Women’s Education and Vocational Skills Training Programme Lead Somalia

What we are looking for:

NRC is seeking a Programme Lead for the anticipated Somalia Empowering Women through Education and Skills “Rajo Kaaba” Project, funded by the World Bank (WB) through the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Higher Education (MoECHE). The project aims to enhance literacy, numeracy, socioemotional skills, and market-relevant vocational training for young women and men (ages 15-35) across various regions of Somalia.

The Programme Lead will be responsible for ensuring the project is executed in alignment with the cooperative agreement, WB regulations, and internationally recognized quality standards. Additionally, they will serve as the primary liaison with MoECHE staff and the Project Implementation Unit (PIU), providing project updates, addressing challenges, and monitoring progress against targets. The role also includes representing the project in coordination forums, stakeholder meetings, and engagements with government officials and donors.

This position is contingent on NRC securing funding and is expected to commence in 2025.

What you will do:

Strategic leadership

• Provide strategic and technical leadership to drive activities that ensure maximum impact toward achieving project objectives, incorporating effective youth participatory approaches.
• Collaborate with key project staff to develop, review, and monitor annual work and performance plans, ensuring alignment with both long-term and short-term priorities.
• Offer comprehensive technical and implementation support to field-based education staff and partners, including guidance on work plans, approval of expenses and procurement, recruitment processes, and reporting, in close coordination with team members.
• Ensure adherence to Safe and Inclusive Programming (SIP) guidelines in alignment with NRC and WB standards, promptly addressing and resolving any reported breaches or concerns.
• Advocate for and promote enhanced inclusion and accessibility within all education-related activities.

Project management 

• Hold overarching responsibility for the effective and efficient management of the Education project, ensuring alignment with the project management cycle, including high-quality reporting in collaboration with Finance, Somalia Logistics, external technical partners, and consultants.
• Manage the overall project budget, maintaining appropriate burn rates and implementing solutions to address over- or under-expenditure issues.
• Ensure compliance with NRC’s contractual commitments and program quality standards throughout project implementation, with a focus on enhancing education and vocational skills training standards.
• Oversee subcontracted partners by providing financial and operational support, ensuring optimized resource use through sound budgeting, consistent financial tracking, and timely donor reporting.
• Ensure adherence to NRC’s policies, guidelines, and procedures.
• Coordinate and manage project implementation activities, budgets, and documentation in line with proposals, strategies, and donor requirements.
• Take charge of risk management across all project aspects, including fiduciary and implementation risks, while upholding the principle of “do no harm.”
• Ensure that financial and logistical systems and procedures, including supply chain management, are effectively followed by the project team.
• Oversee the timely development and updating of procurement, recruitment, and spending plans for the project and ensure these are communicated to relevant colleagues.
• Accountable for the timely submission of monthly project-specific cash forecasts to Finance and relevant Procurement Requests to Logistics.

Compliance and Stakeholder management 

• Submit reports to MoECHE and the State Ministry of Education through both formal and informal debriefings, including quarterly, annual, and semi-annual reports.
• Provide leadership and guidance to ensure a robust youth participatory approach in the project, leveraging the insights, networks, and expertise of local youth partners and TVET service participants.
• Foster and maintain active, cooperative relationships with key stakeholders such as government officials, project partners, implementing agencies, and relevant institutions.
• Represent the project and the organization publicly, ensuring the dissemination of information on project achievements and lessons learned.
• Support donor relationship management by participating in routine and ad-hoc donor meetings, and collaborating with project staff, Grants and Partnership teams, and subcontractors to prepare necessary updates.

Learning  and evaluation 

• Ensure the use of existing monitoring and evaluation processes with the Education team and collaborate with the Country Office to develop or streamline new Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) tools to support a responsive and effective programming approach.
• Facilitates learning through reviews of progress against benchmarks, collecting lessons learnt and best practices and facilitating dissemination of the same across the country office, partners, and external stakeholders.

