The Organisation

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected.

Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 80 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries.

ROLE PURPOSE

Plan International is an independent non-governmental organisation active in over 70 countries.  We strive for a just world that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

We adopt rights-based approaches - working with children and young people, communities, and institutions to contribute toward an environment where all children, particularly girls, are able to realise their rights. 

We place a specific focus on the needs and rights of adolescent girls and young women because we recognise the distinct barriers they face. We strive to adopt gender transformative approaches - working with girls and women, as well as boys and men, to promote positive change in gender norms and power relations.

We have been implementing projects, carrying out research and influencing policy and practice for over 75 years and have developed strong relationships - from community to national level - in the countries where we work. 

ABOUT THE PROGRAMME

The early years of a child’s life, between age 0 and 6, is the most critical period of development, when over 85% of brain development takes place. If children are going to reach their full physical, social and cognitive potential in school and in life, they must be provided with adequate nutrition, good health care, protection and early childhood education.

Understanding its importance, world leaders committed to universal access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education by 2030. Yet there is an invisible crisis facing children as only half of all pre-primary-age children are enrolled in a pre-primary education program (PPE), leaving 175 million children behind, mostly from rural and poor regions and communities. Girls especially face barriers to access, participation and achievement, with evidence that by age 6, they have already internalized stereotypes about their lower worth and abilities compared with boys.

These global trends are mirrored in Tanzania, Cambodia and Lao PDR where children from remote, rural and poor areas have no or little access to PPE. These children inevitably arrive at primary school unprepared, resulting in high rates of underachievement, repetition and dropout in early grades.

The LEARN Plus project aims to support the governments of Tanzania, Cambodia and Lao PDR achieve SDG 4.2. In Tanzania, with support from the Global Partnership for Education’s (GPE) Knowledge & Innovation Exchange (KIX), Plan International Tanzania and Plan International Canada, together with the government of Tanzania, the Mother and Child Education Foundation (AÇEV), the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and the University of Dar Es Salaam School of Education, will adapt, test and scale up an accelerated PPE model known as the Summer Pre-Primary (SPP) model.

The SPP model features an intensive pre-school program and includes parent education and outreach, nutrition and hygiene modules, with gender-responsive teaching-learning and parenting approaches integrated across activities. LEARN Plus will rigorously research an adapted SPP model through:

1. Implementation research, focused on exploring, explaining and documenting the factors (including the gender dimensions) that make the intervention effective (or not)
2. A randomized controlled trial to assess its effectiveness in terms of school readiness of both girls and boys, improving learning, promoting on-time enrolment and attendance in Grade 1 and retention to the end of Grade 1
3. A cost analysis of the adapted SPP program.

The specific objectives of the LEARN Plus project are to: (1) contextualize, implement and research the gender-responsive SPP model to generate evidence about its viability as an alternative, accelerated and affordable model to support pre-primary education; and (2) work with Ministries responsible for education to provide technical support needed to implement the model and use project research findings to advocate for the benefits of this model.

Dimensions of the Role

The Project Coordinator will be a full-time role for a 3-year period, beginning on January 1, 2021. The post-holder will be responsible for the overall implementation, coordination and management of the LEARN Plus project in Tanzania. This includes coordinating with project partners and collaborators, strategic government partners and other stakeholders in the field, to ensure the quality and timely execution of all project activities.     

The Project Coordinator will report to the Plan International Tanzania Head of Education and will receive support from other thematic areas.

This position is contingent upon fund release.

Accountabilities

• Coordination of the start-up of project activities with the involvement of stakeholders
• Lead the development and review of annual workplan and set/validate priorities and targets. Initiate refinements resulting from review, as needed.
• Oversee the implementation of project activities in line with established workplans
• Liaise with core team and key partners to ensure common understanding and consistent roll out of the project standards, strategies, activities and work towards achieving project goals
• Coordinate the contextualization of SPP model and development of program toolkit
• Coordinate the pilot-testing of SPP in selected communities
• Ensure training activities are implemented as required
• Work with core team and ley partners to prepare communication and advocacy strategies for maximum communication of project impact and promote the SPP model
• Participate in policy dialogues and planning on education to ensure organizational position, interests and priorities are considered/integrated in development planning processes
• Oversee project expenditure and ensure alignment with the donor-approved budget, donor and Plan financial and other compliance guidelines
• Prepare project reports (monthly, quarterly and annually); liaise with finance colleagues on preparation of financial reports and explaining any spending variances
• Establish and maintain linkages between different stakeholders to ensure smooth implementation of the project
• Develop and nurture close working relationships with government representatives
• Work with technical and Program Unit team to ensure a cohesive program implementation
• Conduct visits to project intervention areas to provide technical support and ensure proper implementation of project activities
• Ensure the collection of data to support research activities, including project monitoring data
• Effectively monitor project progress and ensure that processes, operational lessons learnt and good practices are systematically documented and shared
• Review risks and challenges to quality implementation and compliance and develop clear and timely mitigating strategies
• Support efforts to obtain the necessary administrative approvals to conduct research activities
• Perform any other project-related activities that may be entrusted by the supervisor
• Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Child Protection (CPP) and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI) are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.

Technical expertise, skills, and knowledge

General requirements

• Good understanding of overall education context in Tanzania including issues and challenges related to access and quality of early childhood education and primary education.
• Extensive technical knowledge on policies, strategies, and interventions to support early childhood and primary education
• Experience in teacher training, professional development or community training (parents, volunteers) and research-based projects  
• Good understanding and practice of inclusive quality education and gender equality in education
• Experience working with programs addressing education of children, especially marginalized groups
• Knowledge and experience working with national education delivery system, structures, operations and networks and other related government institutions
• Experience in coordinating complex multi-year and multi-partner research projects
• Experience with monitoring and evaluation and research methodologies, including randomized controlled trial designs
• Strong ability to liaise and communicate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders, across different cultures and to act with tact, diplomacy and credibility
•  Ability to build and motivate multi- disciplinary team
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including donor report writing, presentation and public speaking
• Problem solving, negotiation and influencing skills
• Experience of working with communities, remote/vulnerable areas and understanding of the contextual challenges faced by communities
• Experience with budget management and expenditure oversight
• Sound knowledge of international and national standards of child rights and child protection

Education and language

• Advanced degree in Early Childhood Education, Education, Development studies with at least 4 years practical experience in education programming.
• Fluency in English and Swahili - both spoken and written

Plan International’s Values in Practice

We are open and accountable

• Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors.
• Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
• Consistent and fair in the treatment of people.
• Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them.
• Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organisation for all children, girls & young people

We strive for lasting impact

• Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations.
• Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas.
• Focuses resources to drive change and maximise long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
• Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.

We work well together

• Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
• Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
• Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
• Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

We are inclusive and empowering

• Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
• Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
• Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
• Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.