JOB DESCRIPTION: Program Assistant for the Tekwill in Every School initiative
Background
About Tekwill:
Tekwill has been designed as a national public private partnership between the Government of Moldova, USAID, Microsoft, and IBM to answer the needs of the ICT industry to close the gap of the human capital shortage, as well as support the development of the entrepreneurship ecosystem. The initial goal of the project is to contribute to the extension of Tekwill as a sustainable network and deploy its programs on both the regional and national level. The project aims to determine the operation model of the network, business plans for the centers and partners in the regions, deploy scalable activities to connect an estimated 150,000 people to ICT (school and university students, community, etc.), deploy entrepreneurship programs aiming at both scaling up existing programs, as well as create inclusive innovation platforms for the regions with their respective specifics and potential to absorb/apply ICT. We envision a minimum 10,000 beneficiaries, per year, for each pillar, education and entrepreneurship. As a result of the project, two main outcomes are expected: more and better qualified skills and workforce developed leading to a stronger ICT industry in Moldova, as well as creating the premises for a Moldovan start-up program to drive opportunities for companies seeking capital.
The first phase of the project represented a USAID development grant whish was matched by both cash and in-kind contributions of private and government partners that brought significant new resources, ideas, software, technologies and development activities, such as trainings, practical assignments, and mentorship. Private partners included multinational companies, IBM and Microsoft, as well as Information Technology and Communications Association (ATIC) members from the local Information and Communications Technology (ICT) companies. Moldovan government partners Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, e-Government Center and Technical University have also provided their support. The Technical University of Moldova is hosting the first Tech Center on its premises and has jointly invested resources for initial investment and maintenance costs during the startup phase.
On September 19, 2017 USAID, based in Moldova, entered into a partnership with the Government of Sweden to join forces in the establishment and creation of the ICT Excellence Center (Tekwill). It included an arrangement that governs the relationship between the parties regarding the financing, implementation and reporting of the activity.
Tekwill opened on March 15, 2017. During the first three years of the project, Tekwill has completed or supported 188 educational initiatives, and 301 entrepreneurship initiatives, transforming Tekwill into one of the most successful initiatives in Moldova’s tech sector. It has helped more than 350 IT professionals reach better business, create opportunities and seek investment. Altogether Tekwill has trained and oriented more than 35,000 people.
The next phase of the project aims to expand Tekwill’s capacity, create connections with additional universities and expand the activities to a national level. New activities are planned to transform Tekwill into a strategic focal point for Moldova in relation to boosting creativity, innovation and growth in the ICT sector. The government of Moldova supports the creation of a network of satellite Tekwill branches around Chisinau and throughout the country. The projects extension will keep all stakeholders, academia, private sector, donors and government, engaged to reach its fullest potential on the economy as a whole. Select universities intend to engage in initiative to promote the optional programs developed by Tekwill to be accessible in schools. Each program will be designed and adapted to regional needs. The programs will be all inclusive and aimed at diverse groups such as children, women, students and others.
About Tekwill in Every School
ATIC/Tekwill is aiming to provide every school in Moldova the opportunity to access a free eLearning platform and benefit from an innovative online curriculum, as well as, benefit from updates with regards to all Tekwill’s educational resources and opportunities.
Job Title: Program Assistant for the Tekwill in Every School initiative
Specific Duties and Responsibilities:
• Maintain and keep up to date educational platforms such as invat.online with digital resources.
• Provide administrative support in organization of events, sessions, webinars and other activities.
• Assist in monitoring action plans, project schedules, work hours, budgets and expenditures.
• Maintain files, databases of program’s stakeholders, schools, educators and other beneficiaries.
• Provide assistance in managing and keeping track of financial documentation (invoices & contracts).
• Attend to incoming program issues throughout the pilot implementation life cycle in a timely and accurate manner.
• Maintain and keep evidence of inventory, supplies.
• Take minutes during meetings and following-up the assigned tasks.
• Perform other tasks and assignments at the supervisors’ request.
Qualifications
• BA degree in information technologies, business, economics, or social sciences
• Relevant experience in implementing projects or organizing events
• Passionate about technologies
• Fluent in Romanian, Russian, and English preferred
• Good command of MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint), Google Suite
• Knowledge of image editing software will be considered a strong benefit (Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, other)
• Demonstrated experience of successfully multi-tasking across projects and delivering results within tight deadlines.
Personal qualifications
• Reliable, accurate and systematic
• Goal-oriented, independent, committed, innovative and motivated
• Able and willing to learn and acquire new knowledge relevant to the position
• Excellent social and interpersonal communication skills and team spirit.
• Keen attention to detail and an aptitude for problem solving
Deliverables:
• Educational platform maintenance (upload of digital content)
• Organizational aspects of event, webinars, etc.
• Frequent update of databases
• Invoicing and contract records
Period of performance
The assignment will begin on/about June 2020.
Application procedure:
Interested candidates shall submit the following documents:
• Motivation letter;
• CV of the applicant, including details of two reference persons.
The application package shall be submitted via email to: talexeev@ict.md with the subject line: „Program Assistant – Tekwill in Every School”, by May 29, 2020 (17:00). Only selected persons will be contacted. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
