Sayed Jamil Mir
Herndon,VA
Summary
I am seasoned education project manager with over 17 years of experience. Over the years, I honed my expertise through working with U.S. government agencies and non-governmental organizations. My focus has primarily been on management and administration of educational contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements funded through both federal and non-federal sources. I've served as a certified Agreement/Contracting Officer's Representative (Level II) for the administration of large projects/programs and hold a Certified Federal Contract Manager (CFCM/NCMA) designation and Education Program Evaluation (University of Georgetown).
I have tackled challenging roles with bilateral and multilateral development agencies, including my current position with USAID- Asia Bureau holding ISC contract, as well as previous roles with UNDP, AusAID, World Bank projects, Save the Children gaining valuable experience along the way.
My core competencies include team management, project/activity planning, implementation, M&E, education policy development, education project design, and youth development. I have successfully managed and supported multiple flagship projects in challenging and complex environments, such as Afghanistan. My goal is to contribute to development agencies' mission of advancing education around the world.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Oversight Analyst-Education
USAID-Asia Bureau
08.2023 - Current
- Act as the primary liaison and lead conducting assessments and contributing to data collection in response to inquiries in education.
- Provide technical support for the assigned portfolio including monitoring, providing education related technical and operational inputs and support to operational units and oversee the accomplishments.
- Work with other departments, agencies, subcontractors, and local institutions on developing risk mitigation plans for the implementation of education activities/projects.
- Support and provide technical guidance for program team in designing evaluations and other monitoring tools.
- Streamline task management processes, analyzing findings of evaluations, and overseeing the logistics surrounding research, audit reports, and the submission of responses to inquiries.
- Facilitate Mission efforts in addressing audits from SIGAR and USAID’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), playing a pivotal role in collecting program and project data and ensuring the timely completion of responses
- Collaborate with the USAID Center for Education and support different teams to conceptualize programmatic discussions, research, and training.
- Analyze data related to diaspora students for planning and designing purpose.
- Aid the USAID Center for Education in developing policy documents, toolkits, manuals, checklists, and frameworks tailored for USAID staff and its partners.
- Play a role in designing training materials for USAID field M&E/research staff and deliver training sessions on monitoring, evaluation, and learning, encompassing Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) methodologies.
- Implemented predictive analytics techniques that enabled proactive adjustments to business strategies based on emerging trends.
- Increased efficiency by streamlining data analysis processes and implementing automation tools.
- Supported budgeting processes by providing accurate forecasts and timely variance analyses.
Project Management Specialist- Education
USAID- Afghanistan
03.2022 - 08.2023
- Serve as Activity Manager and offering technical expertise in developing strategic plans, project planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and financial administration of grants/cooperative agreements and contracts.
- Collaborate with the USAID- Afghanistan Education Office Director and A/CORs and providing guidance on reviewing/revising the annual Work Plans, Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Plans (AMELPs) to ensure proper administration and oversee the agreements/contracts established between USAID and Implementing Partners (IPs).
- Work with partner universities for the management of scholarship and liaise related tasks with the students.
- Serve as Planner to design new education activities, draft pre-obligation documents monitoring and evaluation plans, and budget proposals.
- Served as a member of the education steering committee in the management of project academic works including quality assurance, scholarship management, fellowships, exchange programs, and research development.
- Engage directly with public and private universities in the US and Afghanistan to support academic partnerships and other academic affiliations.
- Facilitate procurement processes in conjunction with the Office of Acquisition and Assistance (OAA), from pre-solicitation to closeout, which includes preparing solicitation documents, conducting cost and price analysis, drafting award selection memoranda, and completing requisite paperwork.
- Formulate evaluation plans and designs, outline scopes of work, and collaborate with implementing partners to refine research inquiries, methodologies, and USAID's expectations for evaluation and reporting.
- Support the team in activity management responsibilities, encompassing partner coordination, planning, reporting, monitoring and evaluation, and Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) initiatives.
- Evaluate and offer feedback on technical and cost proposals as well as work plans submitted by prospective and existing implementing partners.
- Draft memos, building blocks, talking points, and other official letters and work with other offices for clearance.
Project Management Specialist-Higher Education
USAID-Afghanistan
08.2014 - 08.2021
- Serve as an expert in education and workforce development for USAID-Afghanistan, providing updates on Afghanistan Higher Education to the Office Director, Deputy Mission Director, and Mission Director.
- Meet with high-level and mid-level host government officials and represent USAID in these meetings.
- Serve as the Agreement Officer Representative (AOR) and Contracting Officer Representative (COR) for USAID-Afghanistan higher education activities. This role involves coordinating activities and projects to ensure proper planning, administration, implementation, and compliance.
- Leading administrative tasks related to scholarships and fellowships provided for faculty and students within the host universities.
- Collaborate with implementing partners (IPs) and the host government to develop educational strategic plans and risk mitigation plans. Serve as a technical expert on various committees.
- Manage the pre-award, award, and post-award processes for assigned USAID grants or cooperative agreements.
