Vacancy: Planning and Quality Manager_TASS Facility_Palladium

Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact - the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with foundations, investors, governments, corporations, communities and civil society to formulate strategies and implement solutions that generate lasting social, environmental and financial benefits. For the past 50 years, we have been making Positive Impact possible. With a team of more than 2,500 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of more than 35,000 technical experts, Palladium has improved - and is committed to continuing to improve - economies, societies and most importantly, people's lives. Palladium is a child-safe organization, and screens applicants for suitability to work with children. We also provide equal employment to all participants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran or marital status.

 TASS is a responsive, demand driven technical assistance facility funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), represented in Indonesia by the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. The TASS is expected to run from 16 January 2017 to 15 January 2020.

Assistance provided through TASS focuses on supporting Government of Indonesia efforts to address two key constraints in the education sector: the poor quality of teaching and learning in classrooms and schools, and persistent disparities (regional, socio-economic, gender, disability) that impact on student learning outcomes. The TASS will contribute to meeting Government of Indonesia’s needs through:

·        The provision of rapid analyses designed to contribute to policy and/or practice improvement..

·        Assisting the Government of Indonesia (GoI) in areas where short-term TA support is needed to complement and strengthen GoI capacity.

·        Supporting the piloting of activities to test new strategies to improve the quality of teaching

TASS will work with the two ministries responsible for education, the Ministry of Education and Culture (MoEC) and Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA), as well as the National Development Planning Ministry (Bappenas). It is anticipated that TASS will support up to 36 activities, an average of 12 in each year of the program. TA that DFAT will finance for GoI will be provided in response to GoI’s expressed need.TASS will also support DFAT in the coordination, delivery and oversight of its Education Sector Investment Program (ESIP). This support may take the form of contracting individual TA to provide technical and/or strategic advice to DFAT; the organization and management of seminars, workshops and conferences; and delivery of learning and knowledge events. 

 The Planning and Quality Assurance Manager is responsible for the planning, scheduling, tracking and quality assurance of activities delivered by TASS to ensure that activities are delivered on time, on budget, to agreed quality standards, and in a manner consistent with the program’s implementation approach, i.e. investing in knowledge to policy practices, and thinking and working politically.

The role operates in a fast paced environment where the capacity to respond rapidly to requests for technical assistance, or to actively pursue opportunities to provide such assistance, will be a key determinant of program success. Meeting this capacity requires adequate planning and operations support, and front and back-end quality assurance. A number of tools and templates have been developed to support activity planning and quality assurance, however the position will be expected to review and further develop these. Under the Direction of the Facility Director and in close coordination with activity managers, a communications officer, as well as an operations team (i.e. recruitment, finance, and procurement), this position will support the program’s responsive capacity through the following tasks:

• Work with the Facility Director, activity managers and communications officer to plan, jointly design, and schedule each of approximately 25 short-term activities, or around 12 per annum.
• Lead the production of core activity documentation (such as Terms of Reference, Scope of Work, activity budgets) in a timely manner and to agreed quality standards, managing inputs of activity managers as required.
• In collaboration with other team members, and drawing on inputs of the TASS Education Specialists, quality assure the major outputs for each activity (e.g. technical reports, presentations, policy briefs, and working papers) to ensure they are technically sound, sufficiently cognizant of the policy and institutional realities of the prevailing environment, and clearly written.
• Review and update key business processes and practices that support efficient, timely, and quality activity management (preparation, implementation, tracking and reporting), and work with the wider team to ensure they are consistently applied..
• Engage with counterpart ministries and other development partners for activity planning, design, and monitoring.
• Ensure gender and inclusion are appropriately considered and resourced in activity planning and design.
• Support activity budget forecasting in close collaboration with the TASS Program Manager and Finance Officer.
• Support operational clearances and approvals with DFAT management.
• Provide input to the Facility Director to support quarterly and annual reporting to DFAT.
• Support implementation of staff performance management systems.

Requirement:

• A degree in a relevant subject, e.g. project management, social sciences, international relations, public policy.
• 5-10 years’ experience with project design, development and management.
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize tasks, manage time and complete projects in a fast-paced, changing environment with minimal supervision.
• Strong critical thinking skills, a positive attitude, and pro-active approach.
• Fluency in English, and an ability to write clearly and vary writing style to meet needs.
• Accuracy and thoroughness, and attention to detail.
• Demonstrated cultural sensitivity.
• Experience in Indonesia or within a knowledge or policy research environment will be highly regarded.

This position has been determined as a level B2 in accordance with DFAT’s Adviser Remuneration Framework.  See:
https://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Documents/adviser-remuneration-framework-2016.pdf