Program Manager, Academics at Bridge Talent Management

About The Role

The Programme Manager, Academics will work on developing scalable solutions for Bridge Kenya pupils to excel beyond primary school. At the core of this work is test preparation. The expectation of every Bridge pupil is to excel on High Stake Exams . The Programme Manager will also work with pupils to be prepared beyond the classroom for secondary level studies and on building an alumni network beyond primary school.

This role will be a mixture of designing, tracking, and communicating. With the support of the Academic Director, the Programme Manager will design and test ways to increase scores, improve soft skills, increase scholarship recipients, and many other projects. You will also track higher secondary application acceptance rates, report on graduating class and alumni success, and other matters pertaining to post primary education. All of this work will require communication and coaching with schools to increase sustainable support and the greater community to source new scholarships, get the support of local leaders, and create alternative avenues to secondary success.

The Programme Manager will report to the Director, Academics

What You Will Do

• Work with the Instructional Design team to create a world-class preparation programme for High Stake Exams
• Create a framework for non-instructional programming to competent our classroom-based approach to test preparation
• Build a strong system to support and track the secondary admissions process in Kenya. This will include searching for secondary scholarships, creating scalable systems to support the application to those scholarships, and tracking all pupils throughout their secondary school journey.
• Think “Beyond High Stake Exams”- how are we setting up ALL pupils for success beyond primary school, including soft skills like grit and growth mindset.
• Oversee the planning and implementation of large-scale programming for high-stakes test preparation and delivery, scholarship identification and promotion, and alumni tracking and support
• Collaborate effectively with other Bridge Kenya teams - Operations, People, Schools, Policy & Partnerships

What You Should Have
The Programme Manager must be a data-driven individual with experience in the High Stake Exams and secondary admissions. You must be an expert in Secondary Level Admissions while being someone that can motivate and support pupils in excelling beyond Primary School. Ideal candidates have worked in organisations with a proven track record of generating High Stake Exam Performance performance.

In addition, the Program Manager must:

• Be a self-starter and problem-solver.
• Be hard working and collaborative, with the tenacity to plough through challenges and an appreciation for teamwork toward achieving a shared vision.
• Be a fast learner and someone who is able to flourish in fast paced, dynamic, and sometimes ambiguous environments.
• Be both detailed and results-oriented, driven by the data that will allow us to know what is working and what isn’t working for kids.
• Have strong project management skills and excellent organisational skills, with keen attention to detail and ability to follow up systematically on a broad set of initiatives and decisions.
• Be an effective, articulate communicator who can represent Bridge Kenya to external audiences.
• Be humble and ready to “roll up your sleeves” to get things done.

Education and Qualification

• Bachelor’s Degree in a related field
• Past experience with High Stake Exams, such as a teacher, tutor, test designer, or related roles
• Previous project management experience
• Work experience in secondary admissions is a plus but not a requirement