General Manager, Schools Programme Management Unit

The Citizens Foundation; Karachi Division; On-site; PKR 3,000,000 - 5,000,000; Full time

Job summary

The Citizens Foundation in Pakistan seeks a GM Schools Programme Management Unit lead to translate organizational priorities into governed, measurable programmes across the school network. You will shape programme design logic, operating models, school policies and SOPs, and ensure annual planning and performance visibility.

You will lead the Design, Planning, Data Governance and Improvement workstreams, collaborating with Operations, HR, Finance, Supply Chain, Tech and Analytics, and report to

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Education Management, Public Policy, Operations, Strategy, Data, or a related field.
• 12-15 years of progressive experience in programme management, operational excellence, or data governance.
• Experience leading large-scale, cross-functional programmes across regions or a national network.
• Experience with policy and process flow development, governance frameworks, and change implementation is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead translation of priority programmes into coherent designs, operating models, governance, sequencing, and readiness.
• Ensure accountability boundaries, decision rights, handoffs, service expectations, escalation routes and reviews.
• Oversee development and periodic review of school-facing policies, SOPs, and process flows.
• Integrate education-programme requirements, staff development needs, technology, and data needs into designs.
• Coordinate annual planning for new and existing schools, including resource considerations.
• Oversee network expansion planning, geographic prioritization, and readiness for openings.
• Coordinate budgeting inputs with Finance and Operations while maintaining financial controls.
• Lead governance for high-impact, complex initiatives through the Project Executive.

Skills

Programme design

Operating models

Policy development

Data governance

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Planning & budgeting

Education

Master’s degree in business administration or related field

Job description

The GM Schools Programme Management Unit will be responsible for translating the organizational priorities into governed, measurable, and implementation-ready programmes across the school network. The role will ensure that programme design logic, operating models, school-facing policies and SOPs, annual planning and performance visibility, data quality governance, and improvement mechanisms are clearly defined and continuously strengthened. The GM will lead the Operational Design and Process Improvement and Planning, Performance and Data Governance workstreams, and will work in close alignment with the Project Executive on high-impact cross-functional initiatives. This role will work closely with the team within Schools Programme Management along with Operations, HR, Finance, Supply Chain, Tech and Transformation, and Research and Analytics to ensure that programmes are well governed and aligned with organizational priorities.

Key Outcomes

• Establishing coherent programme and operating models that translate technical priorities into implementation-ready arrangements.
• Ensuring school-facing policies, SOPs, process flows, and governance routines are clear, current, practical, and consistently applied.
• Leading integrated annual planning for new and existing schools, including network expansion and optimization priorities.
• Strengthening performance visibility, review discipline, escalation, and corrective-action routines across school-facing priorities.
• Establishing reliable data standards, ownership, quality controls, and correction governance for core school, student, teacher, and principal datasets.
• Delivering high-impact, complex initiatives within agreed scope, timelines, budgets, quality standards, and business goals.
• Building strong functional leadership, cross-team coordination, and continuous-improvement capability across the Unit.

Qualification

Master’s degree in Business Administration, Education Management, Public Policy, Operations, Strategy, Data, or a related field.

Experience

• 12-15 years of progressive experience in programme management, operational excellence, data governance, or a related field.
• Experience leading large-scale, cross-functional programmes, preferably across multiple regions or a national network.
• Strong experience in policy and process flow development, process improvement and governance framework.
• Experience with digital workflows, dashboards, data-quality systems, budgeting coordination, and change implementation will be an advantage.

Knowledge and Skills

• Strong understanding of programme design, operating models, process governance, annual planning, and operational excellence.
• Ability to translate strategic and technical priorities into practical policies, SOPs, implementation plans, governance routines, and measurable outcomes.
• Strong planning, data literacy, performance-management, and decision-support capability.
• Ability to lead functional heads, manage performance, build capability, and establish clear accountability.
• Strong stakeholder management, facilitation, communication, and cross-functional problem-solving skills.
• Understanding of network planning, school-readiness requirements, digital workflows, dashboards, and data-governance systems.
• Governance, risk management, budgeting coordination, and project-portfolio oversight capability.

Key Responsibilities

Programme Design, Operating Models, and Governance

• Lead the translation of Schools Programme Management priorities into coherent programme designs, operating models, governance arrangements, implementation sequencing, and readiness requirements.
• Ensure programme-accountability boundaries, decision rights, handoffs, service expectations, escalation routes, and review mechanisms are clearly defined.
• Oversee the development and periodic review of school-facing policies, SOPs, process flows, and the School Manual.
• Ensure programme and operating-model designs integrate education-programme requirements, staff-development dependencies, technology needs, data requirements, and operational realities.

Annual Planning, Network Expansion, and Resource Coordination

• Lead integrated annual planning for new and existing schools, including planning calendars, assumptions, dependencies, timelines, and resource requirements.
• Oversee planning for network expansion and optimization, including capacity assumptions, school configuration, geographic prioritization, student-transition pathways, school-opening readiness, and operational feasibility.
• Coordinate budgeting inputs with Finance, Operations, and relevant functions while maintaining clear ownership of financial controls and formal reporting.
• Ensure major programme rollouts, school openings, transitions, and operating-model changes are supported by clear plans, decision logs, follow-through trackers, and readiness reviews.

Performance, Data Governance, and Improvement

• Establish target-setting, performance-review, risk-escalation, and corrective-action routines for school-facing priorities.
• Ensure critical data definitions, ownership, quality standards, validation rules, thresholds, dashboards requirements, and correction workflows are established and maintained.
• Use planning, performance, field feedback, and data-quality findings to drive improvements in programme design, policies, SOPs, and operating models.
• Coordinate deeper analysis and evaluation with Research and Analytics when required.

Portfolio and Project Oversight

• Set direction and governance for high-impact, complex initiatives led through the Project Executive.
• Approve project charters, outcomes, milestones, budgets, governance arrangements, risk responses, and escalation decisions within delegated authority.
• Resolve complex cross-functional issues that affect scope, timelines, budget, readiness, quality, or adoption.
• Ensure project learning is captured and incorporated into operating models, policies, processes, and future planning.

Team Leadership and Stakeholder Management

• Lead, coach, and develop the Heads of Operational Design and Process Improvement and Planning, Performance and Data Governance. Work in close alignment with the Project Executive on initiatives connected to the Unit’s mandate.
• Establish clear goals, performance expectations, review routines, succession plans, and capability-building priorities across the Unit.
• Coordinate with the six Schools Programme Management teams and cross-functional partners to ensure coherent design, planning, governance, and execution support.
• Represent the Unit in senior management forums and provide clear decision support, risk visibility, and progress reporting to the VP Outcomes.

Budget and Resource Management

• Lead annual budgeting inputs and resource planning for the Unit.
• Monitor spending, resource utilization, and delivery against approved priorities and budget parameters.
• Identify opportunities to improve value for money, simplify processes, and strengthen scalability without compromising programme quality or controls.