Post-School Success and Partnerships Manager at The Pharo Foundation

Role Purpose

• The Post-School Success and Partnerships Manager will lead the strategic development and implementation of Pharo Foundation's post-school success agenda, ensuring that students successfully transition from secondary school into higher education, vocational training, entrepreneurship, and employment pathways. The role is responsible for increasing university placements, expanding scholarship and financial aid opportunities, securing third-party funding for student support, and building strong partnerships with universities, donors, employers, and funding institutions. The Manager will work closely with Scholarship Coordinators, school leadership teams, and external partners to remove financial and systemic barriers that prevent students from accessing and succeeding in post-secondary opportunities.
• This role extends beyond university admissions to include ongoing student success, retention, and graduation support, ensuring that students thrive throughout their post-secondary journey and contribute meaningfully to their communities and countries.

Key Responsibilities

Post-School Success Strategy and Programme Leadership

• Develop and implement a comprehensive Post-School Success Strategy across the Pharo Schools network.
• Design and strengthen pathways into university, TVET, entrepreneurship, employment, apprenticeships, and other post-secondary opportunities.
• Establish systems, processes, and support structures that improve students' transition beyond secondary school.
• Monitor post-school outcomes, analyse trends, and implement interventions to improve student success.
• Develop a robust data collection, monitoring, and reporting framework.

University Partnerships and Student Placement

• Build and manage strategic partnerships with universities across Africa and internationally.
• Increase the number and quality of university placements secured annually.
• Negotiate scholarships, tuition support, fee waivers, accommodation assistance, priority admissions, and other partnership benefits.
• Develop strong relationships with admissions, financial aid, and university leadership.
• Coordinate university visits, partnership agreements, recruitment events, university fairs, and application support initiatives.

Scholarship Development and External Funding

• Develop and implement a diversified scholarship funding strategy.
• Secure external funding through scholarships, grants, corporate sponsorships, donor programmes, foundations, and innovative education financing.
• Build strategic relationships with philanthropic organisations, development partners, corporate sponsors, alumni, and high-net-worth donors.
• Lead funding proposals and establish sustainable scholarship funding models that reduce reliance on internal resources.

Student Success and University Retention

• Monitor student progress, wellbeing, retention, and graduation outcomes.
• Build systems for ongoing engagement with students and partner institutions.
• Identify risks affecting student success and coordinate timely support interventions.
• Develop mentoring, alumni engagement, and student support programmes while maintaining accurate student records.

Scholarship Management and Sustainability

• Strengthen scholarship management, compliance, and monitoring systems in collaboration with Scholarship Coordinators.
• Oversee scholarship agreements and develop sustainable graduate contribution or repayment models where appropriate.
• Track graduate engagement and repayment commitments while ensuring scholarship programmes remain equitable, transparent, and financially sustainable.

Stakeholder and Partnership Management

• Serve as the primary relationship manager for strategic post-school success partners.
• Represent Pharo Foundation at universities, conferences, donor engagements, and education forums.
• Build partnerships with governments, scholarship agencies, employers, and international education networks to expand internship, mentorship, and employment opportunities.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting

• Develop KPIs and monitor university placements, scholarships secured, funding raised, student retention, graduation, employment outcomes, and scholarship sustainability.
• Produce reports for senior leadership and donors and use insights to continuously improve programme performance.

Qualifications and Experience

Essential

• Bachelor's degree in Education, International Development, Public Policy, Business, Higher Education Administration, or a related field.
• At least five years' experience in university admissions, scholarship management, higher education partnerships, fundraising, donor engagement, or student success programmes.
• Demonstrated success in building strategic partnerships and securing grants, scholarships, sponsorships, or donor funding.
• Experience working with universities or higher education institutions.
• Strong project management, stakeholder engagement, communication, and relationship management skills.

Desirable

• Master's degree in a relevant discipline.
• Experience working across Africa or within international education systems.
• Knowledge of global scholarship programmes and higher education financing models.
• Experience managing alumni engagement initiatives.

Key Competencies

• Strategic thinking and programme design
• Partnership development and stakeholder management
• Fundraising and resource mobilisation
• Negotiation and influencing
• Data analysis and reporting
• Student-centred problem solving
• Financial and commercial acumen
• Cross-cultural communication
• Project and programme management
• Results orientation and accountability

Success Measures (First 2–3 Years)

The successful candidate will:

• Increase university placements across the Pharo Schools network.
• Secure strategic university partnerships that expand scholarships and financial aid opportunities.
• Establish a diversified external scholarship funding portfolio.
• Increase third-party funding for scholarships and post-school success programmes.
• Improve student retention and graduation rates.
• Develop a sustainable scholarship contribution or repayment framework.
• Build a strong alumni engagement ecosystem.
• Position the Post-School Success Programme as a leading model for educational access and social mobility across Pharo Schools.

Personal Attributes

• Passionate about equitable, high-quality education and student success.
• Strategic, innovative, and forward-thinking with a commitment to continuous improvement.
• Collaborative and able to build trusted partnerships across diverse stakeholders.
• Adaptable, resilient, and comfortable leading change in complex environments.
• Student-centred, evidence-driven, and results-oriented.
• Entrepreneurial with strong commercial awareness and a focus on scalable impact.
• Demonstrates integrity, professionalism, and sound judgement.
• Committed to advancing African education and expanding opportunities for young people.