Director of Programs - Sierra Leone

About Imagine Worldwide

All children have immense potential, but hundreds of millions don’t have access to the learning they need. Imagine Worldwide’s mission is to empower millions of children across Sub-Saharan Africa with the literacy and numeracy skills they need to reach their full potential. We provide a tablet-based, personalized learning solution designed for the most challenging environments. Nine Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) across multiple countries and settings have shown dramatic learning gains, increased school attendance, and gender parity, all for less than $7 per child per year.

Imagine Worldwide partners with governments, organizations, and communities to provide child-directed, tablet-based learning that is accessible, effective, and affordable. We are a California-based (United States) nonprofit organization operating across seven Sub-Saharan African countries. Learn more on our website.

 

About the Role

The Director of Programs will play an instrumental role in carrying out Imagine’s mission, to design, deliver and scale tablet-based learning solutions that enable children to become literate and numerate. The Director will join a highly committed and collaborative team that is working together to empower every child, everywhere to achieve their full potential. They will work directly with the Executive Director of Imagine Sierra Leone and Imagine’s Head of Programs, to manage Imagine’s path to the national adoption of our edtech program, in Sierra Leone

 

Key Responsibilities

The Director of Programs will take overall responsibility for the implementation of our tablet learning program in Sierra Leone and the institutionalization of the program in selected regions with engagement with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary School Education, MBSSE.

Lead Imagine’s mission to advance literacy and numeracy outcomes with an intent to unlock the potential of children in Sierra Leone :

• Facilitate a rollout and demonstrate successful implementation of tablet learning to advance literacy and numeracy outcomes in an initial 750 public primary schools by 2026 (serving over 150k students per year), with strong evidence of learning impact, to enable nationwide adoption of the program and secure support from larger funders.
•  Advance the program to nationwide scale serving all public primary schools in Sierra Leone by 2035
• Institutionalise the program within existing structures of MBSSE.

Deliver high-quality program implementation to maximize time on task:

• Oversee the delivery of core program activities, assess resource requirements and plan adequately to support implementation, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation
•  Develop and manage overall project plans, budgets, schedules and milestones across all existing sites, and support the expansion to new sites
•  Apply the Imagine Playbook (program manuals, processes, templates and work plans) for program implementation, customizing for local context as required to maximize time on task
•  Source and vet Implementation Service Partners (ISPs) and/or field officers, train, manage and performance manage ISPs and/or field officers
•  Coordinate and lead program design, training and monitoring in our various sites
•  Provide technical recommendations and guidance to implementation partners, ensuring adherence to key programmatic objectives
• Ensure effective communications between Imagine, the ISPs and the Ministry, by detailing key activities, challenges, and programmatic needs to achieve program success
•  Manage program risks with creative problem-solving and escalation as required.

Provide program leadership to ensure accountability and continuous improvement:

• Oversee and manage quality data collection to facilitate effective monitoring of program activities against a set program quality benchmarks
• Lead efforts to establish data-driven practices for measuring program effectiveness and the use of quantitative metrics to guide strategic adjustments and enable continuous improvement of all program operations
• Oversee implementation of strong accountability and beneficiary / community feedback mechanisms, including quality assurance of established processes
• Capture key lessons and findings to inform evidence-based program design and implementation.

Provide capacity building and program training:

• Build team and partner staff capacity to enhance program accountability through guidance, training and resources
• Train team members, implementation partners, ministry staff, district officials on adopting and using the standardised systems that enable us to manage programs efficiently and effectively at scale
•  Coach and mentor team members and implementation partners to identify and resolve implementation issues in order to maximise time-on-task.

 

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or higher 
• 10-15 years of proven work experience as an operations executive, senior operator or similar role, with a minimum of 5 years experience managing a team ; some management consulting experience is preferable

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Significant experience in managing successful program scaling. In particular, experience scaling with government agencies and/or implementation partners 
•  Proven track record in managing scale operations in complex environments working with multiple partners 
•  Demonstrate proven expertise in fostering partnerships, particularly with governmental bodies, to achieve program integration within local systems
• Ability to design and implement adaptive strategies that address complex operational challenges within emerging markets, ensuring program resilience and scalability 
•  Excellent written and oral communication skills in English ● Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills and ability to proactively manage and resolve conflicts
• Excellent understanding of budgets, financial processes, reporting requirements, and compliance regulations within donor-funded grants and contracts ● Ability to work effectively in multicultural environments and teams 
• Strong organizational skills, superior attention to detail, ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines ● Experience with leading data-driven decision-making to continuously improve program outcomes

Additional Skills 

•  Excellent written and oral communication skills in English (required) 
•  Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills
• Ability to work effectively in multicultural environments and teams
• Strong organizational skills and superior attention to detail
• Experience in managing multi-site and multi-vendor orders at the international level
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
• Ability to engage in proactive problem-solving and issue-resolution

Qualities

•  Passion for Imagine’s mission and vision 
•  Demonstrated commitment to equity in educational access and outcomes
• Passion for project management
• Demonstrated ability to think independently and solve problems
• Collaborative team player; clear and proactive communicator
• Flexible, adaptable, and able to work in a fast-paced, changing environment

 

Compensation & Benefits

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience.

 

Location

The Program Director must be based in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

 

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Imagine Worldwide is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.