Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a U.S. non-profit organization dedicated to creating, evaluating, and replicating innovative solutions to poverty and policy problems worldwide. IPA specializes in using randomized impact evaluation to assess the effectiveness of development programs.

Description Of Job

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is seeking qualified applicants for the position of Teacher Community Assistant Initiative (TCAI) Operations Manager (OM). The TCAI is a project conducted in collaboration with the Ghana Education Services (GES), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Youth Employment Program (NYEP) and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) to improve the quality of education in Ghana by providing teachers in P1-P3 with assistants who will be in charge of teaching the basic skills to the lowest performing students, and will be trained specifically for this purpose.  The impact of this project is going to be rigorously evaluated by the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab and Innovations for Poverty Action (www.povertyactionlab.org and www.poverty-action.org).

The Operations Manager will be based in Accra and assist the TCAI National Coordinator in managing all aspects of the project, particularly events planning, financial planning and management, and grant reporting. The OM will be expected to travel at least 50% of the time to help oversee the TCAI activities across Ghana.

Specific responsibilities include:
Program Management:

•  Support the TCAI team to plan, organize, staff and ensure implementation of all core components of the TCAI design across the selected districts in Ghana
•  Assist the National coordinator in developing working plans for the TCAI Regional Coordinators
•  Ensure timely delivery of high quality program outputs such as education materials, training manuals and instructional materials for Teacher Community Assistants
•  Work closely with the National Coordinator and Regional Coordinators in ensuring program implementation is proceeding according to plans agreed with the TCAI Steering Committee and in compliance with rules and regulations for the program
•  Lead the process of producing narrative and financial reports for donors
•  Budget Management and Financial Planning
•  Manage fiscal operations of the TCAI program including budget development and authorization of expenditures
•  Ensure compliance with IPA Ghana’s financial systems and procedures; communicate regularly with IPA Ghana country management team regarding project finance
•  Coordinate with IPA Ghana's in-country financial staff and IPA's US staff to review accounts of all program activities, including monitoring actual expenses in the field and in the US, and forecasting expected expenditures on a monthly basis

Strategic Planning for Outreach:

•  Work with the Project stakeholders, TCAI National Coordinator, IPA Ghana Country Director, PIs and TCAI Evaluation team to design and execute a communications and outreach strategy.
•  Assist the TCAI evaluation team to prepare policy briefs and materials for distribution to practitioners and support dissemination of program findings to key policy makers in collaboration
•  Support relationships and partnerships between TCAI and other external actors in the education sector in Ghana including large-scale bilateral and multilateral development actors such as USAID, DFID, UNICEF, World Bank, JICA etc.

The commitment sought for this position is a minimum of one year. The position will start in October 2012. There will be a probation period of three months.

Qualification Required & Experience

Desired Qualifications and Experience:

•  Demonstrated interest and experience in international development, and in particular, the education sector
•  At least five years work experience in a project management or management position
•  Experience with financial management and budgeting
•  Experience with grant management and donor reporting
•  Exceptional analytical and organizational skills, and attention to detail
•  Flexible, self?motivated, and an ability to manage multiple tasks.
•  Excellent written and verbal communication skills
•  Demonstrated ability to work effectively in cross?cultural environments
•  Experience in developing country
•  Knowledge of issues relevant to development intervention and project evaluation
•  Masters Degree in International Development, Management, Public Policy, Economics, or related field preferred
•  Knowledge of / experience with randomized evaluations of social programs preferred

How To Apply For The Job

Interested Applicants should send their cv, cover letter and references to:

jobs-ghana@poverty-action.org

Subject line - ATTN: TCAI Operations Manager – IPA Ghana

Closing Date: 04 October, 2012