PlayMatters reimagines childhood for refugees, bringing play-based learning to 800,000 children across Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania. The project is re-defining education and cultivate a generation of lifelong builders. PlayMatters is inspired by LEGO Foundation’s call to challenge the status quo, to offer children the quality education they dream of. Children are not gaining the skills they need, teachers are under-supported, and parents are overwhelmed as the systems built to serve these groups are failing. PlayMatters proudly offers something different. It will be delivered by a coalition with a track record of thinking and delivering differently. We bring three distinct characteristics

1. OUTCOMES. Everything we do is fueled by the social, emotional, cognitive, physical, creative, and resilient outcomes we seek. We know learning happens when children are at the center and teachers, parents, and the system surrounding them have the skills, resources, and motivation to drive change.

2. RESEARCH AND LEARNING. Effective delivery requires both rigor and a big heart. With LEGO Foundation, PlayMatters will generate scientific evidence that can transform our understanding of play and learning for refugees in East Africa and around the world.

3. THOUGHT LEADERSHIP. The IRC and our consortium partners understand PlayMatters is an opportunity to deliver substantial impact and comes with a responsibility to lead.

More information on PlayMatters can be found here: https://www.playmatters.org/

Reporting to the Regional Project Director (RPD), the Senior Regional Project & Partnerships Coordinator will be a critical member of the regional project team, based in Kampala leading project management, grants, and partnerships for PlayMatters. The scope of major responsibilities for the Senior Regional Project & Partnerships Coordinator are presented below.

Job Overview/Summary:

The Senior Regional Project & Partnerships Coordinator oversees the Grants, Partnership & Coordination (GPC) Department and is responsible for leading coordination, project management, partnership relations, and grants management across the consortium (including direct supervision of two staff). This role serves as a core member of the project’s key leadership bodies, including the PlayMatters’ Regional Senior Management Team (SMT), Leadership Group (LG), and Strategic Review Group (SRG).

Key responsibilities include overseeing regular communication and meeting routines within IRC and with consortium partners and the LEGO Foundation; ensuring technical and operational workstream implementation plans and deliverables remain on track; escalating potential risks and proposed mitigation measures to other members of the regional project team leadership; providing program and support teams with advice on compliance with donor and IRC regulations; supporting IRC Project Management Committee (PMC) leads and Regional Project Team (RPT) colleagues in high-level problem solving; leading and managing the regional project team’s oversight of award performance, including coordination between technical, financial and operational aspects; leading coordination with IRC’s other LEGO Foundation-funded programs and High Impact Strategic Projects (HISPs); leading engagements and negotiating support with various departments in IRC’s HQ; advising other projects and proposals based upon PlayMatters’ lessons learned; and supporting the RPD in the planning and executing of strategic initiatives.

Major responsibilities include:

Coordination & Communication:

• Ensure proper cross-project technical and operational coordination with all other LF-funded and HISPs. Advise other projects and proposals on PM lessons learned.

• Support PD and other SMT members to lead overall processes and decision-making for strategic initiatives (e.g., emergency responses, safeguarding, scaling pathways, resourcing, external collaborations, etc.).

• Lead overall direction and communication of overall project planning, including the annual planning process.

o Includes overseeing the collaborative development of high-quality deliverables and leading negotiations with LEGO Foundation, consortium partners, and IRC country program leadership.

• Support IRC PMC leads and RPT colleagues in high-level problem-solving.

• Lead and manage strategic program coordination discussions with consortium partners to facilitate strong working relationships, consistent programming, and collaborative decision-making wherever possible.

• Oversee development and implementation of key internal knowledge management and planning systems and processes (e.g., centralized project calendar, content management system, internal website, external website, Box, Airtable, OTIS, etc.).

• Support RPD to liaise with IRC HQ-based functions, including Communications, Finance, External Relations, Education Technical Unit and Award Management.

• Identify opportunities for consortium events, in collaboration with country, regional, and donor leadership, and manage GPC Department’s execution of department-led events.

• Provide review and approval of all external comms and oversee/lead high-level internal comms (e.g., weekly updates, newsletters, leadership decisions, etc.).

