General Manager – Formal Schools

The Citizen Foundation; Karachi Division; On-site; PKR 2,000,000 - 2,500,000; Full time

Job summary

An educational NGO in Pakistan seeks a General Manager for Formal Schools to lead the development of foundational education programs nationally. This role focuses on creating a cohesive curriculum strategy, ensuring quality assurance in educational outcomes, and building partnerships with stakeholders for improved funding and policy support. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in education leadership, curriculum design, and data-driven decision-making, aiming to enhance literacy and numeracy across the country.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in educational leadership roles.
• Strong background in curriculum and instructional design.
• Expertise in data-driven decision-making.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design of curriculum and instructional materials.
• Develop a cohesive national strategy for early learning.
• Oversee quality assurance and impact measurement systems.
• Advocate with stakeholders for supportive educational policies.

Skills

Leadership

Curriculum Design

Quality Assurance

Data Analysis

Education

Relevant Master's Degree

Job description

The General Manager, Formal Schools is a senior executive accountable for the design, implementation, and quality assurance of early and primary education programs across the organization’s national footprint. The GM combines academic rigor with operational pragmatism, owns the Foundational Years strategy, and ensures consistent adoption of program models across varying contexts. The role serves as the organization’s subject-matter authority on foundational education and is accountable for student learning outcomes.

The GM will lead Curriculum and Instructional Design (standards, scope & sequence, instructional materials, teacher guides) and Assessment Approaches (formative, summative; standards alignment; data use); and will work in close partnership with functional teams of Staff Learning and Development, Evaluation and Examinations, and cross‑functional teams including Operations and HR to drive adoption, fidelity, and scale.

Program Strategy & Scalable Model Development

Outcome: Cohesive, data‑driven national strategy that improves early learning outcomes across sites.

• Build and maintain a country‑wide foundational years curriculum framework and operational playbook designed for replication and scale.
• Use research and evidence to refine delivery models effective across low‑ and mixed‑resource environments.
• Align program priorities with growth plans; sequence rollouts and change management.
• Define program non‑negotiables (standards, time‑on‑task, pedagogy, assessment cycles) and ensure feasibility with Operations.

Quality Assurance, Impact Measurement & Execution Enablement

Outcome: Robust systems that monitor quality, drive improvement, & demonstrate measurable impact.

• Establish organization‑wide KPIs and contribute towards a monitoring and evaluation framework.
• Oversee assessment tools (formative to summative), set data use routines, and analyze trends to inform program pivots.
• Ensure programs meet or exceed national standards and benchmarks.
• Define fidelity criteria and conduct quality assurance across regions; lead corrective action plans for underperformance.
• Maintain accountability for literacy and numeracy outcomes, even where execution is field‑led.

Leadership, Capability Building & Cross‑Functional Alignment

Outcome: Strong leadership capacity and alignment across teams delivering foundational education.

• Lead Curriculum and Instructional Design teams; provide dotted‑line leadership to regional implementation managers.
• Coach leaders, set clear expectations, and build bench strength and succession.
• Strengthen systems and processes to reduce single‑point dependencies and ensure sustainability at scale.
• Clarify decision rights, escalation paths, and governance for initiatives; ensure alignment with functional, cross‑functional and operations teams.

Stakeholder Relations & Advocacy

Outcome: Partnerships that enhance funding, policy influence, and program sustainability.

• Represent the organization with government bodies and education ministries; advocate for supportive policy.
• Collaborate with Development Team on proposals and rigorous outcome reporting.
• Build alliances with thought leaders, research institutions, and NGOs; position the organization as a national voice on foundational literacy and numeracy.