Job Vacancies at Aga Khan University

Reporting to the Dean, the Chief of Staff will serve as the right hand of the dean, effectively operating as Chief Operating Officer of the school. He/she will oversee day-to-day financial and operational management of the school, help identify and coordinate strategic priorities, manage operations, oversee grant proposals and management, and represents the dean as directed to senior university leaders, campus officials and critical external constituencies.

The selected candidate must possess the ability to build consensus and collaborate with internal and external constituents, creating a balance between institutional strategy and other emerging priorities. This position requires exceptional people, project management, and verbal and written communication skills, as well as the ability to work effectively with a group of diverse, highly motivated peers.

The incumbent will be, based in Nairobi Kenya.

Responsibilities

• Oversee all financial aspects of the college, including developing and maintaining budgets, day-to-day financial management of the school’s units, development and management of project and unit financial reports, generating donors reports and data for donor audits, serving as primary liaison to the university Finance Department
• Represent the dean on university-level committees and meeting
• Advise the dean on institutional planning, policy development, and problem resolution
• Advise the dean on policy, procedural and operational issues of the university, and may be charged with leading the operationalization of strategic initiatives for the dean
• Provide counsel to the dean, serve as a sounding board and advise on sensitive matters. Synthesize information from a variety of internal and external sources and ensures the dean has all the information necessary to make informed decisions. Provide excellent judgment, diplomacy, and understanding bureaucratic issues to support the dean
• Monitor and track metrics, and drive the design and/or execution of deliverables
• With the director of academics and other senior staff, work with the dean to develop long term strategic priorities, programs and development goals
• Manage an administrative team that includes project finance, contracts, project management teams, and related issues that ensure timely and efficient support for academic, training and other units
• Assist in coordinating University-wide projects that cross various University divisions
• Oversee operations of the Dean’s Office, including management of staff, budgets, grants, policies and procedures to maximize the effectiveness of the Office of the Dean with respect to workflow, scheduling, communications, events, and interactions with key internal and external constituencies, as well as assisting in the operational and financial details of grants applications and management
• Help lead in change management efforts, partnering with appropriate leaders and staff to achieve goals

Requirements

• Master’s degree in finance, business administration or related field required; PhD preferred
• 3-5 years prior experience in business, higher education or non-profit management with a proven track record of successfully managing multiple priorities and complex fiscal challenges
• Strong organizational skills; ability to prioritize
• Appreciation for academia, comfortable working on cross-functional priorities at a strategic and operational level
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills and demonstrated ability to work effectively with a wide variety of constituencies, including members of a leadership team, faculty, administrators, students, parents, alumni, legislators, community leaders, business officials, and community members
• Exceptional interpersonal skills for navigating and influencing within a complex environment with diverse and varied stakeholders
• High attention to detail and analytical orientation
• Independent and proactive
• Quick learner
• Works accurately and calmly under pressure
• Ability to define clear objectives and enforce accountability for meeting deadlines
• Collaborative work style; ability to maintain relationships with executives, colleagues, external stakeholders, partners and community leaders
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) and financial management software; PeopleSoft preferred

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Reporting to the Dean, the Assistant Professor will support teaching in Multi-platform and/or Data Journalism.  The position holder will teach academic courses and professional training workshops on multi-platform journalism, mobile journalism, social media, and/or understanding and visualizing data for use in news stories and research. The individual will be experienced in using media convergence technology and social media. Proficiency in the use of relevant video and audio editing, database management, data analytics, and graphic presentation software and ability to collect and analyze big data trends on social media is an advantage.

The incumbent will be based in Nairobi, Kenya. He/she should be prepared to operate across AKU campuses, potentially including short assignments in other African locations, in fulfilment of their role.

Responsibilities

Design and deliver quality teaching    

• Plan, design, develop and teach courses in multi-platform and/or data journalism
• Effectively integrate new technologies and multi-media innovations into curriculum and courses
• Co-ordinate and administer courses/programmes, where required, as part of the GSMC’s academic and professional programs
• Deliver lectures, design and conduct case studies, seminars, workshops, consultancies and other formal and informal learning activities as part of the GSMC suite of offerings
• Monitor and evaluate programmes, courses and teaching performance
• Contribute to collaborative teaching, research and curriculum development projects in the areas of data journalism

Research and Innovation

• Engage in relevant and innovative research activities to advance the school’s scholarly research agenda in the areas of data journalism
• Maintain a sound and current knowledge and understanding of the field through research, scholarly activities and publications
• Contribute to maintaining and extending links between the School and relevant organizations, researchers and practitioners

Mentorship

• Mentor early career staff and students
• Identify and create opportunities for collaborative teaching and research projects with internal and external researchers and stakeholders