• Advise consortium on external engagement and intellectual property matters, as they relate to achieving scale and compliance.

o Lead negotiation and approvals for the use and distribution of external content and products, ensuring compliance with relevant use terms and conditions.

Grants & Partnership Management:

• Manage overall donor relationships and communications in collaboration with RPD and Institutional Philanthropy and Partnerships (IPP) representatives;

o Responsible for the high-quality delivery of all donor-facing deliverables (e.g., quarterly updates, bi-annual/annual reports, annual workplan deliverables, responses to feedback, communications deliverables, content products, research).

• Manage overall partner relations, proactively resolving issues in collaboration with RPT colleagues, IRC PMC leads, and consortium senior leadership.

• Maintain a broad and deep understanding of donor policies, regulations, and procedures, and best practices and build this knowledge among appropriate consortium team members.

• Ensure that the award is well-administered and implemented in compliance with relevant donor and IRC processes, policies, and procedures (e.g., legal expectations, IRC PEERS policy, etc.).

• Lead the quarterly and annual reporting process,

• Oversee bi-annual project and partner monitoring conducted by the regional team across all project sites and active project entities,

• Provide strategic oversight to Grants & Partnerships staff, supporting key grant functions, including but not limited to donor and internal compliance advisement; prime and partnership agreement amendments; development and execution of service contracts/memorandums of understanding/collaboration agreements; routine anti-terrorism checks (ATCs), processing and updating of T1s and T7s; and partner /IRC country program report review and issue management.

• Support overall financial management of the project. Oversee processing of financial realignment requests and advise on budgeting.

Leadership & Other Duties:

• Provide strategic leadership to the project as a member of PlayMatters’ Regional Senior Management Team (SMT), Leadership Group (LG), and Strategic Review Group (SRG). Leads the strategic coordination, planning, and follow-up of these bodies, including the chairing of LG.

• Proactively identify risks throughout the portfolio and creatively develop solutions in collaboration with programs, operations, finance, and fellow senior management colleagues.

• Lead planning and preparation of visits from LEGO Foundation, IRC, and partner senior leadership.

• Lead development of relevant donor and senior-leadership communications materials, updates, and presentations, in collaboration with the Communications and Technical Departments.

• Support the RPD to oversee the compliant and cohesive implementation of various special project initiatives, including emergency activities, safeguarding, etc.

• Maintain regular communications with implementation teams and partners to identify training needs. Oversee execution of consortium capacity-building initiatives of GPC Department.

• Perform other duties as required by the Regional Project Director.

Key Working Relationships:

• Position Reports to: Regional Project Director, PlayMatters

• Position supervises: Regional Grants & Partnerships Coordinator and Regional Project & Systems Coordinator

• Indirect Reporting: N/A

Other Internal and/or external contacts:

• Internal: Country team staff; Regional Project Team (RPT) staff; Education Technical Unit; Fundraising teams (IPP); Communications team; Office of General Counsel (OGC); Awards Management Unit (UNIT); Senior Leadership; and Finance team.

• External: Consortium partners, Donor (LEGO Foundation), and other education actors/potential partners.

Requirements:

• At least 7-8 years of experience in program administration, grants management, communications and project management at an international NGO or similar organization

• Exceptional organizational skills; experience with establishment and implementation of project management software and tools

• Demonstrated ability to successfully work in a fast-paced environment, within and across departments/functions and develop positive relationships with locally and remote based staff

• Excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills, including experience with conflict-mitigation and resolution.

• Experience with external representation and senior leadership or Board-level engagement

• Self-directed, able to independently set priorities and solve problems with minimal guidance; comfortable working with team that is remotely located

• Flexibility and adaptability to adjust plans for the realities of working across multiple time zones and cultural contexts

• Experience managing dynamic, diverse, and remote teams

• Experience working in conflict and crisis settings and knowledge of humanitarian programming is preferred

• Knowledge of the East Africa regional context, with experience working in the region preferred

• Experience in the field of early childhood development or education is a plus

Working Environment:

• Standard office work environment

• Travel required 15-25%

• Position is based in the IRC PlayMatters office in Kampala, Uganda