preferred Qualifications:

Prior supervisory experience required.
Budget and project financial management experience required.
Experience using and applying ICT4D technology to improve project implementation.
Project management experience in education highly desirable.
Experience engaging with partner organizations.
Ability to write high quality technical proposals.
MEAL skills and experience preferred.
Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information management systems.

Personal Skills

Strong critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills with ability to make sound judgment
Strong relationship management skills and the ability to work effectively with culturally diverse groups
Strong written and verbal communication skills with ability to write reports
Good presentation and facilitation skills
Proactive, results-oriented, and service-oriented

Required/Desired Foreign Language: Fluency in English required; fluency in Arabic strongly preferred.

Travel Required: Travel within Greater Cairo, and travel to other governorates approximately 10%.

Key Working Relationships:

Supervisory: Direct – Project Manager (3), Senior Project Officer; Indirect – Project Officers, Field Officers, Case workers, and other education staff.

Internal: Country Representative, Head of Operations, Head of Programming, Finance Manager, Accountability Assistant, Operations Manager, HR Manager, Procurement Manager, ICT4D Manager, MEAL Manager, MEAL Senior Officer and Officers for Education, other Program Managers.

External: Partner organizations and staff, Government counterparts, donor representatives.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

· Master’s Degree in International Development, International Relations or in the field of education required. Additional experience may substitute for some education.

· Minimum of 5 years experience in relevant field-based project management experience required, with preferably at least 2-3 years working in the area of education.

· Experience in managing moderately complex projects preferably with an international NGO.

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff)

These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

· Integrity

· Continuous Improvement & Innovation

· Builds Relationships

· Develops Talent

· Strategic Mindset

· Accountability & Stewardship

***Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. We welcome as a part of our staff people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.

Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

Note: All positions requiring residence or frequent travel outside their home country must undergo and clear a pre-employment medical examination.

CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding the rights and dignity of all people – especially children and vulnerable adults – to live free from abuse and harm.

CRS welcomes candidates from the countries and regions in which we work. In the event the successful candidate is an expatriate or global telecommuter, the anticipated duration of the assignment is informed by a term limit, based on the type and level of the job and the needs of the agency.

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer