Position Title: Technical Director
***This position is contingent upon donor approval***
***Early application is encouraged, as we will review applications on a rolling basis throughout the advertising period***
About Plan International
Plan International is a rights-based development and humanitarian organization working for better lives for all children. We are independent of government and have no political or religious affiliation. Our purpose is to strive for a just world that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We have been building powerful partnerships for children for more than 80 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries. Our global strategy has a specific focus on girls, as they are often the most marginalized and most often left behind. We have committed ourselves to the ambitious target of reaching 100 million girls over 5 years, to ensure they can learn, lead, decide and thrive. This is our contribution to reaching the sustainable development goals, and in particular the goals on gender equality. Our organization is transforming itself to meet this enormous challenge everywhere we work. We need bold, forward-thinking and innovative individuals to lead our country operations, driving change and delivering results that will allow us to reach our target of 100 million girls.
With over 38 years of experience in implementing its programme, Plan International Kenya (PIK) mainly operates in 11 geographical areas; Nairobi, Machakos, Kajiado, Tharaka-Nithi, Siaya, Kwale, Kilifi, Homa Bay, Kisumu, Marsabit and Tana River.
Plan International Kenya Strategy statement
Plan International Kenya’s (PIK) strategic goal in the next five years is to end teenage pregnancies and end all forms of sexual and gender-based violence against adolescent girls and young women. We aim to help create an enabling environment where girls and young women are safe, valued, equally cared for, and have equal opportunities. PIK will contribute to the global strategy by aiming to reach directly approximately 2.75 million (children, including girls and young women over the period of the strategy 2022-2026 and to reach additional beneficiaries through its interventions.
Project and Position Description
Plan International Kenya is seeking candidates for Technical Director position for an anticipated 5 year USD 27 million programme funded by the LEGO Foundation and Grundfos Foundation. The programme is expected to empower teachers to deliver inclusive, play-based learning in line with Kenya’s competency based curriculum to create an enabling environment for quality learning in schools and generating rigorous evidence on teachers professional development interventions. The programme will be implemented in refugee and host communities of Turkana and Garissa counties, with some significant national components as well.
The Technical Director will support the technical development and implementation of a refugee and host-community primary school teachers’ ability to deliver Learning Through Play (LtP), as well as integrating WASH in schools. He/she will develop and deepen programmatic thinking and design including resources and technical guidance. She/he will provide continuous support to project teams and local implementing partners to enhance program effectiveness and build capacity in Education in Emergencies (EiE) programming and approaches as per LEGO Foundation and Grundfos Foundation focus areas.
Reports to: Program Director
Accountabilities and main work activities
Programme Strategy, Development and implementation (55%)
- Responsible for the overall technical vision and strategic leadership of the programme.
- Work with the programme’s other directors to identify and respond to projects risks in a timely and efficient manner.
- Ensure the programme strategy and activities are responsive to students’, refugee and national teachers’ needs and characteristics, and rooted in global evidence of best practice.
- Facilitate and lead the consortium’s Education Technical Working Group, including managing and overseeing development and/or adaptation of new interventions and education content.
- Ensure links and synergies with the consortium’s other working groups, such as advocacy and WASH.
- Support the development of an ambitious Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning agenda that continuously informs the path of scale.
- Manage the Programme’s technical team and provide mentoring to consortium technical advisors.
- Ensure that all consortium partners’ expertise and capacity are utilised to the best possible extent towards achieving change.
- Represent and engage with education technical stakeholders locally, nationally, and internationally as relevant.
Working in Partnership, External engagement and representation(20%)
- Engage and maintain cordial stakeholder relationships throughout the project cycle for effective project delivery and achievement.
- Represent Plan International in different technical working groups at National and County level.
- Uphold the principles of Building Better Partnerships
- Participate fully in Technical working groups at National and county level.
- Maintain a high level of external visibility, communication and contact at the county, sub county and ward levels.
