Strategic Project Manager: Education Data

**Purpose of Role**:
The **Data-SMARTS** initiative is a pioneering collaboration between the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) and the Binding Constraints Lab (BCL), aimed at improving the collection and use of foundational literacy and numeracy outcomes in South Africa. This project will bolster GDE’s current province-driven processes, expanding them into a more scalable, high-quality system for gathering and leveraging school-level learning data to inform policy and practice, which can be replicated in other provinces.

This role requires someone who can **support and empower government partners** without overriding their roles, navigate complex institutional environments, and drive progress in a dynamic, multi-stakeholder setting.

**Objectives of Role**:
**Project Management & Coordination**- Lead day-to-day operations of the Data-SMARTS initiative within GDE.
- Coordinate across provincial departments, service providers, and technical experts.
- Manage timelines, budgets, and deliverables to ensure project milestones are met.
- Track progress and proactively address operational roadblocks.

**Stakeholder Engagement & Relationship Management**-
- Serve as the primary liaison between BCL, GDE, and other provincial and national stakeholders.
- Build trust and foster collaboration across multiple stakeholders within the GDE and other participating provinces.
- Support steering committee meetings and ensure alignment with broader education strategies (e.g., Float).

**Technical Implementation Oversight & Systems Design**- Support the design, piloting and refinement of data collection tools and instruments, data cleaning, analysis, dashboards, and reporting systems.
- Work with external education assessment and technology experts to ensure tools are user-friendly, scalable, interoperable and sustainable, and meet the specified minimum functional requirements.

**Capacity Building & Knowledge Transfer**- Design and lead structured training sessions for education officials within the province, districts and schools on data collection, data use, technology tools, and communication strategies.
- Ensure sustainability by embedding skills and systems within government structures through a continuous, hands-on and responsive capacity building approach.
- Develop training manuals and how-to tools for institutionalisation and scalability

**Monitoring, Learning & Adaptation**- Embrace an iterative approach to implementation, incorporating feedback and lessons learned from implementation into product and process improvements.
- Pilot test tools and communication strategies and refine based on evidence.

**Reporting**- Drafting of project reports for donors and government officials as required.

**Experience and Qualifications**:
**Qualification**:
Minimum of an Honours degree or equivalent in Economics, Education, Health, Public Policy, Data Science, International Development, Computer Science or a related field.

**Experience**:

- 5 - 8+ years of experience in project management, public sector support, education, public health or technology solution development.
- Demonstrated ability to work in complex, dynamic, and evolving environments, with a focus on impact and results
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills; ability to work sensitively within government systems.
- Technical fluency (working knowledge) in data analysis, dashboard design, or digital tools (e.g. Stata, R, SurveyCTO, Power BI).
- Experience working with data systems or technology for development.
- Background in monitoring & evaluation and education assessments (e.g., EGRA, EGMA) is a benefit
- Proficiency in an official South African language other than English (e.g., isiZulu, seSotho) is a distinct benefit
- Valid Drivers License

**Competencies**:

- Project Management & Coordination
- Stakeholder Engagement & Relationship Management
- Technical Oversight & Systems Design
- Capacity Building & Knowledge Transfer
- Monitoring, Learning & Adaptation
- Strategic Vision and Leadership
- Communication and Interpersonal Skills
- Innovative Thinking and Problem Solving
- Ability to work independently, manage ambiguity, and drive results in a collaborative way