Education Systems Solutions -Product Strategist at Educate!

• As a Strategist you may work on early stage and mature programs looking to scale and will need to apply your skills and expertise to managing the different needs of each. You will work with the Group Strategists to lead initiatives that may be cross-cutting at a secondary school level, or have a subject specific focus that enable us to meet our student experience benchmark.
• We have already partnered with governments in Rwanda and Kenya to support curriculum reforms through our education system solutions, and results from a rigorous impact evaluation have shown that our cost-effective solutions create a real impact on youth through national education systems. The Strategist will work closely with the Group Strategist Scale and Sustainability, our government advocacy experts, and our programs teams in our countries of operation continue developing program models that support long-term changes to education systems and meaningful, sustainable curriculum reforms.

The right person for this role will:

• Have experience in adult learning theory, behavioural change and systems change theories to guide the design process
• Have strong strategic communication and collaboration skills
• Have a track record in driving behaviour change programs with strong data-driven decision making abilities and a strong focus on driving positive learning outcomes.
• Experience running experiments, product development processes, or human-centered design processes is a plus.
• Have a genuine passion for working within both government education systems and youth to create a broad and sustainable impact on youth.

Performance Objectives
Strategic product vision and roadmap development

• Collaborate with the Group Strategist to define a clear product vision and roadmap.
• Integrate cross-functional team insights into the product strategy.
• Ensure the product vision addresses the users' most significant problems.
• Connect the product work with broader organizational goals.

Effective communication and coordination

• Communicate product vision, strategy, and updates clearly to stakeholders.
• Facilitate alignment between product strategy and program/operations leads.
• Conduct product retrospectives to evaluate strategy success and identify improvement areas.
• Lead cross-functional teams in productive strategy retreats and development activities.

Learning design and user-centric approach

• Apply adult learning and systems change theories in product design.
• Keep user experience central in product, program, and operations strategies.
• Establish feedback loops with end-users for continuous product improvement.
• Collaborate with teams to emphasize user focus in all product aspects.

Evidence-driven design and research

• Use internal evidence to create actionable insights for product development.
• Design and implement experiments for testing innovative ideas.
• Work with performance metrics and evaluation teams for evidence collection and learning question articulation.
• Emphasize an iterative and evidence-driven approach in product development.

Translating strategy to execution and advocacy

• Set clear design parameters for scalability and sustainability.
• Review and align micro-designs with strategic objectives.
• Offer feedback for improvement in micro-designs to maintain strategic alignment.
• Coordinate product strategy check-ins for effective development.
• Develop products aligning with government interests and policies.
• Guide advocacy efforts to enhance organizational goals and interests.

Characteristics and traits

• Strategic Thinking: Ability to envision the big picture, plan long-term strategies, and anticipate future challenges and opportunities.
• Leadership Skills: Strong leadership qualities are crucial, including the ability to inspire, motivate, and guide cross-functional teams towards a common vision.
• Communication Skills: Excellent verbal and written communication skills are necessary for articulating the product vision, strategy, and goals clearly to stakeholders at all levels.
• Problem-Solving Ability: Adept at identifying problems, analyzing complex situations, and devising effective solutions, particularly in addressing user needs and aligning product goals with organizational objectives.
• Collaborative Nature: Must excel in working collaboratively with diverse teams, fostering an environment of cooperation and mutual respect, and effectively managing stakeholder relationships.
• Adaptability and Resilience: Capable of adapting to changing circumstances, resilient in the face of setbacks, and flexible in approach to meet evolving project demands and market conditions.

Qualifications And Profile

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g., education).
• Proven experience in product leadership, strategy development, and user-centered design preferred
• Strong understanding of organizational goals and the ability to connect them to product strategies.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills to facilitate dialogue and ensure alignment across teams.
• Experience coordinating product development stages and conducting retrospectives.
• Knowledge of user research methodologies and the ability to apply them effectively.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Proficient in documenting processes and utilizing organizational tools for systematic organization.
• Passion for Educate!'s mission is a must. We value diverse perspectives and encourage applications from people with a variety of backgrounds.
• Fits our Five Cultural Tenets (see What is Educate! About? below); Learn more by looking at Educate!'s culture deck here