Manager, Policy & Partnership at the Edo State Basic Education Sector Transformation (EdoBEST)

The Edo State Government, led by Governor Obaseki, implemented the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (EdoBEST) programme to improve basic education across the state. Through EdoBEST, the government is transforming learning outcomes for the 300,000 children across 1,029 public primary and 471 junior secondary schools in Edo State. EdoBEST is a Government designed and lead programme that is re-training all 15,000 government teachers - novice and experienced - to be technologically supported and empowered teachers.

Under EdoBEST, The Edo Supporting Teachers to Achieve Results (Edo STAR) programme is a hands-on government teacher training initiative forming a core pillar of the State's reform agenda for basic education. The programme is developing a more highly skilled teaching workforce by training, supporting and motivating Edo State teachers to succeed in the classroom of tomorrow.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Manager, Policy & Partnership

Location: Edo, Nigeria

Policy & Partnerships Department 

• The Policy & Partnerships team engages with visionary political and Government leadership to help shape policy, strengthen delivery and impact complex education systems through comprehensive technical support.
• We work to ensure policies support children’s access, opportunity and advancement, and that there is an enabling environment for governments to work with technical assistance partners to enact large-scale system transformation.
• We ensure close collaboration, communication, and engagement with our government partners whom we serve in existing programs and the rest of the delivery teams to ensure we deliver on the promise of our program, and that the government sees solutions coming to the fore, and is participating in the work and recognizes the impact taking place.
• In support of the government program, may also engage with other dynamic influencers (NGOs, think-tanks, academicians, and bi- and multilateral agencies) to unlock additional support for our government programming and children in underserved communities.
• It is our responsibility to ensure that the program we deliver is understood by our government partner, and to negotiate any changes or updates or new needs in the program as it evolves, and to seek its expansion and renewal, based on successful track-record and measured improved learning and positive impact.

About the Role 

• As the Manager, you will help EdoBEST meet legislative goals by creating proposals and working with government agencies.
• You are on top of research on government policies and laws, manage internal and external communication and have a large resource base of personnel in the public sector.

Responsibilities
What you will do:

• Work closely with the Programme Development counterparts and regional leadership, be responsible for overseeing key government relationships and programming. To do this, you’ll lead government engagement, training and stakeholder meetings.
• Ensure creation of governance committees according to core programming guidelines, and establish a regular meeting schedule.
• Ensure thorough weekly and monthly reporting to the government begins and is continued under permanent programme leadership.
• Manage and oversee all Policy and Partnerships program staff (focussed on Programme Management).
• Manage the diverse strategic stakeholder management across multiple Government departments and levels within those departments; with prominent education ecosystem stakeholders, including but not limited to the local and national teacher labour unions; and important 'influencers’ to ensure the successful and popular launch of the government’s new programme.
• Establish and implement short- and long-range goals, objectives, policies and operating procedures for the government relations support function; monitor and evaluates program effectiveness; effects changes required for improvement;
• Map all key government officials, and create a plan for management of each;
• Work with key stakeholders on consultative efforts to drive reforms in delivery of education to underserved communities;
• Utilize lead management techniques and maintain a detailed and dynamic database of these key influencer communities while tracking progress of programme launch;

Requirements
What You Should Have:

• Bachelor's Degree with superior academic performance;
• Over 4 years’ experience in government program delivery or working in account management or as an engagement manager;
• In depth experience building and systematically managing key complex relationships and accounts to ensure program delivery in a complex, multi-stakeholder program or project;
• Previous experience working with a Ministry of Education or State Education Board on program delivery, preferred; If not within education, experience with another government delivery program or project, such as in health or ICT;
• Confidence, authority, and level-headed decision making needed as program's leadership voice;
• Knowledge of local, state and federal government issues related to the provision of primary education in Nigeria would be preferred;
• Ability to balance commercial interests and social benefits - a blend across business and political acumen, but also high emotional intelligence and relationship-building skills;
• Experience acting as an on-the-record spokesperson;
• Highly capable and thoughtful problem-solving skills; able to act as an intermediary and a solutions driven lead, to ensure effective collaboration and communication between the Government client and our organization;
• Prior experience within a fast-paced, high-growth, metric-driven operational organization will be an advantage;

You’re also:

• A detailed doer – You have a track record of getting things done. You’re organized and responsive. You take ownership of every idea you touch and execute it to a fine level of detail, setting targets, engaging others, and doing whatever it takes to get the job done. You can multi-task dozens of such projects at once and never lose sight of the details. Likely, you have some experience in a start-up or other rapid-growth company.
• A creative problem-solver – Growing any business from scratch comes with massive and constant challenges. On top of that, we work in often fragile, sometimes volatile low-resource communities and with complex government systems. You need to be flexible and ready to get everything done effectively, quickly, and affordably with the materials at hand.
• A relentless advocate – The children we serve and teachers we empower never leave your mind. You know them, get them, have shared a meal with them (or would be happy to in the future). You would never shrink back from shaking a parent’s hand or picking up a crying child, no matter what the person was wearing or looked like. Every decision you make considers their benefit, experience, and value.
• A malleable learner – You believe you can always do better. You welcome constructive criticism and provide it freely to others. You know you only get better tomorrow when others point out where you’ve missed things or failed today.
• A data-driven decision-maker – When making decisions, you don’t rely on your intuition alone. You collect data, you analyze it and make decisions with clear justifications.
• A curious investigator – You ask why a lot. You don’t just take what you see and accept it. You wonder why it is that way, and are aware that the world we see is created by human choices and actions – and it could be different. You wonder, and see the world as wonderful even when you want to change a part of it that is unjust

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.