Careers at Code for Africa (CfA)

Position Summary

You’ll design, ship and maintain AI-enabled tools and workflows for teams across the alliance, and set the patterns others build on. This is a hands-on role: you’ll write and review code, configure integrations, test with users and support what you ship, not just produce designs or recommendations.

Your first priority will initially be Business Development (proposal and partner-intelligence workflows). From there, the work expands to research, editorial, investigative and programme operations. You’ll build on tools teams already use (Google Workspace, Slack, Airtable, CRMs) and on in-house capacity: DataLab for data engineering and scraping, the iLAB for AI-driven forensics, CivicSignal for NLP, and the wider AI Sandbox team for shared model access and infrastructure. You won’t be building the whole stack alone.

Why Join

• Be the founding hire: shape how the alliance uses AI, from the first build to the standards other teams adopt.
• Real users from day one: starting with the Business Development team, then forensic researchers, journalists, and programme staff across Africa and beyond.
• Real ownership, real support: you’ll own design decisions within agreed architecture and security boundaries, backed by in-house data and AI teams, so you’re not starting from zero.

What You Will Do

• Ship tools, workflows and lightweight interfaces end to end: take them from discovery and design through build, evaluation, rollout, training, monitoring and handoff.
• Pick the simplest thing that works: use models or agents where interpreting language or handling ambiguity adds value, and plain deterministic code or rules for anything that runs often, must give the same answer every time, or needs an audit trail. Often that means using an AI coding agent to build the automation, not to be it.
• Treat AI output as unverified until checked: build evaluations, source traceability and automated checks, and put a person where the decision matters. Assume outside content may be wrong or may try to steer the model.
• Build the function, not just the tools: set up an intake and prioritisation process, a reusable library of templates, connectors and review components, and clear rules for what stays central and what programmes own.
• Keep it maintainable: use version control and code review, write documentation others can run from, and build on shared Plus and AI Sandbox platforms and security standards, so everything works with the rest of Plus’s systems.
• Keep costs visible: estimate running costs, compare managed, open-source and in-house options on cost, security, portability and maintenance, and replace expensive SaaS where there’s a clear case.

What This Role Is Not

This is not primarily a chatbot, dashboard or research role, and it’s not an on-demand automation desk: you’ll prioritise work with the CTO and programme leads based on value, risk and potential for reuse. You won’t own data engineering, model infrastructure or organisation-wide AI policy, but you’ll work closely with the teams that do.

What You Will Build in Year One

• Four to five substantive production tools or workflows in regular operational use, starting with Business Development, each with monitoring and a named owner.
• An intake and prioritisation process open to all programmes, with a clear way to select, defer and decline requests.
• A Plus-wide pattern and guardrail library adopted by at least two teams.
• A recommendation, based on real demand, for how the hub should grow, including the shape of a team you could eventually lead.

Required

• A degree in computer science, software engineering, information systems, data science or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 3+ years building and shipping internal tools, automation or AI-enabled workflows that people rely on regularly (not just prototypes or demos), and that you maintained after launch. You’re comfortable going from ambiguity to a working system.
• Hands-on experience building with hosted model APIs and open-weight models, including structured outputs, tool use, agents, and MCP or similar integration protocols. You’re also comfortable with AI coding and workflow tools such as Claude Cowork, Claude Code or Codex, and know when not to use them.
• Integration experience with several business systems, such as Google Workspace, Slack, Airtable, CRMs or email, including APIs, webhooks, OAuth, scoped credentials and rate limits. You default to live connections, and know how to stop any cached or synced copy from being mistaken for current data.
• Practical AI and data risk awareness: catching outputs that are confident but wrong, handling prompt injection, protecting PII and confidential data, and matching human review to the cost of an error.
• The ability to map how work actually happens, design around it with non-technical colleagues, and get them to adopt what you build, including writing guides they can actually follow.
• Engineering discipline: Git, code review, tests where they matter, and clear documentation.

Preferred

• A postgraduate qualification in artificial intelligence, machine learning or a related field.
• Experience in non-profit, media, civic tech or international development, including proposal or partner-management workflows.
• Document-heavy pipelines: parsing PDFs and DOCX files, structured extraction, and retrieval over knowledge bases that change often.
• Formal evaluation practice: test sets, regression evals, red-teaming and output validation.
• Experience with managed model services and gateways, such as Amazon Bedrock, OpenRouter or equivalents.
• Cost modelling for LLM workloads, and security basics such as secrets management and vendor security review.
• Having set up shared standards or components that other teams or organisations adopted.

go to method of application »

Required: minimum requirements include:

• Relevant qualifications or significant demonstrated expertise in learning sciences, particularly MOOC design, instructional design, learning technologies, information architecture, evidence-based education, or a related field.
• Experience developing multimedia and web-based instructional materials for Learning Management Systems, preferably WordPress LearnDash or a similar platform.
• Ability to write clear, engaging, inclusive, and conversational learning content.
• Experience conducting training needs assessments, writing measurable learning objectives, and storyboarding course outlines and learning journeys.
• Working knowledge of generative AI tools for learning design and content development, including the ability to write effective prompts, fact-check outputs, protect sensitive information, and use AI responsibly.
• Ability to apply creativity while maintaining excellent attention to detail and consistency.
• Ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities, and organise work effectively across competing timelines and schedules.

