Program Manager - Luminos Fund

The Luminos Fund, an international non-profit bringing education opportunities to the world’s most vulnerable children, seeks a Program Manager to contribute to its rapid growth and expansion. This role will report to Luminos’ Ghana Country Director.

The Program Manager will play a key role in program planning and execution, training our teachers and implementing partners, monitoring Luminos’ classrooms, and analyzing education data. Ideal candidates have accomplished professionals with a teacher training background. Experience working on education programs in Ghana and a passion for driving transformative results for children are essential.

This full-time position will be based in Ashanti Region, Ghana with regular travel to Accra.

About the Luminos Fund

The Luminos Fund (www.luminosfund.org) believes that no child should be denied the chance to learn. Launched in 2016, Luminos is scaling up Second Chance: an accelerated learning program that enables children who have been kept out of school by crisis or poverty to catch up to grade level and return to learning – all in 10 months. A registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, we operate programs in Ethiopia, Liberia, Lebanon, and Ghana. To date, we have helped over 152,000 children secure a second chance to learn.

As school reopens across the globe following the COVID-19 pandemic, Luminos is rising to meet the moment – launching new country programs and developing new ways of delivering at scale. The Luminos Fund is launching a pilot program in Ghana in March 2022.

The program will build on the efforts of Ghana’s Ministry of Education to scale Complementary Basic Education, the country’s national accelerated learning program. The pilot program will be aligned with the National Education Sector Plan 2018-2030 and ongoing back-to-school initiatives in the country, with a view to improving equitable access to quality education for all children, including the most marginalized.

Luminos is supported by premier philanthropic organizations, including UBS Optimus Foundation, Dubai Cares, Cartier Philanthropy, Legatum, and a community of high-net-worth individuals. Luminos has been recognized for its achievements globally, receiving the Library of Congress International Literacy Award, the Lipman Family Prize, the WISE Award, and the HundrED Global Innovation Award for the last five years.

Duties and Responsibilities

Program Set-Up, Implementation, and Management

• Work with the Luminos Fund Ghana team on program planning and design, engaging closely with the Ministry of Education, District Education Offices, and implementing partners to support teacher and student selection, community engagement, data analysis, monitoring, assessment, teacher training, and transition of students into government schools following completion of pilot program.
• Organize and deliver training for teachers and program staff of implementing partners on key aspects of the Luminos program, including activity-based education, lesson planning, assessment, and child protection.
• Visit classrooms at least once per month and provide monthly reports to the Country Director in Ghana.
• Review the quarterly reports submitted by implementing partners, analyze academic performance of students at each phase and adapt teacher coaching accordingly, and share findings with the Luminos team and implementing partners.
• Provide guidance and technical contributions in designing data collection and analysis processes in Ghana.
• Assess the delivery of the program against Luminos program benchmarks: prepare quarterly, semi-annual, and annual programmatic reports using Luminos reporting formats.
• Provide guidance to the delivery of auxiliary interventions such as parental engagement and reading programs.

Stakeholder Management

• Support engagement with Luminos implementing partners, including onboarding, budgeting, impact, learning, compliance, and reporting.
• Represent Luminos Ghana at local, regional, and national levels, as required in the absence of the Country Director.
• Engage and build relationships with relevant communities and local government bodies to ensure successful implementation of the Luminos Fund program.
• Provide technical inputs to fundraising proposals and support in identifying new fundraising opportunities.
• Plan and manage classroom visits for Luminos partners and funders.

Qualifications

Required Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree in Education or related field of study preferred.
• 3-5 years’ program management experience with increasing levels of responsibility, across the business or non-profit sectors in cross-cultural contexts (non-profit sector experience preferred).
• Experience leading delivery of teacher training and continuous professional development for teachers is essential.
• Strong track record of people and program management.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills. Strong track record of success building and managing relationships with a variety of stakeholders.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Ability to speak and write Asante Twi and English fluently.

Core attributes

• Belief and demonstrated passion for the mission, vision, and values of Luminos Fund.
• Impeccable integrity, professionalism, and solutions-oriented, can-do attitude.
• Affinity for data-driven decision making.

• Ability to wear multiple hats, transitioning seamlessly between supporting teachers and staff in rural classrooms to representing Luminos in meetings with donors and government.
• Natural curiosity and hunger for continuous learning and improvement.
• Belief that success lies in the details.
• Innate sense of responsibility for delivery of quality work, even in challenging circumstances.
• Self-motivated, with the ability to work independently.
• Experience working with diverse constituents, teams, and colleagues.
• Readiness to problem solve creatively on a myriad of fronts and go above and beyond to deliver outsized success.