Strategic Project Manager at Educate!

In this role, you will lead a portfolio of strategic projects, specializing in high priority initiatives with external government stakeholders and in internal projects which contribute to Educate!’s long term strategies. Educate! is on an exciting journey of growth, and the work you do to create new systems and ways of working will be a critical part of building a game-changing organization, as we work towards our organizational vision of measurably impacting 1 million students across Africa each year.

We have already partnered with governments in Rwanda and Kenya to support skills-based curriculum reforms through our education system solutions, and results from a rigorous impact evaluation have shown that our cost-effective solutions create a real impact on youth through national education systems. The Strategic Project Manager  will work closely with the Chief Education Innovation Officer (CEdIO), Regional Director of Partnerships and our program and advocacy experts in Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda to continue developing ways of working and program models that support long-term changes to education systems and meaningful, sustainable curriculum reforms.

The right person for this role will:

• Be motivated to work with government education systems to create a broad and sustainable impact on youth through those systems.
• Enjoy collaborative working across geographies and teams, and thrive in bringing structure and systems to complex and fast-changing environments
• Enjoy varied and flexible work - from supporting high profile government events, to troubleshooting problems internally - on initiatives that contribute to Educate!’s future success. Experience might come from work in consultancy, government policy and communications, or project management in a social impact setting.
• Be driven to shape the role and their own career path. Educate! is growing rapidly and this role comes with opportunities to develop skills and experience in a range of fields including education policy, communications, fundraising, strategy, and product development. 

Qualifications and profile

• 3+ years’ experience in a projects environment in a public sector context, with a professional background in an area such as consultancy, external communications or policy engagement.
• Ability to tailor research and policy insights for different audiences, with experience of producing high quality deliverables such as policy briefs and benchmarking reports to deadlines.
• Experience in building systems and processes for use by different stakeholders.
• Experience of collaboration in a multi-disciplinary and remote working environment, as well as ability to work independently on deliverables.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to manage internal and external stakeholders, including those in more senior positions.
• Demonstrated ability to operate well in complex and fast-changing environments.
• 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
• This role will preferable be based in East Africa, though we are open to virtual candidates willing to include travel to East Africa