EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT CENTER (EDC)

Education Development Center (EDC) is a global nonprofit that advances lasting solutions to improve education, promote health, and expand economic opportunity, with a focus on vulnerable and under-served populations.  Since 1958, we have been a leader in designing, implementing, and evaluating powerful and innovative programs in more than 80 countries around the world.

EDC promotes equity and access to high quality education and health services and products that contribute to thriving communities where people from diverse backgrounds learn, live, and work together. We support an inclusive workplace culture that embraces many perspectives and broadens our understanding of the communities we serve, enhancing and enriching our work.   

EDC is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace.

We are looking for candidates who share EDC’s commitment and understand the importance of cultural responsiveness in today’s context.

Project Description

The USAID Youth for Empowerment Activity will reach 25,000 South Sudanese youth in 13 counties across five states (Eastern Equatoria, Jonglei, Unity, Upper Nile, and Western Bahr el Ghazal) over a four-year period. This community-based intervention will establish a vibrant Youth Corps and support local organizations enhance youth-friendly service offerings. The USAID Youth for Empowerment Activity will tailor its intervention to meet the realities of each implementation area and to best support a diverse group of youth with varied capacities and aspirations to reach their full potential.

The Zone Supervisor will be based in the zonal office in Ulang County -Upper Nile State. This is a locally recruited position and applicants should strictly be residents of Ulang County. The position holder will supervise project activities in the zone and liaise with technical and operational teams in the Juba office, including USAID YEA’s small grants program and project partners to ensure activities at the zonal level are delivered on time and with high quality. S/he will oversee and be responsible for the effective implementation of all technical components of the project at the zonal level including workplan activity implementation, finance, human resources, and operational support. The Zonal Supervisor will also act as the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Focal Point for the zone. S/he will be responsible for establishing and maintaining effective relationships and coordination with State-level government officials and partners to the USAID YEA program, as well as elected officials at all levels within the State. S/he will also establish and maintain close working relationships with other relevant stakeholders in the State including other implementing partners, civil society organizations (CSOs), faith‐based organizations (FBOs) and the private sector. The Zone Supervisor will report to the Training Specialist for Programmes. This is a full-time position based in Ulang County zonal office of, Upper Nile State, South Sudan.

Essential functions include but are not limited to:

• Represent the USAID YEA project in the zone, including establishing and maintaining close working relationship with relevant state government and elected counterparts and other stakeholders.
• Convene quarterly review and reflection and planning meetings and other activities, as needed.
• Provide overall management, operational support, and supervision to implementing activities and trainings.
• Work closely with other USAID YEA teams in technical, administration/ finance/ budgeting/ operations and ME&L to ensure effective, smooth, and timely activity implementation at zone, State, community, and school levels.
• Act as M&E Focal Point for the zone.
• Coordinating and conducting field-based collection activities, ensuring that all field-based M&E activities are performed accurately and in a timely manner. 
• Supporting the coordination and management of data collection related to special studies to document project outcomes. 
• Supporting the management of the project’s M&E system, including performance indicator tracking, Google forms maintenance and the data management (database) systems. 
• Ensure compliance, quality assurance, coordination, and integration of all USAID YEA interventions and activities at the zonal level.
• Lead in problem-solving/troubleshooting program delivery issues at zonal level as they arise, in close coordination with staff and partners.
• Contribute to the design and/or completion of technical activities by serving as a resource person, workshop facilitator, technical writer, or lead M&E focal point (as may be assigned).
• Provide timely inputs to periodic project reports, and outreach and communications activities, as appropriate.
• Actively participate in Collaborative, Learning and Adapting (CLA) processes in place within the project.
• Provide regular and timely updates on the status of work plan implementation, identify potential issues, and recommend relevant actions to Senior Leadership team in local head office.
• Assist the Communication Specialist in ensuring compliance to the USAID marking and branding.
• Fully comply with all EDC policies and procedures.
• Other duties, as assigned.

Please Note: Priority in hiring will be given to individuals from the County as understanding of the County context is important to the success of the role.

The Zone Supervisor shall have at a minimum the following qualifications:

Education

• Master’s degree (or equivalent experience) in education, health, public policy, management, or related field.

Skills and Experience

• A minimum of 7 years’ professional experience in development projects preferably implementing health, HIV, and/or education activities.
• A minimum of 4 years’ demonstrated experience managing education and/or HIV or OVC programs is strongly preferred.
• Experience in conducting and/or coordinating data collection. Experience with remote/virtual data collection through software like Kobo Collect or Qualtrics is a plus. 
• Experience in managing datasets in Excel. Experience with statistical software packages like SPSS is a plus. 
• Demonstrated experience working with government agencies, actors, and other stakeholders at the national and zonal levels.
• Knowledge of/experience with USAID-funded projects.
• Experience in financial management, including budget development and monitoring.
• Demonstrated capacity to effectively manage, supervise, and monitor teams.
• Excellent people skills at all levels, ability to work well under pressure, negotiate diplomatically, and the ability to work well in a multicultural and multi-disciplinary work environment.
• Solid MS Word and MS Excel skills; and effective presentation and reporting skills.
• Ability to travel throughout the State of the assigned zone.
• Demonstrated capacity to lead workshops, trainings, and strategic planning sessions.

Language:

Advanced proficiency in written and spoken English. Knowledge of and proficiency in at least two local languages spoken in Ulang County, Upper Nile is highly preferred.

Application Instructions:

Job closing date: September 15, 2023

To apply, Applicants are encouraged to visit the Careers Page at: https://go.edc.org/SouthSudanJobs 

Or Only if technical difficulties occur, applicants may send their resumes to: [email protected], listing “Job Title- Program Assistant YEA South Sudan” in the Subject Line. Indicate the name of the County you are applying for in the Subject Line.

Or hand deliver applications, enclosed in an envelope to Ulang County Office to the attention of The Chief of Party, Education Development Center, (EDC), USAID Youth Empowerment Activity. Indicate on the envelope the position applied for.

Applications will be progressively reviewed as they are received. Due to the volume of applications submitted, only finalists will be notified. No phone calls, please.

EDC is committed to enhancing the diversity of its workforce and ensuring an equitable and highly inclusive work environment. EDC is a smoke-free workplace, and offers a supportive work environment, competitive salary, and excellent benefits. Women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

This announcement is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this notice are the sole responsibility of Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

Note: EDC doesn’t solicit for money from applicants at any level of the recruitment & selection process.