Senior Technical Specialist, Philippines

Job Summary
The Senior Technical Specialist will oversee all technical program areas of the Youth Engagement and Skills (YES) program in the Philippines. The USAID/Philippines YES! Mindanao activity will directly address the key constraints to peace and stability in conflict-affected areas as well as address alleviation for disaster-affected areas in Mindanao by strengthening the capacity of local government units, communities, and stakeholders to improve education service delivery; increase access for out-of-school youth to education through alternative learning systems; and increase out-of-school youth employability by providing relevant education and skills training. Responsiblities include leading the program technical implementation, grant management and monitoring activities. The Senior Technical Specialist will be based in the Philippines and be responsible for daily oversight and supervision of program specialist, monitoring and evaluation and all technical specialists on a full-time basis. To be eligible for this position, applicants must have the legal authority to work and reside in the Philippines; position is a local hire position and Filipino nationals are encouraged to apply. Hiring for this position will be contingent upon IYF securing funding from USAID for this activity and USAID’s approval of the candidate for this position.

Job Responsibilities

• Serve as the overall lead for capacity building and program implementation activities - providing strategic and programmatic leadership for 5-7 specialists, and ensuring that all program activities are results driven and being carried out in a structured, integrated and quality manner.
• Responsible for the successful management of program implementation activities, whether directly implemented by IYF or local partner organizations, which includes the following:
  • Provide strategic guidance to the technical specialists in the design, start- up and implementation of program activities, overseeing progress in the engagement and capacity building of local partner organizations, and progress towards program outcomes, providing technical direction and troubleshooting problems as they arise.
  • Directly supervise and mentor Technical Specialists, Program Specialist and Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist on specific performance goals and objectives.
• Oversee capacity building support to local partners, which includes the following:
  • Oversee the implementation of capacity building approach and activities planned for program partners, ensuring systematic approach to quality assurance across all local partners and the integration of monitoring and evaluation.
  • Develop strong communication channels and ensure effective transfer of knowledge and leanings between the technical specialists.
• Work closely with the Country Director to support learning agenda and quality assurance process, overseeing the integration of lessons learned and monitoring and evaluation analysis into capacity building efforts and planned activities with local partner organizations.
• Responsible for the management of several large-scale service provider contracts which provide training and other program support to implementation activities, ensuring smooth integration of service provider activities with local partner and IYF-led activities, building relations, providing technical guidance and oversight of expected deliverables, and trouble-shooting implementation challenges as needed.
• Responsible for overall coordination of program activities with other IYF Philippines offices and units, working closely with the Deputy Country Director and Finance and Administration departments to ensure the smooth integration of program activities and results into larger program mission and objectives.
• Brief the Country Director and IYF Baltimore on implementation progress and challenges; participate in meetings with USAID and other external and strategic stakeholders as needed.
• Provide regular updates to the Country Director; contribute to and sign-off on the submission of periodic program reports and updates to IYF Baltimore and core partners.
• Other duties as may be assigned by the Country Director

Supervisor
This position will be supervised by the Country Director based in the Philippines.

Qualifications

• At least a Bachelor’s Degree in Education, Health or Social Sciences related field.
• At least 5-7 years experience in management positions, working in international development, ideally in education and workforce development programs.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Must be a self starter who takes initiative and is able to work with minimal supervision; comfortable working with multiple actors in the public/private sector, and/or civil society.
• Ability to travel up to 25% of the time within the Philippines.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and diplomacy in a multi-stakeholder environment.
• Experience working on USAID-funded programs in the Philippines region is preferred.
• Computer literate in Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Fluency in English, both written and oral is essential.

Location
Philippines

To Apply
All applications must be submitted in English. Please submit a completed Field Office Application for Employment, Cover Letter and CV via email to jobs@iyfnet.org with "Senior Technical Specialist-Philippines" in the subject line.


The International Youth Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer.