Job Vacancies at Educate!

Performance Objectives 

Move forward Educate!’s fundraising strategy through effective stakeholder engagement and relationship management of partners

• Build a deep understanding of Educate!’s sector and ecosystem, especially key players and stakeholders within the space. 
• Manage key relationships with new and existing partners, and provide support on key relationships owned by the CEO and Educate!’s leadership team. This includes compiling frequent and strategic communications to partners, supporting leadership to prepare for meetings and speaking engagements, and ensuring prompt follow-up and project management of action items related to Educate!’s fundraising efforts. 
• Engage in lead generation and prospect research, including supporting Educate!’s engagement in regional and global conferences. 
• Continuously work to develop and build upon Educate!’s existing fundraising and relationship management systems, processes, and procedures to increase efficiency and move Educate! towards its revenue goals.
• Identify new funding opportunities through calls for proposals and building a network of contacts at key funders.

Serve as a liaison between Educate!’s teams and partners to ensure compliance 

• Operate as a critical liaison between Educate!’s internal teams and external stakeholders and partners. Build relationships with other Educate! teams and become an internal "expert" on specific programs, solutions, or aspects of Educate!'s work.
• Project manage complex due diligence processes with Educate! partners, and build and manage systems and processes to ensure compliance with complex grant requirements and conditions. 
• Collaborate closely with Educate!’s internal teams to understand the requirements and expectations of funders, and coordinate the implementation of grant agreements
• Monitor and track progress against grant agreement milestones and deliverables.
• Lead and support the team in building new (and streamlining existing) systems and processes to make grant compliance, grant reporting, and information sourcing.

Develop and manage written materials to communicate Educate!'s strategy and impact externally with key stakeholders

• Draft, edit, and project manage high-quality communications, collaborating with other team members primarily as an editor.
• Support the development of high-quality grant proposals that are customized to address the key focus areas and requirements of prospective and current donors.
• Draft, edit, and peer review a large number of internal and external communications as well as work to ensure consistent messaging and branding within the fundraising function as well as across Educate!’s teams.
• Work closely with in-country teams to develop and maintain effective communication plans for gathering information needed for reporting and donor materials.

Qualifications

• A minimum of 4-8 years total work experience, with increasing responsibility and independence demonstrated over time.
• A self-starter, able to prioritize and manage multiple assignments and competing projects, take initiative, and work independently to a deadline.
• Demonstrated history of managing multiple stakeholders and experience managing large, complex projects from inception to implementation and completion.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; experience editing and preparing engaging and nuanced content for both internal and external stakeholders.
• An understanding of how to adapt and tailor communications, both written and verbal, for a variety of different audiences and purposes.
• Excellent EQ, judgment, and interpersonal skills, as well as comfort collaborating on a wide variety of tasks and projects across teams and external stakeholders and with individuals at all levels—from junior employees to C-Suite executives.
• Excellent time management, organization, and prioritization skills—with strong verbal communication skills required for project management/team coordination, and social judgment for cultivating new and existing relationships across teams and with organizational partners.
• High degree of proficiency working in a fast-paced, flexible, goal-oriented environment, with the highest level of personal and professional integrity.
• Comfortable working in a highly collaborative but dispersed team environment, with teammates working across time zones. 
• Willingness to travel frequently to Educate! offices regionally in East Africa as well as to global and regional events. 
• Full proficiency in spoken and written English
• This role is open to candidates in East Africa only. 

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Performance Objectives

Enhance CEO Effectiveness

Proactively look for ways to improve and elevate CEO effectiveness. Potential areas of work include:

• Help CEO identify top priorities, strategically align his time with those, and revisit them regularly to assess progress
• Support CEO in culture builder role with initiatives that drive culture leadership and modeling 
• Improving speed and quality of CEO decision-making. 
• Build tools, frameworks and resources that bring the CEO’s thinking to life within the organization. 
• Ensure CEO has information he needs when brought into different decision-making processes. 
• Ensure CEO initiatives get executed to completion by effectively managing schedules and follow-ups.

Manage Key Initiatives

The Chief of Staff will drive key CEO-led initiatives that contribute to org growth and development. Example initiatives include:

• Build out resources and tools for Educate! to formalize how it supports an ecosystem of values aligned, African-led organizations, including building our prototype Learning Lab. 
• Advance org adoption of AI practices into daily operations, and partner with Director of Tech on select AI initiatives. 
• Build org climate change strategy and how it affects cross-cutting aspects of our products and strategy.  

Strategic Org Building with the CEO

Educate!’s CEO loves building systems for effective and culturally aligned scale. The Chief of Staff will partner with him and key functional leaders to accelerate the build of those systems and collaborate with key functions (People, Finance) to support their implementation. Key areas you will engage with are:

• Culture and People Systems Build: Partner with Director of People, head of Talent Acquisition and other key leaders to help develop and implement innovative systems that maintain and strengthen Educate!’s distinct culture as we scale. 
• Finance Systems Build: Collaborate with the CFO and finance leaders to create scalable finance systems that support Educate!’s growth. 
• Other Initiatives: Work closely with the CEO to identify, prioritize, and implement new initiatives to enhance organizational performance.

Support Org Operating Health

Work with the COO, CEO and others to ensure the operating health of the organization and an effective operating cadence. Areas of focus include:

• Ensure the core aspects of our strategic plan are communicated consistently and reinforced to the organization. 
• Leadership team operating rhythm and cohesion
• Support the execution and improvement of the current operating cadence, including org and division level OKR setting and periodic review, strategic planning, investment committee meetings (Educate!’s version of quarterly business reviews), and experimenting with new structures to improve org wide management. 
• Help scheduled and organize leadership team gatherings and retreats

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and at least 3-7 years of professional experience. Please note we are more focused on finding someone with the right skills and excitement for this role, rather than someone with a set number of years or specific experiences. Consequently, we are open to considering candidates with a wide range of backgrounds and seniority to ensure we find the right fit. 
• Some experience in management consulting or high growth startups would be an asset but is not required
• An orientation towards culture and people-first organizations
• Strong curiosity, open-mindedness, and a desire to learn about the best practices of the highest performing organizations. 
• Strategic and flexible thinker, data-driven and analytical in approach to solving problems
• Excels at building authentic relationships and networks; able to build buy-in from multiple stakeholders and influence others to achieve outcomes
• See this First Round Review article on the Chief of Staff role and different designs of the role. Educate! is looking for the 2nd type - a “mid-career, director-level hire”. Please note our hope is for someone to stay longer than suggested in the article. 
• Fits our Five Culture Tenets (see What is Educate! About? below); Learn more by looking at Educate!’s culture deck here

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Position Overview 

Educate!, an award-winning non-profit social enterprise, is seeking an Operations Director to lead operational excellence across our programs and support functions in Kenya. This is a leadership role ideal for someone who loves managing people and projects to seamless execution and is driven to maximize impact through excellent management practices, processes, and attention to detail. The right person for this role will have a history of achieving results through teams and experience managing projects (including budgets and support functions). 

You are the right fit for this role if you;

• Are a strategic thinker who can move deftly from vision to execution—perceiving emerging opportunities, building a goal-oriented strategy, aligning internal and external stakeholders around a shared vision, and driving implementation.
• Ability to thrive in dynamic and fast-changing environments, comfortable with uncertainty and change
• Have experience managing teams to execution and helping a team that is scaling or in the early stages of scale.
• Ability to manage goals, guide others through major changes, encourage teamwork, develop team capabilities, and motivate team leads to meet deadlines.
• Professional and interpersonal skills with the energy, vision and drive to succeed in a fast-paced, high-performance culture.
• Must be able to help the team set up systems, identify those needs, using and optimize those systems.  
• Ability to deeply understand a complex strategy, ability to make choices that support that strategy.
• Demonstrated financial acumen, a good understanding of budgeting, and experience drafting proposals and building systems

