We are seeking a high-potential all-rounder to accelerate our work in youth entrepreneurship, education and career advancement across Africa.
Overview:
This position will work at the intersection of some of Africa’s biggest opportunities – workforce development, youth entrepreneurship, education reform and community-driven impact networks. African Leadership Academy (ALA) is a pioneer in these areas through its Programs Division – a team of almost 50 people who collectively hold the mandate to deliver on ALA’s mission “beyond the school” with through programs like the
Anzisha Prize and
Africa Career Networks.
The Chief of Staff, Programs Division (CoS PD) will be a key enabler of the division’s strategy, results and impact. The CoS PD supports the Chief Programs Officer and in defining the division’s key priorities, setting plans, allocating resources and monitoring results. In this role, the CoS PD will build rhythms of clarity, collaboration and accountability across programs and program leaders. The CoS PD is also a key enabler of internal and external stakeholder management, including division-wide meetings, collaboration with other divisions and key partner communication.
As divisional needs and priorities shift so will the priorities and responsibilities of the CoS PD. They will take ownership of critical projects, build systems and processes and coordinate across teams and functions.
Responsibilities:
- Drive our Rhythms, Planning & Prioritisation: The CoS PD will work with the CPO and other program leaders to define the strategic, annual and quarterly objectives of the division and its programs. The CoS will leverage a calendar of rhythms to ensure the CPO and program leaders are reviewing performance and focused on the most important results. The CoS will build visibility and transparency into these rhythms through effective agenda-setting and simple reporting. They will be responsible for coordinating the critical rhythms of the division: planning, budgeting and performance management.
- Align our Tracking & Reporting: The CoS PD will sit at the centre of coordination efforts between program teams and our shared business service teams – finance, impact measurement, people. The CoS PD will be responsible for identifying and improving the approaches, processes and tools required to deliver on internal and external tracking and reporting requirements with excellence. In doing so, CoS PD will be able to quickly answer questions related to the planned vs actual performance of program activities, finances and impact indicators.
- Accelerate our Shared Infrastructure: The Programs Division depends increasingly on an evolving, common technology stack and set of policies to deliver our hybrid model. The CoS PD will accelerate the pace of the evolution of this infrastructure by improving the relationships with key service providers and coordination between internal and external teams. The CoS strengthen this work by providing strong research and recommendation inputs into procurement and implementation choices while ensuring a repository of documentation exists to track decisions made and enable effective use by team members of all levels.
- Build our Culture & Community: The CoS PD will have the unique opportunity and responsibility to identify ways to improve the ways teams understand and support each other, fostering inclusivity. You will design and execute a calendar of activities that has the highest community yield with the smallest commitment of time, including a division-wide onboarding program, in-person annual retreat and set of activities that engage the faculty and students of the Academy.
Due to the broad scope of influence and responsibility, the CoS PD will review and reset their priorities regularly within a given planning period. Priorities may shift on a weekly basis and key objectives must be reviewed at least every quarter. The CoS PD should expect to operate with a good deal of autonomy in defining and pursuing these priorities.
Ideal candidate:
The ideal candidate is exceptional at the synthesis of information and coordination of people and work. Being fundamentally curious about the practice and evolution of education, entrepreneurship and leadership development in Africa will heighten your motivation to maximise the outcomes that could result from your efforts. You enjoy different and varied work and get as much reward from supporting the success of others as you do from the projects you deliver independently.
Qualifications/Ideal Candidate:
- Bachelor's degree and 5+ years’ experience in a relevant field.
- Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities.
- Proven experience in managing projects and developing financial models/budgets.
- Highly organized and detail-oriented individual.
- Ability to work with diverse groups and build collaborative relationships.
- Passion for our mission of supporting young leaders across Africa.
- Proficiency in MS Tools: Excel and PowerPoint, as well as workflow and performance management tools, such as: Trello, Planner, Air table etc.
- A competence with technology will be advantageous for managing the division’s digital infrastructure (websites, databases etc).
Location: This role is based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Travel and relocation support will be provided to a successful candidate outside South Africa.