- Build and strengthen working relations with local structures (local administration, schools, facilities among others) and ensuring visibility of Plan International where we have interventions
- Ensure the KCO is kept informed on any development in the County, including but not limited to major donor visits, county planning events, county commitments, targeted county meetings and engagement events, security incidences among others within the County
Financial Responsibility (5%)
- Ensure appropriate Financial and Logistical PIK systems/ procedures are adhered to within programming
- Develop quarterly and monthly activity costed plans and budgets as per donor approved work plan and ensure all activities are on track with appropriate scheduling, quality and timelines.
- Overall budget management for department ensuring appropriate burn-rates are maintained and that solutions to over/under expenditure are applied;
Risk Management (10%)
- Identify and manage project risks
- Promote compliance with Plan Kenya and donor requirements and regulations in project implementation
Safeguarding Children and Young People (Safeguarding) and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI) (5%)
- Understands and puts into practice the responsibilities under Safeguarding and GEI policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), ensuring that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.
- Leads the orientation of programme staff to ensure that they are properly inducted on and understands their role in upholding Plan International’s safeguarding and GEI policies;
- Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in project design, during implementation and as principles applied in day-to-day work of Programme team;
- Ensures that the project contributes to Plan International’s global efforts to ensure safeguarding and GEI, including making sure that relevant reporting and data are submitted.
Other duties (5%)
- As assigned by the line manager.
Qualifications/ experience essential:
- A Master’s degree in education, social sciences, or any other related field.
- A minimum of 10 years’ experience providing technical leadership to large and complex primary education/Teacher Professional Development grants with significant SEL or MHPSS components involving multiple stakeholders. Experience should come from both development and refugee contexts.
- A Minimum of 3 years of experience implementing Gender Transformative programmes, or at least programmes with a stated vision of contributing towards gender equality.
- Proven experience innovating and scaling education interventions informed by evidence generation, including how to integrate these into national education systems.
- Proven experience with adaptative programme management, and/or crisis modifiers in large programmes.
- Deep knowledge of best and emerging evidence on Learning Through Play or similar teaching methods, Teachers Professional Development, Social Emotional Learning, and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in education.
- Experience working with or a strong understanding of the education landscape in Kenya, incl. the Ministry of Education, Kenya Teacher Service Commission, and/or Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development.
- Experience managing co-creation processes with multiple partners, incl. public authorities.
- Proven ability to represent an organization at a senior level and to build strong relationships at the local, national, and international levels.
- Proven ability to lead diverse staff and cross-organizational teams, manage performance, foster a positive working environment, and manage issues sensitively and diplomatically.
- Ability to communicate effectively and authoritatively on area of expertise, and influence others to reach common goals.
- Experience in leading team, coaching, and mentoring staff and partners.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, understanding Swahili will be an advantage.
Qualifications/ experience desirable:
- Experience managing or providing technical leadership to projects funded by the LEGO Foundation.
- Experience from multi-sectoral responses to rapid onset emergencies that include education.
- Experience integrating WASH and health interventions at school level.
- Familiarity of Human-Centred Design principles and processes.
Languages required
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in Kiswahili and English. Knowledge of local languages is an added advantage.
Skills:
- Ability to influence power holders about the need for and benefits of addressing needs of women and girls and how they are impacted within refugee settings.
- Excellent relationship building skills – networking, influencing and stakeholder management skills
- Ability to identify, analyze and monitor diverse, relevant external actors to work with and understand the purpose and implications of working with them.
- Experience in capacity building
Behaviors:
- Role model Plan International values and behaviors both internally and externally.
- Engages sensitively with community members on issues of gender equality and inclusion, demonstrating an understanding of the local culture and context.
- Promotes equality, including gender equality, inclusion and girls’ empowerment in Plan’s work and in its work with partners
- Apply participatory influencing methodologies both internally and externally
- The ability to build collaborative working relationships
- Communicates effectively at a high level and with a range of appropriate styles for different audiences
- Builds capability through knowledge sharing, networking and coaching.
How to apply
To access the full job description and make an online application please follow the link below
Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for.
We want Plan International to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with, offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
Plan International is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.
We foster an organisational culture that embraces our commitment to racial justice, gender equality, girls’ rights and inclusion.
Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. This means that we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with and we must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.
A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International's Safeguarding Children and Young People policy. Plan International also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this scheme we will request information from applicants previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.
Please note that Plan International will never send unsolicited emails requesting payment from candidates.