Associate Director of Programs Full Time

Associate Director of Programs

The Luminos Fund, a fast-growing international nonprofit bringing education opportunities to the world’s most vulnerable children, seeks an experienced and strategic leader to serve as Associate Director of Programs. This role will support the management and delivery of the Structured Accelerated Learning Program (SALP) and the Structured Pedagogy for Enhanced Learning for Life (SPELL) initiative in Ethiopia, supporting the progressive transfer of these evidence-based interventions into government systems at scale. Partnering closely with the Director of Programs and the broader Ethiopia country team, the Associate Director of Programs will ensure programmatic excellence and operational effectiveness through impeccable external communications, strong project management, and rigorous scale planning.

Reports to: Director of Programs, Ethiopia

Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, or remote within +/- 5 hours of GMT

Key Internal Relationships: Works in close collaboration with the Ethiopia country team, the Development team, the Communications team, and global Luminos colleagues. The role does not currently include direct reports but is expected to provide coordination and light management oversight across a complex portfolio of program workstreams.

About the Luminos Fund

The Luminos Fund (www.luminosfund.org) provides transformative education programs to thousands of vulnerable children each year, helping them catch up to grade level and prepare for lifelong learning. Working in partnership with community-based organizations in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, Luminos is scaling its accelerated learning program through the Luminos Method (www.luminosmethod.org) — an evidence-based approach that helps children catch up fast and discover the joy of learning.

Luminos is supported by a range of funding partners, including Cartier Philanthropy, the Gates Foundation, UBS Optimus Foundation, and UNICEF. Luminos has been recognized for its achievements globally, receiving the Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Prize, the Library of Congress International Literacy Award, the Lipman Family Prize, and the WISE Award, and is a member of the HundrED Hall of Fame.

Program Background

The Luminos Fund’s Ethiopia program is scaling two complementary structured pedagogy interventions within government systems:

• The Structured Accelerated Learning Program (SALP) is an accelerated education model that condenses Grades 1 and 2 into 10 months for out-of-school children. SALP combines detailed daily lesson plans, practice-based teacher training, routine instructional coaching, and robust classroom data collection. Independent evaluations have demonstrated strong impacts on learning outcomes.
• Structured Pedagogy for Enhanced Learning for Life (SPELL) is a Grade 1 foundational literacy intervention for mainstream classrooms, using the same core approach of structured lesson plans, teacher training, and coaching to drive learning gains at scale.

A central strategic objective of both programs is the progressive transfer of implementation ownership to Regional Education Bureaus as the programs mature.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Communications

• Develop high-quality slide decks and briefing materials for donor check-ins, presenting program data and learning agenda updates in compelling, accessible formats.
• Prepare presentation materials for a range of audiences and purposes, including internal staff meetings, review meetings with government partners, workshops with language and curriculum experts, and ad hoc requests from the Communications team.
• Draft and edit program updates, memos, and synthesis documents as needed, ensuring clarity, accuracy, and consistency with Luminos’ voice and standards.

Proposal Development and Scale Planning Support

• Support the Development team and Director of Programs with proposal development, ensuring program narrative, scale plans, and budget assumptions are accurate, well-evidenced, and internally consistent.
• Build and maintain scenario-based scale plans and cost models, translating programmatic assumptions — including class numbers, regions, supervisor ratios, and cost-per-child calculations — into clear budget frameworks for different funding levels and scale trajectories.
• Respond to Development team requests for program data, evidence, and technical content in a timely and organized way, and participate in proposal review and refinement cycles as needed.
• Collaborate with the team to maintain up-to-date program documentation, including reach figures, model descriptions, and implementation timelines, that can be used quickly for proposal and reporting purposes.

Project Management and Organizational Systems

• Own and continuously improve project management infrastructure, including maintaining a RASCI matrix, project workplans, and milestone trackers.
• Establish and maintain lightweight but effective systems for tracking action items, decisions, and follow-up across teams.
• Collaborate with the team to maintain the project’s SharePoint environment, ensuring files, templates, and reference documents are logically structured, consistently named, up-to-date, and accessible to the right people.
• Proactively identify coordination gaps or process inefficiencies and propose practical solutions.

The Candidate

Luminos seeks a resourceful, mission-driven professional with exceptional writing and analytical skills, a strong systems orientation, and the drive to keep complex programs moving forward with minimal supervision. This role requires the following skills and competencies:

Key Skills & Experience

• Fluency in written and spoken English and Amharic required.
• Exceptional writing skills, with the ability to communicate complex program information clearly and compellingly for diverse audiences, from donors to government partners.
• Strong quantitative fluency: the successful candidate will be able to build scenario-based budget models and cost-per-child calculations, and interpret and synthesize program dashboard data.
• Proficiency in PowerPoint for producing polished, professional presentations; experience with data visualization tools is a plus.
• Proven ability to design and manage project management systems, including workplans, RASCI matrices, and milestone tracking tools.
• Highly organized and able to manage multiple complex workstreams simultaneously, with minimal supervision.
• Experience working within or alongside government education systems in Ethiopia strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with structured pedagogy, accelerated education, or foundational literacy programs is an advantage.

Education & Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Education, International Development, Public Policy, or a related discipline preferred.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in program management in a related sector.
• Demonstrated experience supporting proposal development and donor reporting.
• Experience building cost models and scale planning frameworks.
• Fluent in written and spoken English and Amharic.

Core Attributes

• Demonstrated passion for education, children’s causes, international development, and the values of the Luminos Fund.
• Resourceful and proactive by nature: able to find practical solutions with limited guidance and move work forward even when the path isn’t fully defined.
• Willing to roll up their sleeves on tasks that are unglamorous, unfamiliar, or simply need doing, without waiting to be asked.
• Impeccable attention to detail and an innate sense of responsibility for the delivery of high-quality work.
• Can-do attitude: comfortable working with a dynamic team in a very fast-paced, ever-evolving environment.
• Self-motivated and tenacious, with the ability to work with significant autonomy while keeping the Director of Programs well informed.
• Ability to juggle multiple assignments, adhering to strict deadlines.
• Natural curiosity and hunger for continuous learning.
• Strong sense of integrity, confidentiality, and discretion.
• A deep commitment to open and clear communication.
• Deep appreciation for working with diverse constituents, teams, and colleagues across cultures and contexts.

Travel

Regular travel within Ethiopia to program regions (Sidama, Tigray, and Oromia) is expected. Occasional international travel to Luminos offices and donor engagements may be required.

Luminos Core Beliefs and Values

1. We believe that every child is capable of learning a remarkable amount in a short period of time, if given the chance.
2. We keep children’s joy and well-being at the heart of everything we do.
3. We embrace assessment as a key component of effective teaching and learning.
4. We celebrate and empower local leadership throughout our work with partner communities and governments.
5. We use research, program data, and skilled classroom observation in the tenacious pursuit of excellence.
6. We celebrate the unique contexts and cultures of the communities we serve in our curricula and pedagogy.
7. We act with the highest standards of integrity and care, ensuring mutual accountability among colleagues and partners.
8. We take the initiative to solve problems where we find them, managing details large and small, with urgency.
9. We act deliberately to ensure that our organization is inclusive for people of different genders, racial backgrounds, ethnicities, sexual orientations, religious beliefs, abilities, and other sources of diversity.
10. We build deep, authentic relationships with our supporters in celebration of the mutually transformative power of giving.