Education Program Officer, Ethiopia

The Luminos Fund, an international nonprofit bringing education opportunities to the world’s most vulnerable children, is looking for Education Program Officer to join its Ethiopia country team. The Education Program Officer will play a key role in project and partner management, data oversight, donor stewardship, and curriculum tool development. They will have frequent interactions with the Luminos program team, government stakeholders, and implementing partners. The ideal candidate will have experience designing education programs and will possess excellent analytical skills.

This full-time position, reporting to the Senior Program Manager, will be based in Addis Ababa and will require extensive travel within Ethiopia, and occasional travel internationally.

ABOUT THE LUMINOS FUND

The Luminos Fund (www.luminosfund.org) provides transformative education programs to thousands of out-of-school children, helping them to catch up to grade level, reintegrate into government schools, and prepare for lifelong learning. Working in partnership with community-based organizations, Luminos is scaling up its accelerated learning program to ensure all children have equal access to joyful, foundational learning, especially those shut out of education by crisis, poverty, or discrimination. To date, Luminos has helped over 218,000 secure a second chance to learn. A registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, Luminos is working in Ethiopia, Ghana, Lebanon, Liberia, and The Gambia.

Luminos Ethiopia, a legally registered INGO with a CSA license number 5731, has worked closely with the Ministry of Education (MOE) on the development of a government adoption model, known as the Accelerated Learning Program (APL). 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 is supported by a range of funding partners, including Cartier Philanthropy, Dubai Cares, Legatum, and UBS Optimus Foundation. Luminos has been recognized for its achievements globally, receiving the 2022 Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Prize, the Library of Congress International Literacy Award, the Lipman Family Prize, the WISE Award, and the HundrED Global Innovation Award for the last six years.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Program Management and Development

• Maintain an integrated/coordinated project plan, including project implementation activities, key milestones, operational activities, and monitoring and evaluation activities.
• Ensure that program monitoring and evaluation systems and tools are utilized, and that program progress, results, and immediate objectives are systematically tracked, documented, and shared according to donor requirements.
• As required, coordinate external 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 standards.
• Track and deliver against program and country budgets to ensure efficient resource utilization and accurate reporting.
• Develop sound processes for the collection and analysis of data.
• Leverage data to recommend revisions to curriculum tools and project models.
• Support the Senior Program Manager and Country Director to ensure the delivery of timely, accurate, and accessible reporting on a range of donor requirements.
• Together with implementing partner staff, identify and develop lessons learned, best practices, and challenges 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 implementing partners’ program staff.
• 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 and relevant government offices in Ethiopia.
• Support and collaborate with the program team in designing, scheduling, and executing field visits for donors, potential donors, government officials, and other Luminos staff.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Minimum of five years of project management and/or educational research experience.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications.
• Proven organizational and time management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and experience in building and managing relationships with a variety of stakeholders.
• Knowledge of effective approaches to support children to develop foundational skills in literacy and numeracy.

CORE ATTRIBUTES

• Belief and demonstrated passion for the mission, vision, and values of Luminos.
• Impeccable integrity, professionalism, and solutions-oriented, can-do attitude.
• Affinity for data.
• Ability to wear multiple hats.
• Natural curiosity and hunger for continuous learning and improvement.
• Belief that success lies in the details.
• Innate sense of responsibility for the delivery of quality work, even in challenging circumstances.
• Self-motivated, with the ability to work independently.
• Experience working with diverse constituents, teams, and colleagues.
• Readiness to problem solve creatively on a myriad of fronts and go above and beyond to deliver success.

The Luminos Fund is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.