RTI's International Education Division (IE) supports education development around the world by strengthening education policy, management, and practice in order to achieve measurable improvement in teaching and learning. From our well-established reputation in education system strengthening, to innovative work in early grade assessment and learning, RTI is improving education quality, relevance, and efficiency through implementation of projects funded by USAID, The LEGO Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and other donors and clients.

RTI is seeking a Senior Manager, International Education, to support the IE Division’s portfolio of education improvement projects and business development efforts. Candidates will need to bring substantial project implementation experience in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and fluency in Spanish. The Senior Manager will primarily serve as a project manager for IE projects in LAC, and as needed elsewhere, ensuring implementation excellence in collaboration with RTI project team members, including the Chief of Party (COP), and supported by other RTI staff. The Senior Manager will support new business development, including leading and/or writing and contributing to proposals, and capture/scoping work for new business opportunities. The Senior Manager will be a key technical contributor to IE’s projects and proposals and must have a deep understanding of the operational aspects of project delivery.

This position will require close collaboration within IE Division and across RTI’s International Development Group, it will be based in Washington, DC, Research Triangle Park, NC (RTI headquarters), or remotely, and will require international travel (up to 20%). The Senior Manager will report to a Senior Director or Director within the IE Division.

• Serve as a project manager providing management and technical assistance for the IE Division’s portfolio of diverse projects, primarily in LAC. Project management work will include quality control (ensuring that projects meet or exceed client expectations through impactful programming and the production of high quality deliverables), risk management (proactively flagging and mitigating risks), financial management (ensuring that projects stay within budget, flagging financial risks, and making appropriate implementation changes to maintain healthy financial performance), client management (ensuring optimal client satisfaction through strong rapport with the client, responding timely to requests, and managing risks) and relationship management with partners and subcontractors.
• Provide technical assistance to the IE Division’s projects, primarily in LAC, with the focus on addressing institutional capacity needs of education systems, increasing access to and retention in inclusive education for the marginalized learners, and improving safety in and around the schools. Additionally, and as needed, provide technical assistance for the IE Division’s work in education policy systems and governance, teaching and learning, education technology, early childhood education, and inclusive education.
• Lead and contribute to business development activities, specifically leading, writing and contributing to proposals as well as planning and carrying out scoping/capture work in English and Spanish.
• Design, conduct, and publish the IE Division’s research in collaboration with project teams and field-based researchers. Present RTI’s work at various conferences, seminars, and workshops, as appropriate.

• Bachelor’s Degree in education or related field with 12 years of relevant work experience; Master’s Degree in education or related field with 9 years of related work experience; or Ph.D. in education and 6 years of relevant work experience.
• Demonstrated experience in managing large and multi-million dollar education development projects, and knowledge of industry best practices regarding project implementation, including project start-up and close-out, client management, work planning, budget management, and compliance. Experience with USAID-funded projects is strongly preferred.
• Experience with project operations that spans finance, HR, procurement, subcontracts, and grants.
• Demonstrated capacity to lead, write and contribute to successful technical proposals for international education opportunities, including serving as a proposal leader or writer, performing capture work, staffing and partnership development, and reviewing proposals.
• Experience designing, managing, and providing technical assistance for education improvement projects in low- and middle-income country settings.
• Experience working with ministries of education, especially in the context of USAID and/or other donor-funded programming.
• Experience supporting education programs with substantial systems change, education technology, and digitalization components a plus.
• Experience working in LAC.
• Full proficiency in Spanish with excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Must be eligible to work in the United States without sponsorship.
• Ability to travel internationally.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Excellent interpersonal and collaboration skills.
• Exceptional ability to cultivate strong relationships and collaborate inclusively with a wide variety of individuals in a matrixed environment (client, project stakeholders, project team members at the home and field level, RTI business partners, etc.) and inform, consult, and unite them, as necessary, to accomplish project goals.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and meet deadlines under pressure. Must be able to manage a multitude of tasks simultaneously and prioritize as necessary.
• Strong ability to proactively manage diverse project risks (client, technical, reputational, legal, security, financial, and compliance) which involves early identification and working with management to adequately track, escalate, and resolve issues.
• Advanced knowledge of MS Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel.
• Knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research design and software such as STATA, SPSS, and NVivo.
• Ability to work independently and within matrix teams.
• Attention to detail and accuracy.