TLC Project Director Building Tomorrow

Building Tomorrow (BT), an international nonprofit organization, mobilizes communities in Uganda to deliver universal access to inclusive, quality education. To achieve the goal of literacy and numeracy for all, BT uses a community-powered approach that creates positive learning outcomes, accessible to all. BT is significantly growing within Uganda, in large part thanks to receiving its first U.S. federal sub-grant through USAID Uganda’s five-year Targeting the Learning Crisis (TLC) project. As such, BT is seeking a dynamic and experienced Project Director to oversee all aspects of BT’s project, ensuring effective collaboration with partners, alignment with USAID guidelines, and achievement of project goals.

THE ORGANIZATION
Started in 2006, Building Tomorrow supports community-powered learning in rural areas. Through over 500 Building Tomorrow Fellows and over 14,000 Community Education Volunteers, Building Tomorrow has enrolled over 140,000 out-of-school children and reached over 500,000 learners with our signature Roots to Rise (R2R) literacy and numeracy camps. Between offices in the USA and Uganda, Building Tomorrow has a full-time staff of over 230, just eight of whom work outside Uganda. Building Tomorrow has received funding and recognition for its innovative work from Echoing Green, Big Bang Philanthropy, Clinton Global Initiative, and Forbes Magazine.

POSITION HIGHLIGHTS
The Project Director will serve as the lead for Building Tomorrow’s implementation of the TLC Project. This role is responsible for ensuring that all project activities are delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest standards. The Project Director will work closely with the Senior Leadership Team of Building Tomorrow Uganda, the Chief of Party and other key USAID TLC implementers, and other coalition partners to adapt and scale Building Tomorrow programming to 32 districts in Uganda. This position requires extensive program management experience, a deep understanding of the Ugandan education landscape, and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
This position is full-time and based in Building Tomorrow Uganda’s Country Office in Kampala, with regular travel to project sites across the country. The Project Director will report to the Country Director and work closely with Building Tomorrow’s leadership, program, and finance teams, and will be the main Building Tomorrow interlocutor with the USAID/Uganda TLC coalition.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Program Leadership:
• Provide overall leadership and strategic direction for the implementation of Building Tomorrow’s component of the TLC Project.
• Ensure the effective integration of BT’s community-powered programming within the broader TLC framework, aligning with USAID objectives and the MoES’s national education strategy.
• Lead the planning, execution, and monitoring of all program activities, ensuring they meet or exceed project targets and deliverables.
• Promote a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous learning within the program team that is aligned with BT culture.

Stakeholder Relations
• Serve as the primary liaison between BT, JSI/World Education, and other key stakeholders, including government officials, local partners, and community leaders.
• Foster strong, collaborative relationships with coalition partners to ensure coordinated and complementary efforts across all project components.
• Represent BT in meetings, workshops, and conferences related to the TLC project, advocating for the project’s objectives and promoting the organization’s role in the coalition.

Program Operations and Compliance:
• Oversee all operational aspects of the TLC Project, including logistics, procurement, and human resource management, ensuring compliance with USAID regulations and BT’s policies.
• Ensure that project activities are implemented in accordance with the approved work plan and budget, and that any deviations are promptly addressed and reported.
• Coordinate and finalize the preparation and submit high-quality reports to USAID/Uganda TLC coalition stakeholders, ensuring that all reporting requirements are met.
• Ensure timely and accurate submission of all project reports and other project requirements.

Financial Management and Compliance:
• With the Finance Manager, oversee project finances, including budget development, expenditure tracking, and financial reporting, ensuring transparency and accountability in the use of resources.
• Oversee the financial management of the TLC Project, including budget forecasting, expenditure tracking, and financial reporting, ensuring that all financial practices meet donor requirements.
• Ensure compliance with all USAID regulations, including procurement, financial management, and reporting requirements, and that the project adheres to the highest standards of accountability and transparency.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL):
• With the MEL manager, develop and implement a robust MEL framework to track project performance, measure outcomes, and inform decision-making.
• Supervise the collection and analysis of data to assess project impact, identify areas for improvement, and document best practices.

Innovation and Sustainability:
• Identify and leverage opportunities to innovate and enhance the effectiveness and scalability of TLC programming and Building Tomorrow programming, sharing best practices and lessons learned.
• Lead efforts to document and share learning from the TLC Project, contributing to the evidence base on effective approaches to improving learning outcomes in low-resource settings.

Qualifications, Education Background, and Required Skills:
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in program management, with a focus on education, international development, or related fields.
• Proven track record of successfully managing large, complex donor-funded international development programs, preferably with USAID.
• Familiarity with USAID rules and regulations, particularly related to financial management and reporting.
• Strong leadership skills, with experience managing teams and building partnerships with government agencies, NGOs, and community-based organizations.
• In-depth knowledge of the Ugandan education sector and the challenges facing children in rural and underserved communities.
• Excellent organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines effectively.
• Bachelor’s degree in Education, International Development, Public Administration, or a related field; Master’s degree preferred.
• Fluency in English and proficiency in at least one local Ugandan language.
• Demonstrated ability to innovate and adapt program approaches to changing contexts and needs.

WE WANT YOU TO APPLY IF YOU…
• Have an unshakeable passion for education equality, believing access to an inclusive, quality education is a basic human right.
• Possess creative ingenuity, being progressive in your thinking and approaching challenges old and new. You are intrapreneurial and unafraid to pilot new ideas.
• Are relentlessly determined, refusing to accept the status quo, persistently striving to create new opportunities to reach more children, allowing them to reach their maximum potential.
• Believe in collaborative engagement. You believe more can be achieved together than alone, believe in the power of cultivating relationships, and see everyone as an equal partner.