Job Description
We are seeking a US Director of Education, Resilience, and Inclusion (ERI) to lead the development and growth of Mott MacDonald’s international education portfolio. This position will work under the direction of the US Vice President of Operations and is a member of the leadership team. S/he is responsible for practice area development, client delivery, project management, eminence building, and business development. Responsibilities will include and not be limited to:
Practice Area Development
Represent Mott MacDonald to existing and potential clients, funders, partners, and other industry leaders.
Oversee and manage field programming, ensuring strong technical excellence in implementation and performance. Ensures that projects achieve contractual and technical deliverables at a high-quality.
Lead in the development and execution of practice area annual operating plans to include identification of priority markets, donors, geographies, and business development targets.
Mentor and develop HQ and field staff, providing professional development opportunities to expanding their skills and capabilities Identify staff capacity strengths and gaps, and design capacity building and training activities.
Client Delivery
Serve as the USG lead as its senior education advisor, delivering high-quality technical inputs on the company’s USAID, MCC, and other USG projects.
Contextualize Cambridge Education’s global education experiences, approaches, and tools to the USG market, with a special focus on priority USG and USAID policies, strategies, and action plans.
Deliver consultancy services to key clients including USAID, FCDO, and UNICEF including and not limited to design, implementation, and learning stages of projects in your field(s) of expertise.
Project Management
Serve in a variety of senior management roles in support of the company’s USG project portfolio including corporate monitor (project principal) and project director.
Responsible for delivering consistent, timely, and high-quality technical and commercial excellence on the company’s projects that meets and exceeds client expectations and contractual requirements – including the management and professional development of other technical staff.
Support, advise, and supervise long- and short-term technical specialists’ contributions to the company’s USG- and field-based projects, to ensure completion of deliverables to project deadlines.
Provide technical backstopping for aspects of other specialists’ work, as appropriate.
Review and advise on commercial matters, where required, with respect to the implementation of contracts, including budget preparation, monthly monitoring, and invoicing,
Eminence Building
Represent the company at domestic and international fora, serving as the company’s thought and operational leader for strategic thinking with a particular emphasis upon USAID.
Lead and/or participate in building the company’s understanding and capacities to deliver education and education-related services in the USAID and other USG markets.
Maintain contact with clients and partners and actively develop client relationships - including through overseas visits and/or remote communications.
Actively enhance Cambridge Education’s professional reputation through leading on development of technical service areas offered by the company. This may include authoring or contributing to papers / blogs / presentations etc. for academic conferences, client meetings, social media etc.
Business Development
Contribute to the development of international education’s annual strategic and operational plans.
Collaborate with other Mott MacDonald technical, commercial, and project management staff to implement the IDS business development strategy, with a focus on increasing the USAID and MCC pipelines.
Actively position the company to compete and win USAID and other USG client procurements including and not limited to conducting capture trips, the developing requests for information, expressions of interests, concept notes, and technical and commercial proposals. This includes leading and supporting roles of technical writing for bids, as required.
Candidate Specification
Minimum 15 years of development experience with USAID, MCC, and/or other USG clients.
10+ years of experience in the delivery, project management, eminence building, and business development with USG clients such as USAID and and/or MCC
Able to leverage deep and existing USG client, partner, and competitor networks.
Demonstrates expertise in core and emerging technical areas including, and not exclusive to:
Early childhood education.
Gender and social inclusion in education.
Foundational Literacy and Numeracy.
Education systems strengthening / Education planning and management.
Teacher development.
Education financing and economics.
Completion of a masters or equivalent degree in relevant areas of study.
Previous experience in a similar role / environment.
Diverse global experience of working in LMICs.
Demonstrates strong technical and report writing skills.
Working proficiency in English and in French languages.
Strong communication/interpersonal skills using remote technology, email, or in person channels.
Initiative, confidence, and ability in dealing with technical and management issues.
Ability to multi-task, prioritise and manage own time for maximum efficiency.
Pro-active approach to problem solving with the ability to react to situations expediently.
Ability to work independently and as part of a small team.
Willingness to be flexible in contributing to the company in other duties as required.
Job Profile
Mott MacDonald is committed to improving people’s lives through creating and delivering tailored development solutions. The company’s education work is under its Cambridge Education brand. We work in developing countries to alleviate poverty, establish good governance, and increase access, capacity and resilience in healthcare, education, water, sanitation, transportation, infrastructure, and renewable energy – safeguarding the environment and promoting human rights and gender equity.
We approach problems from a fresh perspective. As an employee-owned company, we have the freedom and independence of mind to find new ways to enhance human well-being and foster social and economic development through connected thinking. We are a values-driven organisation with a strong commitment to business ethics; and to safeguarding from harm our people, stakeholders, and the communities we serve. International Education makes people’s lives better, by helping them to improve teaching and learning and the running of their education systems. The way we help our clients encompasses two broad areas: strategic thinking – policy-level evaluation, analysis, and design – and implementation, the delivery of a project or programme.
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate, and we take positive steps to create an inclusive culture. We are flexible about where our people are based around the world and aim to accommodate their preferences for working hours and patterns wherever possible.
Our teams are comprised of bright and enthusiastic people who wish to make a difference to the world that we live in. If you share that vision and don’t have all the experience outlined in this posting, we still want to hear from you!
Let’s discuss how we can help you take the next step in your career and how you can participate in an exciting new chapter for Mott MacDonald in North America.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
We put equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of our business, seeking to promote fair employment procedures and practices to ensure equal opportunities for all. We encourage individual expression in our workplace and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels they have the opportunity to contribute.
Equal employment opportunity is the law.
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All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, protected veteran status, creed, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship status or disability status.
Hybrid working policy
At Mott MacDonald, we believe it makes business sense for you and your manager to choose how you can work most effectively to meet your client, team, and personal commitments. We offer a hybrid working policy that embraces your well-being, flexibility, and trust.
More about Mott MacDonald
We’re a global engineering, management and development consultancy.
Our purpose is to improve society by considering social outcomes in everything we do, relentlessly focusing on excellence and digital innovation, transforming our clients’ businesses, our communities and employee opportunities.
A fundamental part of this is respecting each person’s differences and striving to meet their needs.
Our values: progress, respect, integrity, drive, excellence