Programme Officer Aga Khan Foundation

The position
About Madrasa Early Childhood Programme

The Madrasa Early Childhood Programme- Uganda (MECP-U) is an initiative of the Aga Khan Foundation that supports holistic development of children aged 0-8 years. MECP-U works with diverse stakeholders including communities, civil society, government, and development partners to deliver high quality, innovative and impactful programming that is needs based and contextually relevant.

MECPU is partnering with International Rescue Committee to implement a Kulea Watoto Program – Kulea in Swahili means “nurturing children” in Swahili and this program aims at improving access to quality early childhood care and development for children aged 5 and under in refugee and host communities in the Districts of Yumbe, Kyegegwa and Kampala. MECPU will specifically be working with IRC to reach out to children and Caregivers within Kampala. Under this program MECPU will ensure that caregivers are able to provide nurturing care within the household, in addition to having access to quality early childhood care and development services (ECCD) in their community. At the community level, MECPU will make critical improvements to ECCD services, while creating an enabling environment across local decision makers and leaders in the Divisions of Kampala Central, Rubaga and Makindye.
MECP-U is seeking dynamic and qualified individuals for a Programme Officer Job to support Project implementation:

Key Responsibilities
• Providing technical support to the Teachers, VHTs and health workers on ECD.
• Organise and Conduct training including both Centre based and site-based mentoring for teachers under the programme in Kampala Central, Nakawa and Rubaga.
• Training district and sub county officials to deliver on ECD programs, providing quality assurance and on their role of delivering integrated ECD program in the district
• Participating in District level events that are geared towards supporting ECD
• Conduct regular monitoring and evaluation activities to ensure that the programme is implemented as per plan.
• Organise District review meetings to track the progress on the programme and receive feedback from the local government leadership.
• Flags issues of concerns on the programme to the Project Coordinator
• Identify capacity gaps and arrange for appropriate training of ECD caregivers to adequately equip them with necessary skills and knowledge required to accomplish their responsibilities at the day operational level.
• Work with other staff members to develop materials and plans for training ECD caregivers.

The requirements
Qualifications, Skills, Competences and Experience:
A successful candidate should have the following qualifications, skills, competences, and experience:
• A Bachelor’s degree in ECD/ECCE
• At least 3-5 years’ experience of working as an ECD programme Officer. Working with communities on promotion of ECD will be an added advantage.
• Ability to engage, train and work with district authorities, and other relevant institutions as well as teachers, parents and children to improve on children`s learning outcomes.
• Fluent in English and one of the Refugee spoken languages or Swahili. An excellent command of spoken and written English, including report writing and computer skills, especially MS Word and Excel.
• Holding valid licence for riding motorcycles and ability to ride a motorcycle will be an added advantage.
• High analytical skills and the ability to assimilate and process information on a wide range of issues, excellent writing, communication,. Agile thinker and able to work within and through systems.
• Team player collaborates effectively to create a culture of knowledge sharing and team learning to strengthen business performance.
• Committed to acting ethically and upholding safeguarding standards towards all staff, volunteers, and beneficiaries of the organization.
• Strong IT skills, including Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, Outlook, SharePoint, Databases, etc.).
• Excellent analytical, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills in a cross-cultural context.

Application Procedures
Candidates interested in this unique career opportunity with MECPU should submit a two-page cover letter and maximum three-page CV including the names and contact information of three professional referees by 14th February 2023.

The Madrasa Early Childhood Program is an affiliate of AKF which is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to Safeguarding and Promoting the Welfare of Children and Vulnerable Adults and Expects all Staff and Partners to Share this Commitment.

The Aga Khan Foundation is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (www.akdn.org )