Head of Program Implementation - Oosy, Uganda

Position Overview

Educate!, the largest youth skills service provider in East Africa is looking for a dynamic and enthusiastic Head of Program Implementation (HoPI) for Out of School Youth Programs to drive the growth and Implementation of our out of school youth products in Uganda towards a scale journey contributing to the broader organization vision of impacting millions of Youths across Africa. As a HoPI, you will oversee programs Implementation strategy to co-create implementation processes and strategies while building strong culture and execution through  team  leadership, while leading collaboration with other departments for smoother delivery of an impactful user experience in an efficient manner through financial oversight. 

About Educate! 

Africa has the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population. By 2035, the continent is poised to contribute more people to the global workforce each year than the rest of the world combined. 

At Educate! we're obsessed with impact. We leverage iterative learning to build highly scalable youth employment solutions aimed at unlocking the potential of the world’s youngest continent. 

Educate! prepares youth in Africa learn, earn and thrive in today’s economy by: 

1) introducing an employment-focused school subject into secondary, and 

2) delivering livelihood bootcamps for out-of-school youth, with a focus on marginalized rural girls and young women.

To date, more than 250,000 youth have been meaningfully impacted across Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya, and along the way, Educate! has become the largest youth employment and skills provider in East Africa.

Educate! is a team of over 250 largely African staff and 300 volunteer youth mentors. We prioritize building an engaging, fulfilling and growth oriented work environment. 50% of our top 30 leaders have been with us for over 5 years, 10+ alumni have started their own organizations and 6 current or former team members were Acumen Fund East Africa fellows. 

We have been backed by top foundations such as Imaginable Futures, Big Bang Philanthropy,  #startsmall, Generation Unlimited, CIFF and Echidna Giving. Educate! won a 2018 Klaus J. Jacobs Prize and a 2015 WISE Award, and has been highlighted by the World Bank’s S4YE's Impact Portfolio, an Al Jazeera documentary, BBC, The Brookings Institution as one of 14 case studies on scaling education, and the Gates Foundation as a Goalkeepers Accelerator. In 2022, we received a catalytic investment from philanthropist Mackenzie Scott to scale our systems change work.

Educate!'s long-term vision is to design solutions that measurably impact millions of youth across Africa each year. By 2025, we aim to scale our annual reach by 4x and measurably impact over 400,000 new youth. 

Performance Objectives

Program Implementation Strategy (35%)

• Lead the co-creation and validation  of  scalable program delivery model options with program managers and frontline teams 
• Oversee development of program standards, delivery model systems and management tools
• Experiment with implementation strategies that spur  breakthrough ideas around recruitment and program delivery.
• Use information & lessons from sprints, experiments, & pilots to inform the program design and implementation strategy for OOSY & high school graduates  bootcamps
• Plan and lead program strategy development by leading team retreats, ensuring documentation and communication of strategic decisions.
• Evaluate plans & staffing structure to be in line with an agile/scrum organization structure.

Team culture & Program Management (30%)

• Establish structures that build a high performing and culturally aligned team that uses data in a psychologically safe environment. Build Leadership Mindset and brand ambassadors among programs teams from top to bottom including contractors.
• Manage the Program management team to achieve program objectives through team routines, retreats, priority direction and data driven leadership among other initiatives.
• Instill a culture of cost effectiveness and thinking about scalable costs as teams develop budgets and proposals.
• Develop clear performance expectations, leading a co-creation process for frontline team recruitment process, and building performance management systems
• Model and promote Educate!’s cultural tenets. Establish a mentor-centered management culture. Ensure honesty and integrity of management style and information.

Collaboration & System Development (20%)

• Approve program procedures and  handbooks while building effective communication channels across programs and operations teams
• Identify areas that need new systems, co create with the team & improve on already existing systems
• Collaborate with M&E, Design , Monitoring, tech to close gaps on strategy and implementation. This can be through but not limited to implementing the rapid assessment process for agile learning
• Collaborate with field Ops to ensure last field mile timelines are planned and met to ensure better program user experience.

Financial Oversight (15%)

• Co- develop program cost models that indicate the cost per Youth with the managing Director during the planning cycle and share proposals to the Managing director  bring the biggest product cost drivers down 
• Co- develop program budget with the Program manager and efficiently utilize -/+5% expenditure rate.
• Coach managers on how to review org-wide financial reports and department specific budget vs. actual reports (budget trackers) to ensure proper use of funds. Submit revised budgets to Managing Director and suggest budget management growth areas

Qualifications

• Looking for a steady highly organized strategic thinker & operational  planner with at least 5 years experience owning and  managing programs while building/improving necessary  processes/systems
• Experience working in youth or entrepreneurship related programs at a start-up or social enterprise is preferred.
• Managed a diverse team for at least 3 years building culture for high performing teams. Can thrive  in a very agile/ adaptive environment.
• Fits our Five Cultural Tenets (see What is Educate! About? below); Learn more by looking at Educate!’s culture deck here 

Terms 

• Location is in Kampala, Uganda 
• Compensation will be competitive and based on experience. 
• Health insurance will be included. 
• Position reports to the Country Director.  

Application Process

• Interviews Shortlisting and interviews will be on a rolling basis with a goal to fill position ASAP.

What Is Educate! About? 

We’re ambitious. Are you? Educate! is growing fast, so new opportunities are opening up and expanding all the time. We’re inspired by people with drive, and we love to help them reach their full potential. We expect everyone at Educate! to contribute above and beyond their job description, grow their skills, and advance their careers, and we are committed to supporting our staff members on that journey of their careers, and we are committed to supporting our staff members on that journey.

1. We put Youth First, Impact-Obsessed - We never forget that Educate! exists to impact youth. We are purpose-driven. We obsess over impact daily and if it doesn’t lead to impact, we want nothing to do with it. We prioritize interacting with and listening to youth. We design and manage the organization to ensure every dollar creates transformative experiences that youth value. 
2. We Exceed Expectations - We take pride in going above and beyond to achieve the best results. When we know what needs to be done, we do it. We don’t wait to be asked and we don’t stop at what is asked of us. We look for solutions as much as we identify problems.
3. We Are Always Learning - We are committed to seeking and applying new knowledge and ideas. We stay open-minded. We know there is always another way and we are excited to learn about it. We continuously look for resources of all kinds from multiple disciplines. We try new things, experiment, grow, and improve. We invest in learning for ourselves and our teams.
4. We are One Team, Many Views - We say what we think while treating each other well. We believe that all people have the same inherent value and that diverse ideas and open dialogue fuel excellence. We constantly strive to create an environment where everyone can and does express themselves freely. We support and respect each other as people and colleagues. We act as one team: We prioritize the organization's mission and goals over team or individual goals.
5. We have the Startup Mindset - We will always keep innovating to grow our impact. We aspire to be game-changing. We never think “we have arrived” or “we’re done.” We question the status quo in our industry. We move fast and embrace change to move towards our long-term vision. We’re not afraid of failure. We interrogate anything that slows us down. 

Every person at Educate! — from interns to the executive director — is evaluated by how they live up to these five cultural tenets. They are at the core of how we achieve our mission and why we work as well as we do. 

Educate is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all who interact in our community.  In creating this environment, we encourage people from a variety of cultures, backgrounds and life experiences to join our diverse team. 

Child Safeguarding: Educate! is committed to child-safe/youth-safe recruitment, selection and screening. Our recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to the safety and protection of children in our programs. The successful candidate will be required to provide a satisfactory Certificate of Good Conduct as a condition of employment. We reserve the right to decline to offer employment to an individual or terminate an employment contract with an employee that may pose a risk to children and youth.