1. Provincial Government Partnerships (PEDs)
Work closely with Franchisors and branches to support and capacitate them to:
- Build and maintain strong, trusted relationships with Provincial Education Departments (PEDs).
- Support joint planning processes by sharing spatial data, mapping analysis, and community insights to guide provincial prioritisation of underserved areas.
- Strengthen collaboration on the Bana Pele Blueprint, mass registration, compliance pathways, and red-tape reduction.
- Develop and maintain provincial partnership agreements, MoUs, and implementation frameworks.
- Represent SmartStart at provincial intersectoral forums, ensuring early learning is recognised as a provincial priority and that SmartStart’s model is understood and valued.
- Surface systemic barriers (registration, subsidy access, infrastructure constraints) and co-develop solutions with PEDs.
2. Education District-Level Collaboration
- Support Franchisors and Branches to work with District DBE officials to embed SmartStart’s value proposition at district level, including support for informal ELPs and the registration and subsidy pipeline.
- Collaborate closely with Branches, Programme Leads, and the Network Support Team to ensure consistent and effective approaches to district and municipal engagement
3. Municipal Engagement
- Support the role out of SmartStart’s community engagement protocol as a norms shifting tool to enable Franchisors and branches to build structured and long-term partnerships with municipalities which expand access to early learning programmes and address regulatory barriers
- Build capacity of the network (Branches, Franchisors, Programme Leads) to engage municipalities effectively and present unified, contextually relevant proposals.
4. Ecosystem Engagement & Local Partnerships
- Support ongoing ecosystem mapping to ensure we can build the right partnerships with RTOs, NGOs, CBOs, local ECD Forums, faith-based structures, and community stakeholders to strengthen local Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) ecosystems.
- Support the development of infrastructure, nutrition and other strategic partnerships aligned to SmartStart’s orchestrator/enabler model.
- Position SmartStart as a trusted partner in community-level ECCE planning and problem-solving.
5. Internal Coordination & Support
- Collaborate closely with SmartStart Branches, Franchisors, Programme Leads, and the Network Support Team to ensure partnership engagements translate into operational improvements and local system change.
- Provide guidance, tools, templates, and messaging to support Branches/Franchisors in navigating provincial and municipal relationships.
- Feed provincial insights into national-level strategy, including advocacy priorities and policy opportunities.
- Support MEL processes by documenting partnership performance, systemic changes, and lessons learned.
Requirements
- 7+ years in partnerships, public sector engagement, ECCE/ECD, education systems, or development sectors.
- A track-record of success working with government (provincial, district, municipal).
- Experience managing complex, multi-sectoral partnerships with NGOs, RTOs, CBOs, and community-level actors.
- Desirable: Understanding of ECCE/ECD policy frameworks and provincial implementation dynamics.
- Bachelor’s degree in Education, Public Policy, Development Studies, Social Sciences, or related field (postgraduate preferred).
- Driver’s licence and willingness to travel extensively across the country.
Benefits
Benefits included in CTC. Medical aid and provident fund.
