Scale Project Manager

Position description

Building Tomorrow (BT), an international nonprofit organization working to provide literacy and numeracy for all children, is seeking a dynamic and experienced Scale Project Manager to lead the operational rollout of our new government-led scale foundational learning model. This role is central to BT's strategic transition from a direct-delivery model to a sustainable, government-led and owned system for foundational learning.

The organization

Started in 2006, Building Tomorrow supports community-powered learning in rural areas. Through over 700 Building Tomorrow Fellows and over 26,000 Community Education Volunteers, Building Tomorrow has enrolled over 272,000 out-of-school children and reached over 1,200,000 learners with our signature Roots to Rise (R2R) literacy and numeracy camps.

Between offices in Uganda, Rwanda, and a global office in the US, Building Tomorrow has a full-time staff of over 340, just eight of whom work outside East Africa. Building Tomorrow has received funding and recognition for its innovative work from Clinton Global Initiative, Echoing Green, Big Bang Philanthropy, Forbes Magazine, the U.S. Library of Congress, and the Klaus J. Jacobs Awards.

Position highlights

The Scale Project Manager will be the driving force behind the operational implementation of Building Tomorrow's signature foundational learning program, Roots to Rise (R2R), at national scale, via a partnership with the Primary Teacher Colleges (PTCs) and UNITE campuses. The primary focus of this role is to orchestrate the logistics and project management of all related tasks and events, ensuring PTCs and their catchment districts are effectively supported to roll out and monitor the implementation of R2R through government systems.

This position reports directly to the Senior Education Technical Specialist and serves as the operational and logistics coordinator for the rollout of the PTC scale plan. The Scale Project Manager will work in close coordination with BT's existing field staff—who are managed under the established Programs Team structure—ensuring seamless operational support across the full lifecycle of the government transition plan. This is a full-time position based in Kampala, Uganda, with significant travel to implementation districts.

Key responsibilities

Coordinate Operational Rollout of the Government-led District Implementation

• Manage Project Logistics at Scale: Work with relevant BT staff and government counterparts to plan, coordinate, and execute all logistics for large-scale training events and related activities across multiple districts simultaneously. This includes venue selection and management, participant registration and communication, materials preparation and distribution, trainer deployment, travel and accommodation arrangements, and on-site coordination.

• Support Coordination and Logistics of Training Cascade: Training will happen in various phases. The Scale Project Manager will work across various teams to ensure alignment and coordination. For Phase 1 (national level), this role will work directly with the Pedagogy Team, while for district-level trainings, he/she will work in liaison with the Fellows and ESS teams. This role will ensure there is a clear continuum and alignment across all components of the cascade model

• Oversee Resource Deployment: Ensure all necessary materials, training kits, and resources are procured and deployed effectively for project activities or events, adapting logistics and timelines to accommodate needs and constraints. Support Fellows and ESS Managers, as needed, when they are coordinating and leading events related to the PTC scale plan.

• Budget Management: Manage the operational budget for rollout in coordination with the Senior Education Technical Specialist and the Finance team, ensuring efficient use of resources and value for money across an expanding portfolio of districts.

Support Pre-Service Integration at the PTCs

• Coordinate Pre-Service Support: In coordination with the Pedagogy Team, manage the logistical and operational aspects of BT's efforts to support the rollout of an R2R module as part of the pre-service curriculum.

• Serve as Operational Liaison to PTCs: Act as the operational point of contact for PTC administrations and UNITE Campuses, providing dedicated logistical support in matters related to the adoption of an R2R module.

• Build and Maintain Productive Relationships: Cultivate and maintain strong working relationships with PTC principals, tutors, and faculty to leverage PTC infrastructure (e.g., training venues, tutor expertise) and ensure their support for district-based activities where appropriate and cost-effective. Ensure there are clear structures in place for how and when different members of the team will serve as the point of contact with PTCs.

Enable Field Teams through the Programs Structure

• Support BT Field Implementation Teams: Work closely with the Fellows Manager and the ESS Manager to ensure that field teams (Fellows, ARMs, RCs, ESSCs, FLN Advisors) are equipped with the necessary information, materials, and operational support to facilitate professional development and coaching activities in their respective implementation sites.

• Support the Full Transition Cycle: Provide operational support across the phased government transition plan—from intensive Fellow-led implementation in early years, through the transition to ESS Coordinator roles, to the final phase with FLN Advisors.

