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Program Manager, Liberia

The Luminos Fund is looking for an experienced and dynamic Program Manager to steer and manage its foundational literacy and numeracy program in Liberia and to strengthen coordination with the Ministry of Education (MOE). The successful candidate will help ensure that Luminos’ program design and implementation draw on evidence to achieve maximum impact and are executed in close collaboration and in alignment with the MOE’s objectives.

This position calls for an exceptional leader with experience in government engagement, advocacy, and program management. This position is based in Monrovia. However, the Program Manager will be expected to travel outside Monrovia at least twice a month for program monitoring, government and donor visits, and other professional objectives.

This Program Manager will report to the Liberia Country Manager and will collaborate with Luminos’ global cross-cutting teams to ensure the success of our education mission.

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 277,787 children secure a second chance to learn. A registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the U.S., Luminos is working in Ethiopia, Ghana, Lebanon, Liberia, and The Gambia.

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

Government Stakeholder Management

• Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with key government education stakeholders to ensure successful program implementation.

• Collaborate with the Country Manager to develop and execute strategic plans for engaging with the MOE and other government stakeholders to scale the Luminos Method in public schools.

• Coordinate training and capacity-building activities with government stakeholders.

• Represent Luminos in high-level government meetings, technical working groups, and forums, including developing presentations and materials as necessary.

• Support in collecting, synthesizing, and presenting data and information on Luminos projects to government stakeholders.

Program Management

• Lead in coordinating, monitoring/evaluation, and reporting on joint projects between Luminos and the Liberian MOE, liaising closely with colleagues across cross-cutting teams.

• Develop program strategy, vision, budget, and concept notes and lead teams to deliver outstanding results.

• Act as a key thought leader both within the organization and externally to drive the design of programs rooted in evidence-informed approaches to deliver maximum impact.

• Provide direct oversight of one or more projects, including managing other staff assigned to the project.

• Support and guide junior staff to achieve project deliverables, including implementing capacity-building initiatives for them.

Events Management

• Support organizing site visits to Luminos classes for donors, partners, and other stakeholders.

• Organize joint monitoring and learning visits with government officials.

• Plan dissemination and knowledge-sharing workshops with government and education stakeholders to share results from the Luminos program or discuss other issues of shared interests.

In addition to these core areas of work, please note that the Luminos Fund is a highly dynamic work environment. The role holder will likely need to work on additional workstreams which may not be included in the description above. In some cases, they will need to deal with challenges in areas where they are not an expert and where the situation is ambiguous. They will need to be able to scope out what is known, propose and appraise options for responding, and then own and drive the implementation of solutions.

Qualifications

Required Skills and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree required; Master’s degree preferred.

• 5+ years of relevant work experience with increasing levels of responsibility in a non-profit organization (NGO).

• At least 1 year of experience working in government or with government stakeholders.

• Belief in and demonstrated passion for the mission, vision, and values of the Luminos Fund.

• Extensive experience in designing, implementing, and managing non-profit programs, especially in Liberia.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to think and plan strategically.

• Well-developed negotiation and communication skills, including spoken and written English.

• Diplomatic, patient, and proven ability to navigate complex, dynamic systems with multiple stakeholders.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools, especially Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Added advantage:

• Experience working in the education sector, especially in Liberia.

• Familiarity with monitoring and evaluation tools and data analysis.

• Proven success as a people manager and coach.

LUMINOS CORE BELIEFS AND VALUES

• We believe that every child is capable of learning a remarkable amount in a short period of time, if given the chance.

• We keep children’s joy and well-being at the heart of everything we do.

• We embrace assessment as a key component of effective teaching and learning.

• We celebrate and empower local leadership throughout our work with partner communities and governments.

• We use research, program data, and skilled classroom observation in the tenacious pursuit of excellence.

• We celebrate the unique contexts and cultures of the communities we serve in our curricula and pedagogy.

• We act with the highest standards of integrity and care, ensuring mutual accountability among colleagues and partners.

• We take the initiative to solve problems where we find them, managing details large and small, with urgency.

• We act deliberately to ensure that our organization is inclusive for people of different genders, racial backgrounds, ethnicities, sexual orientations, religious beliefs, abilities, and other sources of diversity.

• We build deep, authentic relationships with our supporters in celebration of the mutually transformative power of giving.

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.