WAY Schools Programme Lead

Palmera works at the grassroots in Sri Lanka, in partnership with local organisations and in direct delivery, to support vulnerable rural communities. Registered in both Australia and Sri Lanka, Palmera drives innovative educational solutions through WAY, an AI-powered digital platform that works fully offline to bring structured, syllabus-aligned lessons in children's own languages to communities that distance, connectivity, and cost have left behind. Palmera is expanding WAY to schools across three provinces through local partnerships.

Position Summary

• Role: WAY Schools Programme Lead

• Organization: Palmera

• Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka (with regular travel to delivery locations)

• Employment Type: Full-Time

• Reporting To: Palmera CEO

Key Responsibilities & Areas of Ownership

1. Effective Delivery Through Partners

• Build engagement, approvals, and buy-in through relevant government officials, school principals, and teachers.

• Contract and manage three NGO delivery partners across 30 schools, maintaining uniform standards of quality delivery and evidence.

• Undertake necessary training to support partners and schools in effective program execution.

• Conduct regular school and partner site visits to monitor performance, solve ground-level challenges, and act early when delivery falls short.

• Foster collaboration among partners to share best practices and lift overall program performance.

2. Curriculum Management

• Line-manage the Curriculum Coordinator, setting clear curriculum priorities and timelines.

• Ensure expert reviews, initial teacher feedback, and ongoing classroom improvements happen on time and to high standards.

• Turn classroom feedback into enhanced lessons and better facilitator training.

3. Operational Management, Evidence & Replication

• Own the programme plan, budget, contracts, and compliance, reporting directly to the Palmera CEO.

• Ensure effective management of third-party IT support to keep every tablet ready, tracked, and promptly repaired.

• Manage and support independent research on learning outcomes, school ownership, and cost efficiency to support program replication.

• Cultivate strong relationships with partners, stakeholders, and education authorities, leveraging data and evidence to advocate for wider adoption.

Qualifications & Requirements

Educational Background

• Bachelor's degree in Education, Development Studies, Social Sciences, Public Policy, or a related field.

• Preferred: Additional training in program management or monitoring and evaluation (M&E).

Experience, Skills & Attributes

• Minimum of 5 years of experience managing education or development programs, ideally including work within schools in Sri Lanka.

• Proven experience managing partners, contractors, budgets, and contracts to high standards of accountability.

• Practical experience in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and utilizing data to drive decision-making.

• Strong relationship-building skills across schools, communities, and government officials.

• Language Proficiency: Excellent English and working proficiency in Tamil or Sinhala; trilingual candidates (English, Tamil, and Sinhala) are strongly preferred.

• A hands-on approach, strong commitment to child safeguarding, and a drive to own the programme's success.

• Experience with education technology or digital learning is a distinct advantage.

• Note: The successful candidate must pass background screening, including police clearance and safeguarding checks.

How to Apply

Interested candidates who share a deep belief in this mission are invited to submit their application:

• Email: Send your CV and an expression of interest to hello@palmera.org