Deadline extended for the position: Project Manager

Grade: II

Vacancy issued: 29 May 2020

Deadline for Application: 17 June 2020

No. of Posts 1

Roma Education Fund (REF) is seeking a Project Manager to join the project team in the implementation of the “Education, Employment, Partnerships and Gender Equality: A Winning Formula for Roma in VET”, project funded by Austrian Development Agency and implemented by REF.

Background

The Roma Education Fund’s (REF) mission and goal is to close the gap in educational outcomes between Roma and non-Roma. To achieve this goal, the organization supports policies and programs which ensure access to quality education for Roma through scholarships, grant making, research and advocacy activities. The objectives of REF include:

Expanding Romani children’s access to quality early childhood education and care;
Improving primary education outcomes for Romani children aged six to fourteen;
Boosting academic performance and graduation rates from secondary education for Romani pupils;
Supporting access to tertiary education, improving graduation levels and strengthening identity of Romani university students;
Expanding employment opportunities for young Romani adults

The overall objective of the project is to contribute to social inclusion and poverty reduction of Roma[*] in Albania and Kosovo through support of the vocational education and training, facilitation to labor market and empowering stakeholders to take measures to support transition of Roma to employment.

The activities and outputs are clustered into two main areas, reflecting the two specific outcomes:

Education – increased access to vocational education for Roma youth and young adults, through scholarships, mentoring and tutoring and improving access to education and employment for Roma girls and women;
Employability – improved employability for Roma youth and young adults, through job placements, professional development and partnerships of civil society, public and private sector institutions for Roma workforce inclusion aimed at influencing policy changes.

The project will focus on strengthening professional skills of REF scholars and other beneficiaries – vocational training, internships, professional skills development, cooperation and partnerships with employers. Wide range of vocational training (VET within the education institutions, such as high schools) and obtaining recognized certificates, paid professional internships in the public or private sector, additional education (conducted by accredited institutes, such as vocational courses), which includes scholarship and mentoring support will be provided.

Outline of the Position

This is a position open for the duration of the Project (until December 2022). The selected candidate will sign a fixed-term contract, until the end of the Project for 70% of working time. The incumbent will be based in Belgrade, Serbia.

The Project Manager oversees the management of entire project, internal coordination and coordination with donor to ensure effective and timely management of the project, overseeing that project funds are utilized effectively and efficiently to achieve the goals of the action. The Project Manager supervises the work of the Project Assistant and Financial Officer and closely liaises with the management of the organization.

Lead the overall implementation of project activities and supervise project staff:

Lead the project inception phase and prepare a detailed plan of activities for the individual project components in consultation with REF programs and units and national counterparts;
Consult with REF’s grants, scholarship, research and advocacy and communication programs/units (which provide the subject matter expertise for the project), regarding the design, work plan, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of the project activities;
During the inception phase, establish a timeline for the activities and a framework for ongoing monitoring and evaluation during the implementation phase in collaboration with the Research Officer and other REF programs;
Ensure political and institutional support for project activities, engage appropriate governmental officials, non-governmental partners and coordinate their participation;
Coordinate with national counterparts to ensure that national input contributes to project development/progress and that national institutions accept and adopt the results of project;
Coordinate with REF’s programs to ensure their expertise is provided in a timely and high-quality manner for project planning, development, progress and reporting;
Ensure that gender mainstreaming components are adequately integrated in the project design, implementation and monitoring.
Task and supervise the project team, complete performance appraisal processes for the supervised staff.
Oversee identification of experts for participation in the project, oversee compilation of their terms of reference and coordinate their input, as well as oversee and evaluate the quality of their work products.

Oversee and ensure the implementation of the project components in accordance with the donor agreement, manage overall donor relations and monitor and ensure the quality of the project components:

Monitor the implementation of project components by project partners, including ongoing review of the content and methodology of activities implemented under the project components, and adjust implementation if required;
Ensure ongoing consultation with national stakeholders on the impact of project components;
Prepare and organize regular meetings for review of project progress in collaboration with REF management;
Prepare terms of reference and provideinput for evaluations of the project;
Where necessary, and in coordination with the REF management, (re)negotiate the terms of the agreement with the donor for implementation of the project;
Coordinate all donor relations and reporting throughout the period of implementation of the project;
Maintain regular communication with the donor during the period of implementation of the project, informing them as appropriate of developments both formally and informally, and agreeing any necessary amendments to the implementation of project components in collaboration with REF management;
Pay special attention to achieving an appropriate level and type of visibility for the project, following REF and donor guidelines for public relations, including through personal presentations.
Prepare talking points on project development and implementation for REF management.

