Director of Operations Job at Andela

About The Role

Andela is hiring a Director of Operations, a seasoned professional who is passionate about building the next generation of technology and business leaders in Africa. Andela is in the process of developing its first 1000+ man facility in Nairobi. As the Director of Operations, you will be responsible for ensuring that this massive operation not only comes to fruition but is ran at world class levels. That we are able to continuously and very effectively stride towards our constant unlocking of world class talent, with the utmost efficiency.

You bring more than passion to the role: you are a world-class leader with exceptional operational expertise and demonstrated strong leadership skills. You’re an expert in building and managing complex operations and developing the processes necessary for scale. You know how to think – and act – big, while holding a strong moral compass in everything you do.

Responsibilities

The key attributes for this role are:

• Strategic Thinking. You have a strong ability to think strategically and plan for the future. You are able to assess trade-offs, risks, opportunities, and can see the big picture clearly even while getting through the day to day hurdles.
• Operational Excellence. Whether in building your own company or previous experience working in operations at a company, you demonstrated expertise in designing and managing processes for scale, managing budgets, and building lasting systems for strong personnel management.
• Demonstrated ability to build and scale organizations or initiatives. You are entrepreneurial and creative, eager to find ways to develop talent, build a team, and set up a business for scale. You have strong business skills and will be comfortable engaging multiple teams who are core to the success of Andela. You have a natural ability to work across borders to connect with our global team to help scale our operations in Kenya and around the world.
• Team building and cross-cultural skills. You should have significant experience leading strong teams; and you should be an expert at working with diverse groups of learners. It is also important that you have a demonstrated understanding of what it takes to build high performance teams and a best in class operations department.
• A deep commitment to our mission. We are looking for a leader with evidence of curiosity, and a deep commitment to lifelong learning. You will have demonstrated an ability and interest in creating large-scale change and impact. This could be seen through your involvement in building organizations, companies or non-profits and developing talent in some area that is meaningful to you.

Your Day-to-day Would Have You

Lead all operational elements of Andela Kenya

• Lead the running of all operational aspects of the business in Kenya.
• Optimize current operational activities and make adjustment based on learnings
• Oversee the facilities and real estate team, including both office and residential properties to ensure safety and security across multiple locations
• Develop and maintain highly detailed budgets and timely financial projections
• Complete quarterly (or more) financial and operational reviews and reports

Build strong processes and systems.

• Maintain and create highly-structured processes and systems with a data-driven approach

• Maintain and create “playbooks,” detailed manuals that document all relevant parts of the Andela operating model; continually update and improve manuals in preparation for supporting other teams
• Collaborate with the Country Director to build systems and processes that successfully communicate all topline recurring indicators of success and that explain and troubleshoot any major outliers or obstacles to success

Manage, coach and mentor a strong team.

• Manage all operations staff members including facilities, logistics, and other cross-functional teams
• Provide structured evaluations of employee performance at least twice a year
• Suggest and create job descriptions, screen candidates and make recommendations for any needed roles in addition to existing team

Support expansion to other locations in your country and across Africa.

• Make recommendations to Andela leadership about what’s needed in setting up operations for future locations in your region
• Be part of a larger team to design and execute Andela’s growth strategy

Qualifications

Ideal candidates for this role will have:

• At least 7-10 years of post-undergraduate, full-time work experience
• Experience managing operations, including detailed budgeting and reporting, in a complex environment
• Experience rapidly growing /scaling a project
• Experience developing and managing a culture of continuous learning and improvement
• Experience managing and coordinating teams to deliver on a tight schedule
• Work and living experience in emerging markets, particularly in Kenya or elsewhere in Africa
• Record of strong academic performance from a leading undergraduate and, if attended, graduate institution
• Experience at start-ups a plus, but not required

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.