- Support Contracting Office in the solicitation, negotiation, and prepare contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, interagency agreements, amendments/modifications, and supporting documentation, such as memoranda of negotiation, for the cognizant Agreement Officer's signature.
- Work closely with the host country and other donors on project implementation and join monitoring plans.
- Coordinate and develop M&E guidance documents; specifically, work with the Program Office to apply toolkits for the mid-term or final evaluation of programs.
- Conduct cost analysis to determine the reasonableness, allowability, and allocability of proposed costs for assigned awards.
- Assist in preparing and disseminating guidelines for grants management submissions, detailed implementation plans, annual, mid-term, and final reports, evaluations, related studies, and other documents required for awards (e.g., transfer authorizations, grants and/or cooperative agreements, etc.).
- Participate in making substantive decisions involving implementation matters of projects (e.g., approving annual work plan, budget, M&E plan, and progress reports).
- Develop and/or support complex technical/procurement documents such as scopes of work, program descriptions, independent government cost estimates, and draft scopes of work for evaluations, assessments, and short-term technical assistance for designing, implementing, and evaluating programs and related initiatives/activities.
- Oversee and evaluate technical aspects of program implementation, including cost analysis, and ensure that program results are being achieved in a manner consistent with implementation mechanism agreements/contracts.
- Ensure coordination among different USAID/USG programs and Development Objective (DO) teams and coordinate activities and policy dialogue among host-country counterparts and the donor community to ensure effective implementation of USAID programs.
Training Manager
UNDP
12.2012 - 07.2014
- Alternated training methods to diversify instruction, strengthen learning opportunities, and enhance program success.
- Developed and implemented comprehensive training program to increase employee productivity and morale.
- Monitored and evaluated training performance to determine quality and cohesiveness.
- Trained new hires to perform cross-training exercises with experienced workers.
Project Manager, Basic Education
GRM/AusAID
10.2010 - 11.2012
- Had supervisory role and led technical staff (implementation & research) in different provinces.
- Lead and support the central and regional teams to prepare their operational plans, annual plans, M&E plans.
- Supervise a research team to conduct action research for measuring factors promote female qualified teachers to work in the rural areas.
- Support the team in the research design, tools development, data collection, data analysis and reporting.
- Management of an internship program for young high school girls to be engaged in the work environment for their placement and job opportunities as teachers in their communities.
- Working closely with qualified female teachers to make sure they are relocated to their new jobs.
- Represent the program with the Afghanistan Ministry of Education and other stakeholders working on basic education.
- Support the Afghan government in developing longer-term and shorter strategic plans for enhancing the quality of teaching at schools.
- Supported schools to have access to a fund for establishing labs and libraries to motivate students and teachers in rural areas.
- Project evaluation support and coordination with the host government for collecting data.
- Delivering weekly updates and presentations for the Ministry of Education Officials on the results of the Action Research.
Sr. Project Manager-Basic Education
Save the Children International
01.2010 - 10.2010
- Supervise and support regional managers, education officers and social workers in the different regional offices around the country.
- Lead the project planning, implementation, and monitoring of the implementation progress.
- Support the Ministry of Education in developing policies for community-based education and informal education.
- Responsible to prepare quarterly and annual reports for the management and donor.
- Sever as main point of contract in coordination and communication with donor agencies.
- Working with the MoE assigned team on developing accelerated learning poli
Sr. Project Officer
World Bank
01.2006 - 01.2010
- Delivered high-quality results on time and within budget by diligently monitoring progress against established objectives.
- Developed comprehensive project plans, ensuring timely completion of milestones and deliverables.
- Strengthened stakeholder relationships by maintaining open lines of communication and providing regular progress updates.
- Responsible for implementation of project Education Quality Improvement Program in Kabul province.
- Supervise about 40 staff members including engineers, social workers and operational staff.
- Overseeing distribution of school grants for school administrations for establishing libraries and labs.
- Support in establishing School Management Committee at the schools to engage parents in the learning process.
Education
Master of Arts - Education Leadership
University of Roehampton
UK09.2019
Bachelor of Arts - Social Studies Education
Kabul University
Kabul07.2007
Skills
- Capacity Building and Training
- Evaluation/Review
- Monitoring and Evaluation
- Needs Assessments
- Program Management
- Project Financial Control
Certification
- Certified Federal Contracting Manager by NCMA
- Certified Education Program Evaluation by Georgetown University.
Timeline
Oversight Analyst-Education
USAID-Asia Bureau
08.2023 - Current
Project Management Specialist- Education
USAID- Afghanistan
03.2022 - 08.2023
Project Management Specialist-Higher Education
USAID-Afghanistan
08.2014 - 08.2021
Training Manager
UNDP
12.2012 - 07.2014
Project Manager, Basic Education
GRM/AusAID
10.2010 - 11.2012
Sr. Project Manager-Basic Education
Save the Children International
01.2010 - 10.2010
Sr. Project Officer
World Bank
01.2006 - 01.2010
Master of Arts - Education Leadership
University of Roehampton
Bachelor of Arts - Social Studies Education
Kabul University
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