Administration    

• Actively contribute to governance, marketing, promotion, and administrative activities to facilitate the strategic goals of the School and the University including being actively involved in the School
• Attend team meetings and other activities as well as contribute to appropriate commercial/consulting activities with other academic staff

Requirements

• A Master’s Degree with at least 3 years of post-qualification work experience and registered/commenced in a PhD programme
• At least three (3) years of teaching experience
• A creative and imaginative approach to student-centered teaching
• Good analytical skills and a methodical approach to tasks / problems
• An ability to work well as a member of a teaching team to provide quality education to all students
• Good oral and written communication skills – a capacity to communicate effectively with staff, students, employers and others
• Good conceptual skills
• Flexibility and the capacity to work under pressure
• Able to prepare effective written and visual teaching materials including the effective use of Information Learning Technology, e.g. Virtual Learning Environments, PowerPoint, etc.
• Proven ability to maintain a professional approach in line with the University values while under pressure
• Ability to relate effectively and sensitively to students and staff from a variety of backgrounds and cultures
• Must demonstrate a strong commitment to equality and diversity and how it affects classroom practice
• Must demonstrate a strong commitment to academic excellence

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Reporting to the Dean, the Associate Professor will oversee GSMC’s new Executive Masters in Media Leadership & Innovation (EMMLI) program, which launches in February 2021. He/she will have significant professional experience in the broad field of leadership and management, ideally in the media sector and have a track record of teaching in Higher Education. Candidates on sabbatical or leave from home universities in the West and are available for one or two-year posting will be considered.

The incumbent will be based in Nairobi, Kenya. He/she should be prepared to operate across AKU campuses in fulfilment of their role.

Responsibilities

Deliver quality teaching

• Serve as faculty lead on the Executive MA in Media Leadership and Innovation, coordinating all aspects of the program
• Teach courses in media leadership and innovation
• Effectively integrate new technologies and multi-media innovations into curriculum and courses
• Co-ordinate and administer other courses/programmes, where required, as part of the GSMC’s academic and professional programs
• Deliver lectures
• Design and conduct case studies, seminars, workshops, consultancies and other formal and informal learning activities as part of the GSMC suite of offerings
• Monitor and evaluate programmes, courses and teaching performance
• Contribute to collaborative teaching, research and curriculum development projects in the areas of Media Leadership and Innovation

Administration    

• Actively contribute to governance, marketing, promotion, and administrative activities to facilitate the strategic goals of the School and the University including being actively involved in the School
• Attend team meetings and other activities as well as contribute to appropriate commercial/consulting activities with other academic staff    

Requirements

• A PhD in a relevant field
• Three years teaching/research experience with publication points
• Supervision of at least 5 post graduate students and attract research funding
• 5 –10 years professional experience in the broad field of leadership and management, ideally in the media sector
• A creative and imaginative approach to student-centered teaching, ideally with experience in online and blended education
• Good analytical skills and a methodical approach to tasks / problems
• An ability to work well as a member of a teaching team to provide quality education to all students
• Good oral and written communication skills – a capacity to communicate effectively with staff, students, employers and others
• Good conceptual skills
• Flexibility and the capacity to work under pressure
• Able to prepare effective written and visual teaching materials including the effective use of Information Learning Technology; e.g. Virtual Learning Environments, PowerPoint, etc
• Proven ability to maintain a professional approach in line with the University values while under pressure
• Ability to relate effectively and sensitively to students and staff from a variety of backgrounds and cultures
• Must demonstrate a strong commitment to equality and diversity and how it affects classroom practice
• Must demonstrate a strong commitment to academic excellence

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Reporting to the Manager, Training, the Associate will be responsible for assisting in all aspects of planning and managing training programs. Tasks include scheduling, coordination of participants, events management, travel arrangements, and related duties.

The incumbent will be based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Responsibilities

• Liaising with the Manager to identify and assess training and development needs
• Assist in the delivery and oversight of training
• Compiling and presenting information
• Supervising and monitoring progress made via training programmes or schemes
• Coordination of training participants
• End to end event management performing tasks such as finding and booking venues, liaising with clients and suppliers, handling logistics, managing budgets and invoicing, organizing accreditation, managing risk, and presenting post-event reports
• Organising travel related arrangements

Requirements

• Bachelor degree in project management with demonstrated experience in events management
• Minimum of two years of experience in planning and managing training programs as well as events management
• Proficiency in MS Office Suite (Word, Access, Excel, Power Point)Excellent inter-personal relationship and team work
• Good at oral and written communication
• Ability to work well with colleagues and full spectrum of academic staff from trainees to senior faculty members
• Ability to work within short deadlines even outside normal working hours to meet