Performance Objectives 

Operational Excellence & Efficiency (45%)

•  Team Leadership:
  • Lead and manage a high-performing team across Finance, Administration and Procurement.
  • Provide ongoing coaching and development opportunities.
• Process Optimization:
  • Lead relevant managers in developing cost-effective, efficient office management, inventory management, procurement, communication, human resource, finance and staff collaboration systems to streamline workflows.
  • Oversee managers in optimizing operational processes, workflows and systems
• Procurement Management:
  • Oversee quality procurement services by the procurement department  
  • Ensure supply chain systems support Educate! programs, enhancing client satisfaction through strong collaboration, motivation, and compliance with office and field systems, while innovating for efficient delivery from office to field.

• Office Management:
  • Oversee the Operations Manager and in implementing and maintaining effective administrative systems and procedures.
  • Ensure a safe and productive work environment for all staff.
• Field Logistics Management:
  • Oversee the development and lead the implementation of logistical strategies to ensure the smooth and efficient delivery of program resources to field locations.
  • Oversee the management of transportation, warehousing, and inventory control for field operations.

Financial Oversight & Strategic Management (35%)

• Financial Leadership:
  • Provide oversight to financial operations, ensuring finance remains dynamic & relevant to programs & operational delivery while ensuring adherence to budget constraints and best practices.
  • Embody and promote values of timeliness, accuracy, continuous learning, and data-driven decision-making in every financial operation.
  • Coordinate periodic country budgeting processes between MD, Finance Manager and Budget Managers, providing strategic recommendations on process, spending, investing and associated financial management culture
  • Collaborate with the Finance Manager to periodically review the internal control framework so as to manage risk and create a strong ethical environment
  • Exercise diligent leadership in approving payments and transactions, ensuring every decision reflects our commitment to financial integrity while safeguarding the organization’s financial health
  • Analyze financial data (quarterly reports, budgets) to identify trends and optimize cost-effectiveness.

• Compliance & Risk Management:
  • Minimize legal risks by understanding current and proposed legislation, enforcing regulations, recommending new procedures, and complying with legal requirements.
  • Develop and oversee the implementation of robust compliance management strategies to ensure all departments adhere to regulatory requirements, and organize presentations and meetings to enhance awareness of compliance protocols and external requirements within our industry.
  • maintain an updated comprehensive checklist of legal statuses and progress, shared quarterly with the Managing Director.
  • Manage all legal aspects of the organization, including contracts, agreements, and legal disputes. Liaise with external legal counsel, auditors, and taxation lawyers as needed.

 Strategic Planning, Programmatic Alignment & Support – 20%

• Strategic Planning & Communication 
  • Collaborate with the MD & DCOO in the development of the country's operational plan, aligning with organizational goals and priorities.
  • Communicate operational performance metrics and progress reports to senior leadership.

• Programmatic Alignment & Support 
  • Collaborate with program teams to understand operational needs and ensure alignment with overall program goals.
  • Identify opportunities to improve program delivery through efficient resource allocation. 
  • Develop and implement systems and processes that enhance communication and collaboration between program and operational teams.
  • Foster a customer-centric culture within the operations team to enhance service delivery while anticipating and mitigating risks.
  • Develop and implement operational efficiency-related initiatives & training programs within the operations team to ensure the team is dynamic and delivering to efficient standards.
  • Collaborate with departments to implement and assess compliance with the Child Protection and Safeguarding policies

Qualifications 

• Dynamic experience highly preferred, with demonstrated ability to operate well in complex and fast-changing environments 
•  8+ years of work experience, with 5+ years of operational management and/or leadership experience 
• Experience managing medium to large-size teams and balancing multiple priorities 
• Financial integrity and budget management experience 
• Passion for Educate!’s mission is a must, but past work in education or youth development is not required. 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