Project Coordinator

Job Summary

The Project Coordinator will be responsible for overall project management and cross-component coordination, providing research and innovation leadership while ensuring effective planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting across participating institutions and countries, in accordance with World Bank guidelines, IUCEA procedures, and relevant project documents.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Coordinate day-to-day implementation of Set4jobs activities across all components and over the work of all project team members;
• Ensure timely execution of planned activities in line with the Project Appraisal Documents (PAD), Financing Agreements (FA) and other relevant project documents;
• Establish and operationalize thematic regional networks in priority sectors, including those promoting green skills and climate change mitigation and adaptation;
• Organize and coordinate regional learning forums, symposia, research showcases, and knowledge-sharing events;
• Facilitate and manage regional research initiatives involving international collaborators;
• Coordinate implementation of a regional higher education accreditation system for East and Southern Africa including development of norms, standards, and capacity indicators for academic program assessment;
• Coordinate the scale-up and implementation of a regional Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) qualification framework;
• Coordinate regional knowledge enhancement and capacity building by supporting employer engagement in skills development, promoting quality standards and assurance frameworks, strengthening M&E systems, facilitating peer learning, advancing inclusive training, and supporting stakeholder and citizen engagement, including climate-vulnerable and green sector groups;
• Support the scale-up of work-based learning programs and strengthen governance and accountability systems in TVET institutions;
• Facilitate interventions targeting NEET youth, including second-chance education, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), and micro-credentialing systems;
• Support regional initiatives for scholarships, academic mobility, and skills development pathways;
• Coordinate annual institutional self-assessments and private sector surveys, and support integration of gender-responsive indicators into regional data systems;
• Facilitate the development and implementation of analytical studies and tools to support evidence-based decision-making, including tracer studies, institutional diagnostics, impact evaluations, and comparative research;
• Promote and manage private sector engagement by building strategic industry partnerships, integrating private sector input into curricula and research, and expanding opportunities for joint innovation, skills development, and technology transfer;
• Support communication, visibility, and stakeholder engagement strategies to enhance program awareness and impact;
• Regularly report project progress to the World Bank;
• Maintain accurate project documentation, records, and audit-ready files;
• Coordinate identification of risks and implementation of proposed mitigation measures;
• Ensure timely resolution of grievance related to Project activities;
• Ensure compliance with World Bank Environmental and social safeguards standards including ESMP implementation.
• Perform any other duties assigned from time to time.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience

• The position is open to citizens from East African Community Partner States namely Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, South Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda, United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda.
• Should not be above 55 years of Age.
• Academic and Professional Qualifications
• Must have a Doctorate University Degree (A Ph.D. Degree in Education or Engineering or Economics or Project Management or Business Administration or Public Administration or Development Studies or equivalent);
• Work Experience
• Minimum of 15 years’ work experience in the relevant field, 10 years of which must have been at the supervisory level;
• Minimum 5 years managing a World Bank or other donor-funded project or Project management;
• Experience in developing and managing Annual Work Plans and Budgets (AWPBs), procurement plans, and implementation schedules;
• Professional and personal integrity;
• Communication and interpersonal skills;
• Experience in effective collaboration with a diverse number of stakeholders and implementation agencies;
• Experience in facilitating training, peer learning, knowledge-sharing platforms, and institutional capacity strengthening;
• Experience working with higher education institutions, TVET institutions, industry partners, or labor market actors is highly desirable;
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team; and
• Organizational skills and the ability to handle multiple assignments.
• Skills and Competencies
• Ability to coordinate and deliver complex regional education and skills initiatives;
• Ability to build and sustain partnerships with governments, private sector actors, academic institutions, and international collaborators;
• Ability to integrate industry input into programs, foster innovation, and promote work-based learning and technology transfer;
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including preparing reports for diverse uses and managing visibility and outreach strategies;
• Competence in maintaining accurate documentation, ensuring audit readiness, and adhering to donors and institutional requirements;
• Capacity to manage multiple priorities, coordinate events, and meet deadlines in a dynamic, multi-country environment;
• Sensitive to Gender inclusiveness.

Performance Indicators

• Annual work plan and budget prepared and submitted on time and in accordance with the agreed standard;
• Work Plan Implementation – Achieve at least 85% implementation of planned activities within each reporting period;
• Number of Established functional thematic regional networks, particularly in green skills, and increase collaborative and climate-related partnerships;
• Number of financed regional research initiatives;
• Regional accreditation systems for East and Southern Africa developed and piloting across participating institutions;
• Scaled up and implementation of TVET Regional qualification networks across participating countries and institutions;
• Strengthened employer partnerships, integration of industry input into programs, and increased engagement activities;
• Enhance institutional systems through transparent processes, improved M&E, and resource mobilization strategies;
• Submit high quality quarterly and annual progress report within the required timeline;
• Implement procurement activities and contract management in line with approved procurement plan;
• Update the project risk register regularly and address identified risk or bottleneck promptly;
• Implementation of communication strategies, increase stakeholder engagement, and improve satisfaction levels.

How to Apply

Application letters should be accompanied with the following:

• Certified copies of the applicants’ certificates, diplomas or degree awards
• Copies of previous appointment letters to the different relevant positions
• Up to date and comprehensive Curriculum Vitae
• Addresses of three referees, one of which should be the current immediate supervisor.

Applications marked “APPLICATION FOR THE POST OF …… (Applied for) soft or hard copy (by hand or courier) be addressed to:

*The Executive Secretary*

*Inter-University Council for East Africa*

*Kampala City Guide*

*Plot M833, Kigobe Road, Kampala, Kyambogo*

*P.O. Box 7110, Kampala, Uganda*

Tel: +256 773181662

Email: recruit@iucea.org