Preferred: candidates who are able to demonstrate the following will have an advantage:

• Proven experience in instructional design for large-scale e-learning programmes or MOOCs delivered through platforms such as Coursera, edX, Udemy, or similar.
• Experience developing courseware for emerging communication channels, including mobile platforms such as WhatsApp or equivalent social messaging platforms.
• Experience using generative AI tools to support instructional design, content development, multimedia production, localisation, assessment creation, and workflow automation, with the ability to fact-check outputs and apply AI responsibly.
• Ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with curriculum or domain experts and project team members working remotely across different time zones.
• Skills in multimedia production, including infographics, video scripting, animation, and audio production.
• Experience using design and content-development tools such as Canva, InDesign, VideoScribe, and audio or narration editing tools.
• Proven ability to repurpose learning content for multiple delivery formats, including self-paced, tutor-led, and blended learning.
• Experience using remote collaboration tools, including Slack, Google Drive, and Trello, to manage workflows.
• Bilingual proficiency in French or Arabic is an advantage.

Language and Location Requirements:

• Location: Remote. Open to candidates based anywhere in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
• Languages: English
• Preferred but not required: French and/or Arabic

About the Role

The successful candidate will join CfA’s Academy team, helping to lead capacity-building initiatives delivered in partnership with more than 30 leading African universities, mainstream newsrooms, and civil society organisations.

A major focus of the role will be designing modular courses that combine core lessons on essential skills with elective modules offering topic- or tool-specific learning. CfA’s courseware must be flexible enough to be customised and repackaged for different audiences by our in-country trainers and university partners.

Our MOOC courseware also serves as the master curriculum for in-person and offline training workshops, facilitator teaching kits, and adaptable learning materials for university partners.

The Instructional Designer will benchmark CfA’s learning materials against global best practices and lead the collaborative development of new courses with internal teams, external stakeholders, and subject-matter experts. These courses will be delivered through academy.AFRICA and, where appropriate, global e-learning platforms such as Coursera and Udemy.

The ideal candidate will possess strong analytical and critical-thinking skills and be able to understand new and complex subject areas quickly. They should have excellent attention to detail, a strong eye for quality and visual design, and the ability to manage multiple projects and competing deadlines. They should also be comfortable using digital collaboration tools such as Slack, Google Drive, and Trello.

Responsibilities: Your daily responsibilities will include:

• Conceptualising and designing master curricula in consultation with CfA programme teams and external domain experts, creating modular, task-driven, and experiential courses that support both self-directed e-learning and instructor-led delivery.
• Conducting learning needs assessments and translating identified needs into clear learning outcomes, structured learning journeys, assessments, and practical activities.
• Designing and developing digital learning materials, including e-learning modules, interactive activities, assessments, videos, infographics, audio, and other multimedia resources.
• Developing course support materials, including facilitator guides, user manuals, participant handbooks, exercises, assignments, handouts, and toolkits.
• Repackaging master curricula for in-person and offline delivery, including presentation slides, instructor notes, participant materials, and accessible low-bandwidth resources.
• Using generative AI tools responsibly to support research, content development, assessment creation, localisation, multimedia production, and workflow efficiency.
• Reviewing and fact-checking AI-generated content to ensure accuracy, relevance, originality, accessibility, cultural sensitivity, and alignment with CfA’s quality standards.
• Collaborating closely with trainers and subject-matter experts to ensure learning materials are accurate, engaging, inclusive, and instructionally effective.
• Building and managing a network of thematic experts who can co-author courses, review specialist content, or facilitate flagship classes.
• Monitoring enrolment, engagement, completion rates, learner feedback, and other trends across CfA’s MOOCs and webinar-based programmes, and translating the findings into actionable recommendations.
• Applying instructional-design best practices, including effective content chunking, interactive learning, meaningful assessments, explanatory feedback, multimedia, and mobile-friendly design.
• Supporting trainers and partners with accessible, user-friendly learning resources and guidance.
• Staying informed about emerging trends in digital pedagogy, learning technologies, generative AI, and learning analytics, and recommending relevant innovations for CfA’s Academy programmes.