Programme Officer, Early Childhood Development (ECD) – AGA KHAN FOUNDATION

Application Deadline 31st October, 2021

The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) brings together human, financial and technical resources to address some of the challenges faced by the poorest and most marginalized communities in the world. Special emphasis is placed on investing in human potential, expanding opportunity and improving the overall quality of life, especially for women and girls. The Foundation primarily works across eight thematic areas – agriculture and food security, building community resilience to climate change, economic inclusion, work and enterprise, education, early childhood development, health and nutrition, and the strengthening of community institutions to lead development interventions. AKF is a member of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a group of 11 development agencies addressing the needs of poor and marginalized communities in more than thirty countries where it operates.

AKF started its operations in India in 1978, and today implements programs in both rural and urban areas across six states (Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Delhi).

The Aga Khan Development Network is an international group of private, non-denominational development agencies and institutions that seek to empower communities and individuals, often in disadvantaged circumstances, to improve living conditions and opportunities.

The Aga Khan Foundation is committed to the principles of equal opportunity and will strive to ensure that all job applicants, staff and volunteers, do not suffer negative discrimination on the basis of their religion, race, caste, color, nationality, social class, sex, place of birth, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, HIV status, age etc. or any combination of these.3+

Position Description

Reporting to : Senior Programme Officer, ECD and Education

Position tenure : 3 years, renewable based on programme funding and need

About the role

The Programme Officer, Early Childhood Development (ECD), will be responsible for providing technical support and strategic direction for implementing AKF’s ECD strategy across its target geographies. This will involve managing programmes, with a focus on responsive caregiving and early learning from 0 – 6 years, and supporting the Education team for play-based learning in grades 1- 2 (6-8 years). Other key responsibilities include monitoring, grant management and resource mobilization. The Programme Officer is expected to design innovations and pilots, take existing work to scale, document lessons and models for replication, and strengthen all aspects of programme design, implementation, and monitoring.

This role will be demanding and fast-paced, with opportunities for collaboration across the programme team of AKF in India and globally, as well as with other AKDN agencies in India. For the right individual, this will provide an exciting opportunity to shape AKF (India)’s work in ECD across states, and raise AKF’s profile and influence on ECD nationally.

Key Responsibilities

The Programme Officer is expected to work closely with the Senior Programme Officer, ECD and Education, and state ECD teams in Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.

Technical support (40%)

1. Develop project specific ECD content for implementation

2. Develop training modules and facilitate workshop/ sessions for state ECD teams and government officials to build their capacities on areas related to early childhood development and responsive caregiving.

3. Mentor state ECD teams, so that they are able to support government functionaries and communities appropriately

4. Document key strategies used, processes undertaken and learnings from the field

5. Ensure regular exchange of knowledge, good practices, and lessons learned among state teams, other colleagues across AKF, government officials, funding partners, and with AKF teams globally

Programme Management (25%)

6. Develop effective monitoring mechanisms and undertake regular reviews of programme implementation in consultation with the Programme Officers in states

7. Monitor quality of project implementation with Programme Officers at the state level to ensure delivery against agreed milestones and targets

8. Identify gaps in delivery, and devise strategies to reduce implementation gaps as needed

9. Coordinate with consultants, partners and key agencies in planning and conducting research studies, project evaluations, developing communication material, digital content, process documentation, video documentation and other programme related tasks

10. Work with colleagues and other stakeholders to design innovations and lead pilot initiatives

Government liaison and partnerships (25%)

11. Liaise actively with other key agencies in the ECD ecosystem and government stakeholders at national and state levels

12. Support the state teams in their dialogue with Government departments at the state level (WCD, Education, Health etc.) and identify opportunities for convergence

13. Initiate dialogue with prospective donors to identify opportunities for resource mobilization

14. Share periodic updates and budget projections, along with workplans, reports, project briefs, case studies and presentations for funding partners, as required

15. Organize planning meetings, workshops, conferences, and project visits for internal or external groups, as required Other activities (10%)

16. Support the Communications team to develop communication materials (reports, brochures, newsletters) for both internal and external stakeholders

17. Support the Senior Programme Officer in the implementation of the Education programme, to ensure alignment with the ECD initiatives

18. Any other responsibilities assigned by the Senior Programme Officer, as per organizational requirements

Required Qualifications and Experience:

1. Post graduate qualification in social work / social science / education / any relevant field

2. 8-10 years of relevant professional experience, especially in implementing and/or managing ECD/ parenting programmes, planning, and conducting training for government functionaries on ECD

3. Experience of working with Government departments at national/ state level

4. Knowledge of national and state government policies and programmes on ECCE/ECD

5. Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English. Working knowledge of Hindi (including written) is also required

6. Good documentation, data analysis and presentation skills. Proficiency in MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint is required

7. Analytical, articulate and well versed with the subject to communicate effectively and succinctly with a wider audience

8. Excellent interpersonal and team skills – needs to lead a diverse team of technical specialists and community mobilizers, and work in horizontal, cross-functional teams across departments and institutions

9. Excellent project management and coordination skills 10. Excellent time management skills with demonstrated ability to prioritize

11. Needs to be comfortable dealing with ambiguity, and respond flexibly to a changing field situation

12. Willing to travel extensively – approximately 30-40% of the time

How to apply

Please submit your updated CV, accompanied by a cover letter stating the reasons for your interest for the position by 31st October, 2021 using the link below

 https://forms.gle/AQ9YTyYB2nVBERBi7