• Facilitate Stakeholder Engagement: Work with the Fellows and ESS Managers to develop a one phased support plan to District and PTC teams, as opposed to separate program plans. This might include tasks such as: cultivating local ownership, joint monitoring, and the BT engagement plan.

• Support Government Engagement Efforts: In coordination with the Senior Education Technical Specialist and the External Relations Team, provide operational support to co-creation and validation processes, meetings and events.

Ensure Implementation Fidelity and Quality at Scale

• Support Monitoring of Implementation: Work with the MEL, Fellows, ESS and Pedagogy teams to reframe how BT will collect data at scale. Suggest frameworks based on research of other government-led programs.

• Develop Sustainability Indicators: In collaboration with MEL, develop indicators of sustainability and government ownership—such as district budget allocations, use of joint monitoring tools, and inclusion of R2R in district education plans. Work with Fellows, ESS and FLN Advisor teams to determine which indicators and how these will be collected throughout BT gradual release to district ownership.

• Manage Phased Rollout: Take ownership of the operational rollout as outlined in the scale roadmap. This includes managing the implementation timeline, budget, and logistics for the phased introduction of activities to new PTCs and districts over the 9-year implementation period.

Reporting, Learning, and Documentation

• Performance Reporting: Provide regular, detailed updates and reports to the Senior Education Technical Specialist on project rollout progress, challenges, and successes against the scale roadmap milestones and success metrics.

• Document Lessons Learned: Systematically document lessons learned, success factors, and barriers encountered during implementation. Share these with the Pedagogy Team, especially the Training Manager, to inform program iteration before expansion to additional PTCs.

• Encourage Continuous Improvement: Share ongoing learning with the Research Manager and suggest areas BT might want to consider tweaking. Serve as the project manager for any research studies pertaining to the PTC scale project.

Must haves

Be a current member of the Building Tomorrow staff.

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Project Management, Public Administration, or a related field. A Master's degree or a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is an added advantage.

• Experience:
  • A minimum of 3-5 years of progressive experience in program or project management.

• Proven experience managing large-scale, multi-site operational projects, including planning and coordinating complex activities, managing budgets, and overseeing resource deployment.

• Demonstrated experience working with or within government structures, particularly District Education Offices, Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), or related decentralized government bodies.

• Experience working effectively with field-based teams and building strong collaborative relationships without direct line management authority.

• Project Management Expertise: Exceptional organizational, planning, and project management skills, with a proven ability to manage complex budgets, logistics, and timelines across multiple locations simultaneously.

• Strong problem-solving and adaptive management skills, with the ability to anticipate challenges and develop practical solutions in a fast-paced implementation environment.

• Stakeholder Management:
  • Strong interpersonal and diplomatic skills, with the ability to navigate and coordinate among diverse stakeholders—from District Education Officers to PTC administrators and school-level staff.

• Experience building and maintaining trust-based relationships with government counterparts.

• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English. Proficiency in a local Ugandan language is highly desirable.

Nice-to-Haves (but not required)

• Familiarity with Uganda's education system and teacher professional development frameworks.
• Knowledge of Uganda's national curriculum and education policies.
• Experience working with Primary Teacher Colleges (PTCs) or UNITE Campuses.
• Understanding of government transition and capacity-strengthening approaches in development contexts.

We want you to apply if…

• You have an unshakeable passion for education equality, believing access to an inclusive, quality education is a basic human right.
• You possess creative ingenuity, being progressive in your thinking and approaching challenges old and new. You are intrapreneurial and unafraid to pilot new ideas.
• You are relentlessly determined, refusing to accept the status quo, persistently striving to create new opportunities to reach more children, allowing them to reach their maximum potential.
• You believe in collaborative engagement. You believe more can be achieved together than alone, believe in the power of cultivating relationships, and see everyone as an equal partner.

What we offer

Compensation will be commensurate with experience. The benefits package includes health insurance, retirement plan, paid personal leave, and sick days.

To apply

Visit: Our careers page

If someone referred you to apply for this position, please provide his or her name in your cover letter. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Building Tomorrow maintains a dedication to promoting gender equity, diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusion, and recruits, employs, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of protected characteristics. Building Tomorrow will not tolerate illegal discrimination or harassment under an applicable law in any jurisdiction where it operates.