Project Officer – Sport for Change The School Club Zambia

The School Club Zambia

We are an award winning Zambian NGO and UK Charity, that exists to innovate and upscale the education system in rural Zambia. We believe that qualitative, relevant, environmentally and financially sustainable education is the key to unlocking the potential of children and young people. Since 2011, our work has reached over 20,0000 children and adolescents across our four impact areas of self-financing schools, vocational education, literacy development and girls’ education.

The role: Project Officer – Sport for Change on our “Own your Destiny” Girls Football League of Sinazongwe

Location: Maamba with occasional travel to Livingstone

Contract: 1 year renewable for a maximum of 2 years

Type: Full time (45 hour working week) but usually 8.00 am – 4.00 pm with a 1 hour lunch break  Monday to Friday. There will be a need to work Sundays in lieu of another working day during the league.

The project: 

In May 2021, in partnership with Comic Relief and Play it Forward Zambia, we launched the Own your Destiny project in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health at 10 schools. The “Own your Destiny” Girls’ Football League Project has been designed to address some of the key challenges that prevent girls from returning to the education system in rural Zambia and builds on over 7 years of our work in Sinazongwe, of addressing the complex barriers that rural girls face, when aiming to finish a full 12 years of school.

We are seeking a Project Officer – Sport for Change to assist us with this ambitious project in its final 2 years, which will use the sport for change methodology, coupled with holistic support in micro-finance, literacy, numeracy and sexual reproductive health education to support 250 girls a year to return to school.

Aside from achieving the project goals, we are also actively contributing under the Comic Relief and Scottish Government consortia group for this project round,  to developing wider knowledge within the international development sector on how sport for change can be used as an effective methodology for creating greater gender equality. This is being achieved through presentations on our work virtually and at international events planned for year 2 and 3 of this project.

Essential skills –

1. A minimum of 3 years of project management experience working in/with government, intergovernmental or international NGO organisations

2. Qualifications in a relevant discipline, such as Education, Sport for Development, NGO Management, Development Studies or equivalent

3. Experience in delivering re-entry to school projects for children and/or adolescent youths

4. Experience in implementing complex Monitoring, Evaluation, Assessment and Learning Plans, including leading focus groups, collecting Most Significant Change Stories and compiling quantitative data via digital data collection platforms

5. Proven record of budget construction and management

6. Excellent English communication and interpersonal skills

7. Strong IT skills with the ability to use Word, Excel,Publisher and Mail

8. A strong belief in the right for all children to finish a full 12 years of school

Desirable skills –

1. Clean driving and motorbike license

2. Interest in football and sport for change methodologies

3. Previous use of Kobo Toolbox for data collection

4. Belief and commitment to the values of School Club Zambia

5. Ability to communicate in Tonga

6. Caring and compassionate attitude towards the challenges that the girls on the project may face in returning to school

7. A great communicator, with the ability to feedback success and challenges to the whole team

8. Experience in upholding strong safeguarding and child protection policies

Main duties and responsibilities –

1. Project Management

Ensure that robust systems for planning and delivering projects are in place and implemented, with a focus on child-led development at every stage of the project cycle.

Regularly monitor project performance and compare to targets, deliverables and budget.

Ensure that the planning, delivery and evaluation of the project complies with the grant agreement and that reporting to donors is of the highest standard.

Ensure that School Club Zambia and Play it Forward Zambia can clearly demonstrate the impact of the project through bi-annual impact assessments and key stakeholder engagement meetings.

2. Financial Management

Compliance with policies and procedures that safeguard staff and the assets of the organisation.

Provide monthly financial reporting in consultation with the Senior Programme Manager.

3. MEAL

Lead in the implementation of the project MEAL plan in conjunction with the Project Officer for Literacy and Numeracy

Assist the Director of Operations in quarterly reviews of the MEAL plan and adjustment of data collection tools as needed

4. General

Contribute to the development of organisational plans and strategy

Contribute to the work of colleagues as needed, including assisting with fundraising initiatives and social media tools

The School Club Zambia is an Equal Opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sectors of the community. Please note that in line with our Child Protection Policy, selected candidates will be required to undergo a criminal records check and complete enhanced safeguarding training before commencing employment.