Senior line management 

• Provide line management for the project coordinator, TVET specialist, GBV officer, and consultants.
• Foster a supportive work environment that encourages teamwork, trust, mutual respect, and a participatory approach to engaging with youth, while empowering staff to take ownership and responsibility.
• Oversee performance management and capacity building for all direct reports through regular one-on-one meetings and the establishment and completion of clear goals and performance plans.

Please download the detailed job description to learn more about the position.

What you will bring:

• Master’s degree in education, gender, economics, public health, Engineering or a relevant discipline,
• Minimum of 10 years of experience. The experience should include the following:
  • Experience in managing education programs for adults and young women.
  • TVET expertise, especially for adults and youth
  • Expertise in designing and implementing education programs specifically for women and young girls.
  • In-depth knowledge and skills in developing and implementing educational initiatives that cater specifically to the needs and challenges faced by women and young girls. This could involve creating programs that address gender disparities in education, promote girls’ access to education, and empower women through education and skills development.
  • Proficiency in evaluating programs and materials, establishing student support systems, implementing assessment strategies, and managing administrative systems.
  • Developing a youth participatory approach to education, TVET, or livelihood projects in line with the IASC Guidelines for Working with and for Youth in Humanitarian and Protracted Crisis.
• Proficiency in English language, including synthesis and elaboration of qualitative and quantitative inputs/data (compilation of reports alone is not adequate). knowledge of Somali language will be an added advantage.
• Excellent communication skills – negotiation, networking, influencing, public speaking and facilitating workshops at different levels.
• Ability to work closely with field based national staff and experience in various staff training and development approaches.
• Knowledge of the context of Somalia
• Experience with project management and gender
• Experience in advocacy work
• Safety and security awareness training
• A positive, solution-oriented attitude to working within a diverse team is essential
• Handling insecure environments.
• Managing resources to optimize results.
• Managing performance and development.
• Communicating with impact and respect.
• Strategic thinking, result oriented and diplomatic.
• Empowering and building trust, including  with youth project participants
• Ability to work under pressure and with limited supervision.
• Flexible and creative, confident in taking initiatives and exploring new opportunities.
• Commitment to continuous learning and willingness to keep abreast of new developments.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.

What we offer:

• Duty station: Mogadishu, Somalia.
• Contract: 20 Months.
• Salary/benefits: grade 9 on NRC’s salary scale, with accompanying terms and conditions. This could be either a National or International contract.
• NRC is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to diversity without distinction to age, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and physical ability.
• We think outside the box, encourage ideas, and give responsibility to all employees at all levels. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take the initiative.

Find out more about the benefits of working for NRC

Important information about the application process

• For Internal candidates: To apply as an internal candidate, log in with your official email or click on Opportunity MarketPlace.
• When creating your profile, include your full name as given on your passport. Complete all the system-required fields for experience, employment history and education.
• Submit your application and CV in English, taking care to attach your latest CV.
• Applications that do not meet the minimum standards in terms of experience or qualifications will generally not be considered. Unsolicited applications not related to this specific job advertisement will not be considered.
• We receive many applications for each vacant position and so only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

If you have any questions about this role, please email ho.recruitment@nrc.no with the job title as the subject line.

The application package must include the following components to be considered:

• An updated CV in PDF format no longer than three pages listing the candidate’s relevant work experience and achievements
• A Cover Letter in PDF format no longer than one page (500 words max) addressing the following three questions:
• Your interest in working on Education and Vocational Skills Training for adult learners and young women.
• Selected professional achievements that demonstrate your fit for this role.
• Explain your career plans for the five years and how this position aligns with this.

Why NRC?

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee. Our 15,000 staff work in crises across 40 countries, providing life-saving and long-term assistance to millions of people every year.

Watch this short video to see NRC in action.

We are looking for people who are passionate about helping refugees and people forced to flee. Are you one of those people? If you are, NRC offers you the opportunity to:

• do demanding and professional work, often in challenging contexts.
• join a work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility.
• be part of a welcoming and supportive community committed to human dignity.