Manager, Policy & Partnerships

Who We Are

Bridge Nigeria

Bridge (or Bridge International Academies) partners with parents and communities to create powerful, transformative schools that guarantee that all pupils, regardless of their parents’ income, education or the language they speak at home, are supported in realising their full potential, and can enjoy a gateway to success.

We create ‘community schools’ that provide life-changing education which transforms lives and opens the door to a successful future for our pupils. We do this by delivering academic excellence through accelerated learning, leadership skills development and providing a caring environment that supports growth. We empower a network of committed, trained and prepared teachers while leveraging technology. Our pedagogical techniques also are advanced and in line with best practice, and we deploy world class lessons to develop the most effective teacher training and support techniques, all with the aim of creating a truly pupil-centred classroom.

Since opening our first schools in Ijegun and Ikorodu, Lagos in 2015, our pupils have continued to exceed expectations and excel. Pupils at Bridge Nigeria have consistently achieved top performance in the National Common Entrance Examinations, receiving merit scholarships at Lead-Forte Gate College and winning places at some of the top secondary schools in the country, including King’s and Queen’s Colleges.

In Bridge, we believe that quality education has the power to transform the future of Nigeria’s youth. In joining us, you will become part of a team of dynamic and passionate Nigerians who are taking concrete action to help ensure a better future for all of Nigeria.

Policy & Partnerships

The Policy & Partnerships (P&P) team owns and manages critical relationships with regulators as well as individuals and corporate organisations providing scholarships and sponsorships, ensuring a sustained movement to transform the lives of millions of children through education. We lead pioneering efforts to revitalise Government-led delivery of education across the world and engage with visionary political and Government leadership to help shape policy, strengthen delivery and impact complex education systems through partnerships. We also engage with other dynamic influencers (NGO, donors, think-tanks and academicians) to unlock new ways of partnering to make high-quality education accessible to every child in underserved communities.

About the Role

The Manager, Policy and Partnership will play a substantial and crucial role in mobilising, growing and managing partnerships and sponsorships programmes across Bridge Nigeria. (S)he will use resource mobilisation, account management and communication (written and verbal) skills as well as administration experience to identify, develop, harness and manage collaborative relationships with external stakeholders at network/program level. This will involve sourcing new sponsors and partners and managing these relationships along with existing sponsors and partners particularly within the Non-governmental sector towards generating funding for the education of needy pupils across Bridge Schools in Nigeria. 

In this role you will maintain a database of prospective and existing partners and sponsors whilst collaborating with other internal departments to effectively manage the relationships, providing prompt responses to their enquiries/requests and actively follow up to ensure partners perform their own responsibilities and obligations. As part of this process you will be required to proactively and promptly communicate with sponsors and partners, and provide information and administrative support to aid the performance of their own obligations. The manager will be involved in developing proposals; reports on judicious use of funds provided; and performance scores of the scholarship beneficiaries and operational highlights of adopted schools.  

Furthermore, you will be responsible for managing the licensing / approval process for our schools and will act as the focal point of communication between the government and the organisation in issues related to Licensing and registration of the school. This will involve coordinating complex interactions with our regulators, including but not limited to the Office of Education Quality Assurance (Lagos state), State Ministries of Education and Local Government officials.

What you will do

• Plan, develop, administer and evaluate programs, activities and daily operations related to the Policy & Partnership support function

• Identify CSR partners in the private sector to strengthen Bridge International Academies’ market presence and delivery
• Research, scout and close on new sponsorship opportunities for Bridge pupils, events and adoption of schools
• Develop, update and manage database of potential partners and sponsors and drive conversion 
• Develop and defend proposals with potential partners and sponsors towards expanding sponsorship funding and programmes
• Utilise lead management techniques and maintain a detailed and dynamic database of key stakeholders while tracking progress
• Engage with the relevant departments within Bridge to identify needy pupils and jointly curate CSR programs where required

•  Coordinate use of sponsorship funding, and ensure that it goes to the identified pupils and schools whilst ensuring that accountability documents are provided to the partners and the sponsors on time

• Manage relationship with key stakeholders comprising government ministries, departments and agencies at the Federal, State and Local Government levels, as well as sponsors and partners
• Oversee the registration and approval process of  Bridge Nigeria owned schools  
• Conduct research/ monitor legislation and document findings for internal sharing to ensure internal awareness and compliance at both corporate and academy-level
• Analyse and present research findings or meeting highlights in a written and verbal format including preparing and managing master-sheets, briefing notes, executive summaries etc. 
• Prepare reports and presentations to deliver within Bridge Nigeria organisation and externally. You will also represent the organisation at industry forums and events
• Recruiting champions for  Bridge Nigeria at Federal, State and Local Government levels.
• Engage with existing or prospective partners and sponsors and provide necessary information and updates on their respective sponsorship programs and  beneficiaries

• Lead discussions during departmental and program-wide team meetings, contributing to strategy, discussions and decisions which will be beneficial to Bridge’s Policy & Partnerships initiatives
• Undertake any other specific Policy & Partnership projects as necessary. 

 What You Should Have:

• Bachelor’s Degree with superior academic performance
• Master’s Degree is an added advantage
• 10+ years’ experience working in a similar role the bulk of which should have been within the private or donor-funds /development or management consulting sectors, 4 of which should be at managerial level at the minimum
• Experience in acting as a company spokesperson; comfortable and skilled in both broadcast and  print media interviews
• Excellent written and oral communication skills 
• A deep understanding of how the different levels of the government work and how policies are advocated and formulated
• Roll Call of contacts within all levels of government in Nigeria
• Prior experience within a fast-paced, metric driven consulting or educational organisation
• Excellent writing and oral communication skills are required
• Ability to multitask and execute on various projects
• A strong-sense of teamwork and ability to both manage and execute programs 

You’re also 

• A detailed doer – You have a track record of getting things done, with at least 10 years of post-graduate school experience.  You’re organised and responsive.  You take ownership of every idea you touch and execute it to a fine level of detail, setting targets, engaging others, and doing whatever it takes to get the job done.  You can multitask dozens of such projects at once and never lose sight of the details.  Likely, you have some experience in a start-up or other rapid-growth company. 
• Self-driven - You are able to work independently, without prompting or push, driven by a sense of urgency and mindfulness around program goals in respect of pupil enrolment, bill clearance and schools financial health.
• A networking mastermind – You excel at meeting new people and turning them into advocates.  You communicate in a clear, conscientious, and effective way in both written documents and oral speech.  You can influence strangers in the course of a single conversation.  Allies and colleagues will go to bat for your ideas.  You have an existing network in Nigeria from prior experience in the country, preferably in the regulatory, education, or business sectors.
• A creative problem-solver – Growing any business from scratch comes with massive and constant challenges.  On top of that, Bridge works in volatile, low-resource communities and runs on fees averaging just $6 a month per pupil.  You need to be flexible and ready to get everything done effectively, quickly, and affordably with the materials at hand.  Every dollar you spend is a dollar our customers, who live on less than $2 a day, will have to pay for. 
• A customer advocate – Our customers – these families living on less than $2 a day per person – never leave your mind.  You know them, get them, have shared a meal with them (or would be happy to in the future).  You would never shrink back from shaking a parent’s hand or picking up a crying child, no matter what the person was wearing or looked like.  Every decision you make considers their customer benefit, experience, and value.
• A life-long learner – You believe you can always do better.  You welcome constructive criticism and provide it freely to others.  You know you only get better tomorrow when others point out where you’ve missed things or failed today.

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