Better Together – Combating poverty, ensuring peace and preserving the environment are the major concerns of the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the operational unit of Austrian Development Cooperation. ADA currently funds projects and programmes with a total volume of more than 640 million euros to improve living conditions in developing countries.

Together with the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, partner countries, public institutions, civil society organisations and businesses, ADA seeks to ensure that sustainable development works to the benefit of all people in Africa, Asia, Southeast Europe and the South Caucasus. ADA staff on the ground in 25 local offices make sure that ADA operations are in line with the national development goals and the needs of the local population and that funds are put to the best possible use.

Coordination Office Pristina of ADA is present and operating in Kosovo for over two decades and is supporting partners from the state institutions and civil society organizations in the education sector with a focus on the higher education and vocational education and training, private sector development, agriculture and rural development, empowerment of youth, women and girls as well as minorities.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, dedicated and experienced Programme Manager to lead our Portfolio Education consisting of projects funded by ADA and implemented by our contracting partners as well as EU-ADA co-funded projects implemented by ADA.

Term: Full-time employment (40 hrs. per week)

Duration: 1 year, possibility of extension upon satisfactory performance

Starting date: 1 December 2022 (tentative)

Location: Prishtina, Kosovo

Description of Tasks and Duties

Program and Project Management

Supporting programme development and promoting Austrian funding instruments such as bilateral and multilateral grants, NGO cooperation, business partnerships, know how transfers;

Assisting partners in assessing and formulating needs, designing projects, steering and facilitating project approval process;

Supporting senior management decisions related to education sector developments and programmatic activities;

Monitoring and advising programmes and projects in the education sector funded by ADA or pool funded projects; providing feedback to the ongoing education programmes and projects through variety of quality assurance measures;

Reviewing and commenting terms of references and contracts for services related to technical assistance, mid-term reviews and evaluations;

Supporting ADA-EU co-funded and ADA-implemented project(s) in the area of education (facilitating overall smooth and efficient implementation of activities; acting as a strategic contact point for the EU Office in Kosovo and ADA HQ in Vienna; supporting drafting process of annual narrative and financial reports as well as reviewing terms of references);

Providing inputs to regular reporting exercise of the Coordination Office and ADA HQ in Vienna as well and undertaking monitoring and controlling visits to the project partners in collaboration with the consulting experts for result-based monitoring.

Policy and Planning

Supporting Austria and ADA in policy dialogue in the education sector with a specific focus on the higher education and vocational education and training;

Appraising institutional reforms related to the initiatives in the higher education, qualification framework and vocational education and training;

Delivering sector relevant inputs as an analytical basis when political/donor support is needed for guaranteeing sustainability of programme and project results;

Active participation and involvement in the sectoral cooperation with the Austrian, EU and international actors;

Monitoring developments in the education sector through close cooperation with partners, linking to national, regional and international actors and networks;

Liaising and coordinating with ministries, other governmental and state authorities and institutions at all levels, EU and international donors and organisations as well as civil society organisations;

Supporting preparation and accompanying visits by the representatives of state institutions from Austria as well as liaising and cooperating with the ADA HQ staff, Austrian Embassy, Austrian MFA as well as other Austrian institutions;

Supporting the work and the team of the Coordination Office in all matters of daily work and operations.

Profile Requirements

• University degree in Education, Social Sciences, Humanities, Economic Development or related field;
• Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in donor-funded or donor-implemented projects in the education sector. Experience in the higher education and/or vocational education and training is considered as asset;
• Thorough understanding of technical and financial aspects of project appraisal, development and implementation, preferably in the field of education; sound knowledge of project and programme circle management;
• Thorough knowledge and understanding of education sector of Kosovo as a whole with a specific focus on the higher education and vocational education and training;
• Experience in result-based monitoring and reporting;
• Flexibility, team player and ability to work under stress and manage multiple tasks;
• Excellent computer skills (office applications and internet usage and research);
• Native speaker of Albanian language;
• Professional fluency (written and oral) in English language (English is working language);
• Knowledge of Serbian and German languages are considered as assets.

If you wish to learn and grow in an interesting and friendly working environment, to directly contribute to reform processes in the education sector of Kosovo and make a difference in your work, we look forward receiving your application (Curriculum Vitae and Letter of Motivation) not later than 06 November 2022 24:00 at [email protected].

Short-listed candidates will be contacted for further recruitment process.