Oversee the financial and administrative aspects of project implementation:

Supervise the preparation and management of budgets for project components and oversee communication with project partners on budget issues;
In consultation with the partner organizations, and REF Chief Finance Officer, ensure that the agreed mechanisms for disbursement of funds to implementing organizations are supporting project progress; ensure corrective action is taken, if and where problems arise;
In coordination with relevant REF Finance and Administration Unit, assist in negotiating, and providing input into, relevant contracts and agreements with project partners;
Oversee all project expenditures and implementation of activities by project partners according to cooperation and donor agreements.

Conduct research, analysis, and assessments on the subject matter of the project and monitor project related developments in the region within the framework of the project:

Analyze the changing national law and practices with regards to the project’s intervention rationale and its target group in the light of REF’s mission; identify issues and opportunities for possible REF involvement that fit into the framework and substantive priorities of the project;
Participate in needs assessment missions, meet with stakeholders in the governmental and non-governmental sectors;
Analyze the developing social, political, legal or institutional situation across the project’s geographical area in terms of the project’s intervention rationale and keeps updated in this field through liaison with partners, expert reports from international organizations and NGOs and other literature;
Analyze the content and methodology of (a word is missing), and ensure synergies and coordination with, other capacity-building activities relating to all topics addressed by the project and other activities of REF;
Continuously feed the knowledge and better understanding gained from all of the above into project planning and implementation, and into consultation with relevant stakeholders.

Perform other related duties as required, by emerging crisis/developments at national/local level, duties not described here but subject to external/risk factors

Necessary Qualifications and Skills:

MA degree in education, social sciences or Bachelor’s degree /BA with adequate work experience in lieu of social inclusion work with Roma or minority rights at regional level;
At least five years of relevant experience in project management (MA degree), or at least 7 years of equivalent combination of education (BA) and experience;
Strong experience in project monitoring and evaluation tools (M&E);
Demonstrated experience in coordination and management of international projects preferred;
Experience in coordinating and managing diverse teams;
Experience in negotiating and working with wide variety of governmental and non-governmental stakeholders;
Experience and competencies in working in a multicultural environment and gender-sensitivity;
Strong background with programs advancing education through community organizing, legal advocacy, research or policy reform work;
Working efficiently in a fast-paced environment, troubleshooting and following projects through their successful completion, with strict deadlines and without loss of attention to details, budgetary requirements, monitoring, evaluation and reporting;

Effectively work as a team member, as well as independently, with a high-level of self-motivation and ability to set and meet goals;
Excellent command of English language (written and spoken); preferred knowledge of one of the country languages;
Knowledge of Romani language is considered an added value;
Excellent organizational, analytical, communication and interpersonal skills;
Good listening and communication skills, with sensitivity to cultural communication differences;
Good communication skills with high sensitivity to cultural differences;
Good level of computer usage proficiency.

Core competencies:

Initiative: Actively seeks to improve programs or services; Seeks challenging experiences and approaches them with passion, enthusiasm and professionalism;
Planning and Organization: Develops clear goals and achieves results that are consistent with agreed strategies; Adapts and reacts in a flexible manner when necessary;
Communication: Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed;
Teamwork: Works independently and collaboratively with others to achieve organizational goals; Shares knowledge and insight with others;
Ownership: Accepts personal responsibility (including shortcomings) and ownership of actions (including for work unit, where applicable) for achieving results; Understands organizational vision, mission and values, and leverages this knowledge when making decisions; Makes tough decisions when necessary;
Development: Actively seeks to develop oneself professionally and personally and to contribute to the growth of the organization; Seeks feedback to learn and improve the organization;

Organizational Values

In order to develop and deliver our education programs that provide quality, inclusive education for Roma children and youth, we believe in five core values that join us together and that mirror the work, actions and ideals of our organization and its culture:

Tenacity; Integrity; Justice; Accountability; Inquisitiveness

How to apply

Qualified candidates are invited to send their cover letters and CV (both in English) by June 17 2020 via email to recruitment@romaeducationfund.org with the subject line: Project Manager. Incomplete applications, applications that are not submitted in English and those received after the application deadline will not be considered.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Selection process is based on a written test and competency-based interview.

Individuals identifying themselves as Roma and fulfilling the above-mentioned profile and requirements are particularly encouraged to apply. Qualified female candidates are particularly encouraged to apply.

Roma Education Fund is an equal opportunities employer.

[*] As it is most commonly used in European policy documents and discussions, the term “Roma” refers to a variety of groups who describe themselves not only as Roma but also as Gypsies, Travellers, Manouches, Ashkali, Egyptians, Sinti and other titles. This document will use this term as a convenient shorthand while recognizing the rich diversity of the people and cultures that it includes.

By applying to this position you agree that we collect and save your personal data solely for the purpose of the recruitment process, and no longer than one year from the date of closing the call for the advertised position. Your personal data won’t be disclosed or transferred to any third parties.