Let’s Build is starting an office in Zambia and we are looking for a highly versatile Country Representative to be the first employee leading the operations for Let’s Build in Zambia.

Let’s Build in Zambia will be setup as an INGO and is affiliated to Let’s Build Foundation; a global non-profit organization founded in Norway in 2020.

We are impartial, neutral, independent, and united by our common vision:  A classroom for everyone.

Our mission: We build classrooms to increase children and youths’ enrolment in secondary education.

Let’s Build cooperate with local Government to improve public secondary education infrastructure. Our work is focused on the construction of fully equipped classrooms in public secondary schools through local contractors and communities. We believe well designed and built classrooms help to increase attendance, improve student outcomes, support better teaching, and reduce student dropouts. We have a local presence in the countries we work, and we collaborate to maximize our impact. When our construction is complete, we handover the classrooms to local Government.

Let’s Build strives to be a trusted partner for communities, government, and education stakeholders.

The Country Representative is expected to serve as the primary representative for Let’s Build in Zambia and shall comply with guidelines and instructions issued by the Global Team or the National Board. Core responsibilities include:

Strategic Leadership

• Contribute to development of the Country Strategy and Operational Plan inclusive yearly objectives and key results.
• Work to identify and engage stakeholders to support Let’s Build activities in Zambia.
• Lead dialogue with education officials and stakeholders to obtain information for needs assessment for secondary education infrastructure.
• Ensure organizational alignment for Let’s Build vision, mission and values.
• Contribute to Let’s Build knowledge base and best practices.
• Provide leadership and foster teamwork in the national team.

Human Resources & Administration

• Collaborate with the global team for staff recruitment and onboarding for administration and operational positions.
• Manage a small operational staff in Zambia; ensure staff have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities and work towards achieving Let’s Build objectives.
• Responsible for country office operational performance and delivery against key targets.
• Responsible for managing performance, health and development for all national staff.
• Allocate human resources in collaboration with National management team to ensure efficiency and accountability.
• Ensure staff are familiar with and adopt Let’s Build polices, internal systems and procedures.
• Manage and negotiate contractors and consultant contracts against agreed performance targets and timelines.
• Act as Secretary for the National Board of Directors.
• Ensure compliance with laws and regulations applicable to the INGO.

Financial & Risk Management

• Support development of National budgets and ensure budget forecasts are realistic and accurate.
• Ensure Let’s Build financial management policies and procedures are adopted and in use.
• Implement, monitor and and advise on the success of the approved budget.
• Ensure effective use of financial resources to minimize fraud and misuse.
• Responsible for operational oversight of the country office; collect and report country KPIs and financial reports quarterly to the Global team.
• Manage and provide continuous evaluation of risks (financial and other) and take corrective actions to minimize or fill identified gaps.
• Responsible for dialogue and collaboration with Let’s Build local accountant and auditor.
• Actively monitor and analyze National context development to identify risks and opportunities.

Project Implementation

• Directly support project implementation where required, field visits and dialogue with key education officials.
• Ensure all projects are provided with sufficient resources according to Let’s Builds best practices to ensure quality, impact, safety, and financial compliance.
• Where required conduct scoping and monitoring visits to Let’s Build projects and locations.
• Manage the engagement of consultants and contractors to support school infrastructure projects in collaboration with the National Management team.
• Where required prepare reports to highlight program impacts and lessons learnt.
• Contribute to document what is working and how, share insights on learnings that can contribute to more effective and efficient work for both the national and global work.

The role will report digital to the CEO of Let’s Build Foundation in Norway. To fulfil the duties of the position it requires close collaboration with the global team which will give overall guidance on Let’s Builds direction, targets and policies.

The country representative will represent the INGO in Zambia at different stages and ensure its profile and reputation with stakeholders are strong and reflect organizational values, vision, and mission.

Candidate Profile
Preferred qualifications and experience:

• Education: bachelors and/or equivalent of 5 years’ experience of project management or similar
• Minimum 2 years of leadership and human resource management experience
• Minimum 2 years of experience with financial management
• Experience with stakeholder engagement
• Experience with implementing projects in collaboration with government and communities.
• Ability to work in a flexible and agile manner as part of a start-up initiative.
• Ability to collaborate with a remote global team.
• Good interaction capability
• Work experience from several sectors such as private, NGO or government in Zambia is an added advantage.

Skills & Competencies, the right candidate is:

• Purpose driven; aligning focus for efficient and effective work towards achieving the organizations purpose
• Willing to improve; open to learn and develop
• Collaborating well to achieve common goals
• Reliable; managing commitments and proactively communicating
• Highly versatile, thrives when juggling multiple processes, challenges and tasks
• Supportive and encouraging
• Communicating clearly in English, both verbally and written
• Having a driver’s license is an added advantage
• Experienced with: Microsoft Office, Word, Excel, Power point

Let’s Build offers:

An exciting opportunity to positively affect the education sector in Zambia.

Being part of establishing Let’s Builds presence in Zambia with support from a global team with experience from construction, management, finance, project leadership and innovation.

Autonomy to lead the INGO to scale up over the next few years with ambitious targets, international support, and structures to give the best foundation.

The organization is centered around our core values, which influence our way of working. We are taking pride in being purpose driven, collaborative, reliable and willing to improve – values we will be looking for in the candidate.

There will be a huge variation of responsibility and some travel with the job.

Development opportunities and competitive compensation.

Position: 100%- full time employee

Location: Lusaka, Zambia

Expecting travels to different parts of Zambia

Starting Date: As soon as possible

Deadline for application: January 28th 2024