Job Description

The Mitchell Group (TMG), an international development consulting firm based in Washington, DC, is currently is seeking applications from qualified Team Leader candidates to propose for a USAID Education Data Activity for USAID/Zambia. To note, this opportunity is in the proposal stage and will only be granted upon successful award of the contract.

Responsibilities:

The Project Coordinator or Team Leader will provide overall technical and administrative leadership and expertise for the USAID Education Data activity and serve as the primary liaison with USAID/Zambia on management and technical matters. S/he will be responsible for the overall management and implementation of the program and report directly to the designated Contracting Officer’s Representative.

The Project Coordinator or Team Leader will take a leadership role in coordination with USAID and key stakeholders and other implementing partners. The position requires political gravitas, as s/he will interact with numerous GRZ institutions and senior-level national and provincial-level government officials. The Project Coordinator or Team Leader will have demonstrated ability to work in complex environments, to work across different cultures, and manage diverse teams to deliver impact within agreed timelines.

Education:

• A minimum of a Masters degree is required, in areas such development, education economics, knowledge management or related fields.

Experience:

• A minimum of 12 years of experience in education and monitoring and evaluation.
• Progressively responsible relevant management, supervisory, technical experience working with programs that include Early Grade Reading Assessments (EGRAs), literacy tests, language mapping, or similar activities.
• Management experience in organizational capacity development
• Strong quantitative analytical background in cost-benefit, econometric methodologies, and/or statistics
• Experience in program design, policy dialogue, strategic planning and implementation
• Experience working in Zambia or similar development contexts
• Must be professionally proficient and fluent in written and spoken English

Please send relevant CV/resume to recruitment@the-mitchellgroup.com. In the subject line, please indicate “Team Leader/ Zambia / (Last Name)”. CV/resumes will be reviewed as they are received, early application is encouraged. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. No phone calls please.

About the Organization

The Mitchell Group (TMG) has been providing a variety of international consulting services for over 29 years in the areas of:

-Monitoring and Evaluation

-Support Services

-Financial Management and Grants

-Basic Education and Training

TMG provides better management of limited resources for U.S. Government agencies, non-profit organizations, and private firms involved in development in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States.

TMG works in areas as diverse as: Education, Health, Natural Resource Management and the Environment. In managing projects for USAID and other donors, The Mitchell Group is guided throughout the process by its corporate philosophy of "efficient management of development resources". Over 20 years, TMG has offered substantive technical assistance to its clients, making and leaving a sustainable impact on all of its contracts and delivering results directly to the intended beneficiaries and stakeholders. To date, TMG has implemented 56 USAID contracts (short- and long term) worldwide and is currently supporting about $ 20 million in contracts annually. These include six long-term contracts as prime contractor and another four as a sub-contractor.

We tailor our work according to the unique situations as determined by the client - from the implementing agency to the local stakeholders. Whether providing training in financial management, organizing conferences or writing communication materials, we always work to meet the client’s priority goals in the most cost effective and well managed way possible.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Monitoring and Evaluation

Whether our work takes the form of consultation to schools, professional development for teachers, disaster relief or agriculture project assessment, The Mitchell group is ready to meet the needs of USAID or other clients by making sure the right M & E tools are in place. We undertake rigorous field-testing of our programs and serve as evaluators on a wide range of initiatives developed by other organizations. In our commitment to building bridges between research and practice, we also help others develop their skills and strengthen their ability to base their instructional decisions on data and analysis.

Support Services

Get industry-leading support whenever, wherever, and however you need it. TMG provides the resources you need to address service related issues and questions to help you ensure business continuity—from communications to conference services, our support infrastructure includes a large staff of technical, administrative and field experts serving customers in Washington and countries around the world. TMG’s staffing resources ensures a service presence in every major global region. TMG maintains a highly available, efficient environment with industry-leading services, tools, and capabilities including:

-Communications and Publications

-Administrative/Logistical

-Events Planning

-Information Technology

-Monitoring and Evaluation

-Procurement

Financial Management and Grants

TMG has gained considerable experience in grants and financial management on several related projects during the past 20 years. TMG has also carried out extensive work with international private voluntary organizations/PVOs, indigenous non-governmental organizations (PVOs/NGOs) and with other not-for-profit organizations extensively in Africa.

Our Grants Management work supports USAID and other organizations missions by carefully reviewing solicitations for applications, processing applications, negotiating awards, managing administrative and financial aspects of awards, monitoring progress against expenditures, resolving audit problems, and closing out awards when the projects are completed. TMG Grants Management Staff can also arrange workshops and training sessions for recipients and program officials to keep the USAID grants community current on procedures and requirements relating to grants and cooperative agreements.

Basic Education and Training

Over the past 20 years, the Mitchell Group has become a global organization focused on learning and human development for people of all ages with an emphasis on primary education.

TMG has considerable experience working in Africa on integrated development programs focusing on community and basic education. Our activities have focused on strengthening institutional capacity through community decision-making processes, resolving questions of equity and access, decentralizing management, strengthening administration, and developing programmatic and financial transparency.