Programme Development Specialist

Programme Development Specialist for African Francophone Countries and North Africa
The Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative (GESCI) is an international non-profit technicalassistance organization, established by the UN and headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya which has amandate to advise and assist Governments in the socio-economic development of their countries through the widespread integration of technology for knowledge society development, especially in the education, skills training and community development areas.In particular, GESCI partners Governments in effective policy making for education provision with an emphasis on the systematic use and integration of technology. Currently GESCI works with 12 East and southern Africa Governments in providing leadership development programmes for policy-making for social, economic and knowledge society development.GESCI’s strategy is to bring its range of programmes and national ICT-related supports in education & training to African Francophone countries and to North Africa, beginning with theAfrican Leadership in ICT & Knowledge Society Development (ALICT/TIC) and associated leadership development programmes.The primary duty associated with this post is to lead in the identification, development and contextualisation of GESCI programmes and projects in Francophone Africa. Possessing of a thorough knowledge of donor policies and strategies for Francophone and Northern Africa the incumbent will be responsible for leading the development and preparation of funding proposals in response to calls for bids from donors as well as for synthesising new and innovative ideas and their formulation into projects and proposals which attract donor collaboration and funding. For example, a critical opportunity exists to design new and innovative technology-driven models for the acquisition of literacy and numeracy at great scale in Africa and for the improvement of teaching and learning and skills development in the face of rapidly growing youth populations.  Advocacy and Donor Relations for Francophone Countries and North AfricaHaving regard to GESCI’s Donor Relation Management Strategy, this key function will be implemented through direct collaboration with GESCI’s CEO and with the operational support of the communications and advocacy functions within GESCI. The incumbent will cultivate good relations with French, Canadian and Swiss ministries of foreign affairs and their development agencies and with other donor countries to explore opportunities for collaboration with GESCI on funding for potential projects in Francophone Africa. The facilitation of GESCI introductions to the relevant government offices and institutions as well as appropriate private sector partners in selected Francophone countries will be an ongoing function of the post.the development of a fundraising implementation strategy for GESCI.  Lead on the creation of an online donor database for GESCI.Research Development aid policies and identify, quantify, and prioritize potential funding opportunities for possible projects and programmes in Francophone and Northern AfricaInitiate and contribute new and innovative ideas, their synthesis and formulation into projects and proposals which address urgent educational needs and which will attract donor collaboration and fundingcollaboration with the communications & knowledge management specialist in developing marketing and promotional materials (online and hard copy).Lead on the French content for the GESCI website, the development of donor pages and in collaboration with the Communications, Outreach & Knowledge Management Specialist on regular updates to the French sections of the site and on selected social networksNew programme/project proposals will be taken to the director of programmes for discussion and approval to develop to submission level.African Leadership for ICT and Knowledge Society DevelopmentDuring the first 18 months, working in close collaboration with the ALICT programme manager and reporting to the director of programmes, the incumbent will have a high work assignment on the preparation for and implementation of the ALICT/TIC (African Leadership in ICT & Knowledge Society Development ) programme, already earmarked for three West African countries. The incumbent will also take the lead in liaison with the Francophone government Ministries and institutions as regards the development and implementation of the course and with relevant Francophone universities in Africa or elsewhere (e.g. Canada, France) for the accreditation and certification of the TIC in line with that already secured for ALICT in Anglophone countries.Coordinate the development and contextualisation of the French language version of the ALICT course and blended learning deliveryIdentify and recruit suitable subject matter and other experts as and when required to develop/contextualize course content and implement the courseLead the preparation for country workshops and act as lead facilitator at such workshopsTo liaise and negotiate with the Francophone government Ministries and institutions in the development and implementation of the courseLiaise and negotiate with relevant Francophone universities in Africa or elsewhere (e.g.Canada, France) for the accreditation of the French version of the ALICT coursecollaborating with the ALICT/TIC programme manager in developing funding proposals for wider access to this programme in Francophone countries in Central, West and North AfricaProvide monthly, quarterly and annual reports in line with programme implementation strategies and in conjunction with the ALICT/TIC Programme Manager for Eastern andWest AfricaThis appointment is a full time position for an initial duration of 2 years with a possibility of extension subject to satisfactory performance evaluations and funding availability.Primary university qualification in either business/economics, international relations, science & technology or  MBA or Post-graduate degree in a relevant field such as international relations, human capital development, economics, ICT in educationStrong background in development policy and implementation in education and training  Fluent French and English are essential requirementExtensive ( min 5 years) experience in human capital and education policy and strategy development & implementation at national levelExperience (min 5 years) of ICT in education national policy development and implementationExperience (min 5 years) in partnership development and donors relations centred on national human capital development programmesExperience (min 5 years) in proposal development and fundraising initiativesExperience ( min 5 years) in programme/course content development and in the contextualisation of content for Francophone African audiencesExperience of information management, platforms, methodologies and their effective useWide experience of successful project management  including tracking of impact/M&EWorkshop coordination and facilitation experienceStrong analytical and problem solving capabilitiesExcellent research, writing and communication skills  Ability to coordinate, develop and manage online networksExcellent team leadership skills and capacities to work as a member of a number of teams within GESCI Excellent project proposal design, development and presentation skillsGood interpersonal communication skills both internally in GESCI and in the external environmentAbility to multitask and consistently meet deadlinesAbility to effectively collaborate with  the communications function in the conceptualization and development of creating promotional material (including newsletters, web copy, articles, video scripts, and other)Excellent online and software skills (web, email, MS Word, Excel etc.)Good knowledge of multimedia trends and tools and their application in education and training arenas