Afghanistan: Program Coordinator, Education

The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is a non-denominational international development agency established in 1967 by His Highness the Aga Khan. Its mission is to develop and promote creative solutions to problems that impede social development, primarily in Asia and East Africa. Created as a private, non-profit foundation under Swiss law, it has branches and independent affiliates in 19 countries.

AKF seeks to provide sustainable solutions to long-term problems of poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and health. In Afghanistan, AKF works with rural communities in mountainous, remote or resource poor areas to improve quality of life in the areas of natural resource management, market development, governance, education and health.

The Aga Khan Foundation, Afghanistan (AKF (Afg)) is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) www.akdn.org , a group of international, private, non-denominational development agencies working to improve living conditions and opportunities for people in some of the poorest parts of the developing world. The Network’s organizations have individual mandates that range from the fields of health and education to architecture, rural development and promotion of private-sector enterprise and institutions that seek to empower communities and individuals, usually in disadvantaged circumstances, to improve living conditions and opportunities.

At present, it is seeking an exceptional individual to fill the position of Program Coordinator, Education at its Kabul National Office.

Position Objective:

The Program Coordinator is a key member of the Education Team and will have close coordination with the Department of Policy & Partnerships. S/he will be working as part of the Program Coordination Team and in close cooperation with regional offices and the Monitoring and Evaluation Team. The scope of work includes:

• Producing high quality reports, proposals, and concept notes as per required deadlines;


• Establishing and maintaining good day to day relationships with potential and current donors;


• Facilitating better integration with other sectors and programs;


• Representing AKF in sector specific for meetings and working groups.

Core Duties and Responsibilities:

• Reporting: Ensure high quality donor reports are submitted on time, in collaboration with Policy and Partnerships Department; obtain all relevant information from program staff in a timely manner, monitor reporting deadlines and ensure timely preparation and consultation with field and sector staff;


• Impact Monitoring: Coordinate with Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) team to ensure shared knowledge of all donor indicators, and any changes, in a timely manner; check monitoring tools to ensure that data for all donor indicators is captured; ensure regular qualitative data-gathering instruments are in place and meet needs; develop case studies that analyze and document key lessons;


• Monthly Grants Tracking: Each month, in coordination with Education Management Team, check program activity and progress against monthly Yearly Planning of Operations (YPO) tracking sheets and monthly regional reports;


• Financial monitoring: With the responsible staff from Education Department, monitor expenditure against grants, explore reasons for variance; address any problems in good time and communicate to donor, as necessary;


• Resource mobilization and proposal development: Identify future resource needs in the relevant sector, highlight future funding gaps and ensure these are communicated to the Policy and Partnerships Department. Coordinate with sector experts, regional teams and the Policy and Partnerships Department to prepare new concept notes and full proposals to donors, leading the process of consultation and proposal writing;


• Strategic communications: In line with overall Education Communications Strategy, develop case studies and communications materials/strategies for external audiences, articulating achievements, impacts and lessons learned, in collaboration with Communications colleagues in the Policy and Partnerships Department;


• External relations: Develop constructive working relationship with relevant donors; represent AKF in external meetings with relevant donors, national policy forum and working groups with other key stakeholders;


• Integration between sectors: Ensure regular communication with staff in the field on regional/national developments, and work with other National Managers and Coordinators to develop innovative linkages between sectors and programs;


• Knowledge management: Keep thorough electronic records on all relevant grants; produce and disseminate meeting records with external stakeholders; and regularly update the grants management database;


• Coordination: Organize biannual coordination team meetings and quarterly exposure visits to the different regional offices in liaison with the Senior Education Management Team.

Occasional Significant Duties:

• Coordinate development of pre-screening and budget papers, in coordination with Policy and Partnerships Department;


• Support senior management in the development of strategic documents;


• Identify and suggest focused research and program reviews.

Required Qualifications and Experience:

• Minimum Master Degree (preferably in Education or Social Science);


• Two to three years of experience in the relevant field;


• Excellent English written and spoken communications skills, Knowledge of Dari and/or Pashto will be an advantage;


• Ability to meet deadlines, plan and organize time and manage high pressure situations;


• Demonstrated ability to develop and manage internal reporting systems;


• Proven strong organizational and administrative skills;


• Ability to be an effective team member;


• Ability to work and communicate effectively and openly at different levels within an international team;


• Ability to use initiative and work with limited supervision;


• Ability to critically analyze and provide constructive recommendations;


• Willingness to live and work in post-conflict zones.