Director, Network Engagement - Africa (French & English) at Teach For All

Position Summary:

Teach For All is looking for a dynamic and strategic leader to support a diverse group of prospective partners across Francophone Africa.  As a Network Engagement Director, you will steward Teach For All’s engagement with the region’s partner CEOs and prospective CEOs, working to build and deepen relationships and collaborations across the region. You will serve as an overall strategic resource to these organizations, diagnosing their needs, and marshaling network resources to meet them. The right candidate will have a proven ability to work effectively across different country contexts and cultures, navigate ambiguity with ease, and will have experience making sound strategic decisions that drive impact in complex and changing environments. This individual is required to have deep familiarity living and working across diverse national contexts in the region, must be authorized to work within the region, and must speak native or business-fluent French and English. This position will report to the Head of Region, Africa.

Roles and Responsibilities

Supporting current and prospective partners 80%:

• Engage in day-to-day thought partnership with partners and prospective CEOs and their leadership teams to build capacity and enhance strategic clarity. Ensure the network’s resources are strategically leveraged to best meet co-diagnosed partner and prospective partner needs. 
• Facilitate the co-creation of annual partnership plans that identify how the network can support accelerated impact locally as well as how each partner can contribute to the network’s collective impact. The specific partner organizations assigned to the Network Engagement Director’s portfolio will be determined based on a combination of factors including location, language skills and abilities, and background experience.
• Build relationships and networks with key stakeholders by leveraging deep understanding of the diversity of the African landscape to attract high potential prospective partners in the region to foster expanded and diversified impact that grows the region’s reach.
• Facilitate immersive experiences and peer-to-peer visits to network partners and events, ensuring collaboration and connection with the network community that furthers impact and fosters a strong network culture.

Contribute to Africa Regional Strategy and Team Strength (20%)

• Play a critical role in devising, executing, and monitoring the progress of the region’s strategy to ensure partner impact is maximized.
• Contribute to broader impact by bringing a deep understanding of context and partner priorities that can inform regional decision making as well as the broader support strategy of the Teach For All organization
• Participate in team meetings to help inform programmatic decisions that impact the design and implementation of engagement & support to current and prospective partners.
• Act as a mentor to staff members who engage with the Africa region, helping shape an African team culture
• Highlight and share best practices and resources from the region that can be used by Teach For All partner organizations in the larger network.

Right Candidate for the role

The right candidate is one who has a proven ability to be visionary, can build strong culture among stakeholders, influences results through others, builds strong relationships, demonstrates strong judgment, and makes strategic decisions that drive impact in complex and changing environments.  The right candidate is fully fluent in French & English,  has a proven record of having worked effectively across contexts and cultures, operates flexibly, and navigates ambiguity with ease. This individual is required to have deep experience living and working in the region and a strong orientation to diversity, equity and inclusiveness. 

Requirements

• Minimum 8-10 years work experience, including at least 5 years of work experience in Africa. Experience working in multiple country contexts across the region is strongly preferred.
• Native level fluency in French and English (written, spoken, reading) is required. Interviews are conducted in French and English. Candidates who are not able to converse fluidly and do not have experience conducting business in both languages are not eligible to apply.
• Ability to deeply understand multiple local contexts quickly as well as demonstrate strong analytical ability, judgment, and flexibility in complex, ambiguous, and rapidly changing circumstances.
• Ability to work effectively within an entrepreneurial, fast-paced, and results-oriented culture by demonstrating strong prioritization and organizational skills and discipline, including a high volume of virtual engagement (i.e. video calls, social media, virtual collaboration tools)
• Experience of coaching senior leaders

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Ability to understand and lead in alignment with Teach For All’s vision, core purpose, intended outcomes, unifying principles and theory of change
• Exemplifies Teach For All’s core values 
• Ability to lead effectively to increase representation and inclusivity; sensitivity to racial, cultural and ideological diversity, including power and privilege dynamics
• Ability to be highly visionary, strategic, and analytical
• Ability to deeply understand  and navigate within distinct local contexts quickly 
• Ability to develop strong, authentic relationships with diverse individuals, and to influence and motivate others through both formal and informal authority; management experience is a plus