DG Project Manager for Early Grade Education Activity

Terms of Reference: Development Gateway Project Manager for the Early Grade Education Activity

About Development Gateway and the Early Grade Education Activity (EGEA)

Development Gateway: An IREX Venture (DG) is an international non-profit organization with approximately 80 team members based in more than 10 countries worldwide. By leveraging the combination of programmatic and IT developer capacity and skills within DG, over the last 20 years we have researched data ecosystems, built digital tools to support those data ecosystems, and advised on data strategy and digital transformation to strengthen decision-making, transparency, and service delivery.

DG is one of several consortium partners, led by IREX, implementing the Early Grade Education Activity (EGEA, also known as 'Asas') program in Jordan between , funded by the U.S. Department of State. As a large-scale development program, Asas is a complex, high-paced and outcome-oriented initiative. The consortium itself comprises well over 50 individuals working on the program at any given time (based both in Jordan and abroad). From DG's side alone, there are likely to be approximately 8-10 personnel supporting implementation at any given time, with at least 2 staff based in Amman, including the Project Manager.

The overarching objective of Asas is to improve the quality of early grades (K-G3) education outcomes for children in Jordan. The program aims to achieve this objective by supporting the education of student teachers while they are still at university (pre-service teachers), and also by supporting early grades students and teachers (in-service teachers).

A significant part of achieving the Asas program's objectives requires the development and improvement of existing data systems and interoperability, availability, governance, analytics - including through the use of AI tools - and use. Within Asas, DG is responsible for leading and implementing a number of key activities related to the improvement of information systems within partner universities that teach pre-service student teachers, as well as with other Asas consortium members, the Jordanian Ministry of Education (MoE), and other education partners - from national down, through field directorate, down to school level.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who is based in Amman, Jordan, is a practical thinker and highly organized, is sociable and enjoys building new relationships and working with people from different backgrounds, and is highly motivated and passionate about the potential of technology to improve education outcomes for young children.

You will be our primary representative within the consortium, responsible for both building and maintaining strong working relationships with consortium partners as well as external partners including the MoE and universities, among others, and also ensuring DG's component of the program runs smoothly and efficiently.

The role is embedded within the Asas office in Amman, Jordan and our expectation is that you will be willing and able to regularly work from these premises together with the 30+ other Jordan-based Asas staff members, in order to ensure DG's full coordination and alignment with the consortium's working cadence, culture and priorities.

In this role, you will primarily report to DG's Deputy Director of Programs based in the U.K., with a dotted reporting line to the Asas Deputy Chief of Party who will have dual oversight in the coordination of DG's tasks with the overall needs of the Asas Program. Your primary day-to-day responsibilities will include supporting and working with any additional DG staff that may be hired to support Asas in Amman (currently one other technical role is planned); ensuring that timelines, deliverables and budgets are met; and, coordinating with DG staff based in the U.S., U.K. and elsewhere as needed.

At DG, we are a creative and dynamic group of people based around the globe. We value and reward hard work, innovative thinking, a commitment to teamwork, and a good sense of humor. With this role, we are looking for a new colleague to join our team and be our primary representative on the Asas program in Amman.

The work you get to do

Project management and delivery

• Lead day-to-day management of DG's activities under Asas in Jordan, ensuring timelines, deliverables, and budgets are met.
• Develop, maintain, and update work plans, activity trackers, and budgets in close coordination with the DG Oversight Lead and Program Coordinator.
• Identify and manage key risks and emerging issues through mitigation actions and escalation.
• Ensure timely submission of programmatic reporting (quarterly and annual), coordinating across DG staff and partners.
• Coordinate weekly internal check-ins and quarterly meetings, ensuring smooth flow of information and accountability across teams.
• Contribute to program reports that are submitted to the donor on a regular basis.
• Identify gaps in capacity or expertise and flag the need for consultant support or additional hiring.
• Keep a strategic eye on progress, adjusting direction as needed to reflect new priorities or contextual realities.

Partnership building and maintenance

• Serve as DG's embedded lead within the IREX-hosted Asas office in Amman, Jordan, contributing to office culture and ensuring DG's work is fully-integrated and aligned with other consortium partners.
• Represent DG externally in meetings and contribute to external communications content for the program.
• Engage frequently with Jordan's MoE (e.g., Queen Rania Center, Examination and Testing Department, Planning and Statistics Department) and other key government and university stakeholders.
• Coordinate closely with consortium partners, including School-to-School (STS) and all consortium data leads (IREX, HEIs, MoE units) to align data flows, interfaces, and dashboards.
• Support stakeholder mapping to ensure the program is always engaging appropriate decision-makers, influencers and partners at the right levels.
• Coordinate directly with government and university partners on project activities; maintain proactive, transparent communication to build trust.

Technical

• Work with, and support, the technical staff member we will also hire to support Asas implementation in Amman.
• When needed, support translation of technical work into practical action steps for stakeholders and decision-makers.
• Support the implementation of our technical work as part of Asas as needed (for instance through leading organization and set-up of meetings with consortium and external partners as needed, supporting DG staff when travelling to Amman with logistical needs as well as providing pre-travel briefings, supporting interviews with external partners as part of assessment processes as needed, etc.).

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years' experience working in roles within education or technology. At least 5 of those years must have been in Jordan.
• 8+ years working in complex stakeholder environments, with a strong preference for experience working with national ministries in multi-donor-funded programs.
• High emotional intelligence and proven track record of relationship development/management and of working seamlessly with diverse, remote team members in a global environment.
• Experience managing projects, including experience with completing projects on time, with high quality, and under budget.
• Entrepreneurial attitude and skills. Able to work independently, manage multiple workstreams, build relationships, and proactively solve problems.
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline is required.
• Professional fluency in English and Arabic (written and spoken).
• Strong writing skills, prioritizing clarity and accessibility.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in education, public policy, computer science or other relevant discipline.
• Experience designing and/or conducting qualitative research and assessments and trainings.
• Familiarity with digital technology, AI and data science.
• Knowledge or basic understanding of the Ministry of Education and/or Jordanian data systems.

Position Details
This is a full-time staff position (not consultancy), expected to run for the life of the program (3 years), pending annual performance reviews. The expected salary range is USD$ 49, , depending on relevant experience. Applications will be reviewed regularly and interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis. The recruitment is expected to conclude by October 31.