Operations Director Kenya

Who We Are! 

🌍 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 to learn, earn and thrive in today’s economy by: 

1. Introducing an employment-focused school subject into secondary and 
2. Delivering livelihood Boot Camps for out-of-school youth, with a focus on marginalized rural girls and young women.

So far, we’ve impacted over 250,000 youth across Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya—and the largest youth employment and skills provider in East Africa. Our team of over 250 largely African staff and 300 volunteer mentors is passionate about creating meaningful change. Plus, 50% of our top 30 leaders have been with us for over five years! 🎉10+ alumni have started their organizations and 6 current or former team members were Acumen Fund East Africa fellows. 

Global organizations like  Imaginable Futures, Big Bang Philanthropy,  #startsmall, Generation Unlimited, CIFF and Echidna Giving have backed us and support our mission! 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’re on track to quadruple our reach and impact 400,000 youth annually. Want to join us on this journey?

Position Overview 

Educate!, an award-winning non-profit social enterprise, is seeking an Operations Director to lead operational excellence across our programs and support functions in Kenya. This is a leadership role ideal for someone who loves managing people and projects to seamless execution and is driven to maximize impact through excellent management practices, processes, and attention to detail. The right person for this role will have a history of achieving results through teams and experience managing projects (including budgets and support functions). 

You are the right fit for this role if you;

• Are a strategic thinker who can move deftly from vision to execution—perceiving emerging opportunities, building a goal-oriented strategy, aligning internal and external stakeholders around a shared vision, and driving implementation.
• Ability to thrive in dynamic and fast-changing environments, comfortable with uncertainty and change
• Have experience managing teams to execution and helping a team that is scaling or in the early stages of scale.
• Ability to manage goals, guide others through major changes, encourage teamwork, develop team capabilities, and motivate team leads to meet deadlines.
• Professional and interpersonal skills with the energy, vision and drive to succeed in a fast-paced, high-performance culture.
• Must be able to help the team set up systems, identify those needs, using and optimize those systems.  
• Ability to deeply understand a complex strategy, ability to make choices that support that strategy.
• Demonstrated financial acumen, a good understanding of budgeting, and experience drafting proposals and building systems

Sound like you or someone you know? Read below, visit our careers page to learn more about Educate!, 

Performance Objectives 

Operational Excellence & Efficiency (45%)

•  Team Leadership:
• Lead and manage a high-performing team across Finance, Administration and Procurement.
• Provide ongoing coaching and development opportunities.
• Process Optimization:
• Lead relevant managers in developing cost-effective, efficient office management, inventory management, procurement, communication, human resource, finance and staff collaboration systems to streamline workflows.
• Oversee managers in optimizing operational processes, workflows and systems
• Procurement Management:
• Oversee quality procurement services by the procurement department  
• Ensure supply chain systems support Educate! programs, enhancing client satisfaction through strong collaboration, motivation, and compliance with office and field systems, while innovating for efficient delivery from office to field.

• Office Management:
• Oversee the Operations Manager and in implementing and maintaining effective administrative systems and procedures.
• Ensure a safe and productive work environment for all staff.
• Field Logistics Management:
• Oversee the development and lead the implementation of logistical strategies to ensure the smooth and efficient delivery of program resources to field locations.
• Oversee the management of transportation, warehousing, and inventory control for field operations.

Financial Oversight & Strategic Management (35%)

• Financial Leadership:
• Provide oversight to financial operations, ensuring finance remains dynamic & relevant to programs & operational delivery while ensuring adherence to budget constraints and best practices.
• Embody and promote values of timeliness, accuracy, continuous learning, and data-driven decision-making in every financial operation.
• Coordinate periodic country budgeting processes between MD, Finance Manager and Budget Managers, providing strategic recommendations on process, spending, investing and associated financial management culture
• Collaborate with the Finance Manager to periodically review the internal control framework so as to manage risk and create a strong ethical environment
• Exercise diligent leadership in approving payments and transactions, ensuring every decision reflects our commitment to financial integrity while safeguarding the organization’s financial health
• Analyze financial data (quarterly reports, budgets) to identify trends and optimize cost-effectiveness.

• Compliance & Risk Management:
• Minimize legal risks by understanding current and proposed legislation, enforcing regulations, recommending new procedures, and complying with legal requirements.
• Develop and oversee the implementation of robust compliance management strategies to ensure all departments adhere to regulatory requirements, and organize presentations and meetings to enhance awareness of compliance protocols and external requirements within our industry.
• maintain an updated comprehensive checklist of legal statuses and progress, shared quarterly with the Managing Director.
• Manage all legal aspects of the organization, including contracts, agreements, and legal disputes. Liaise with external legal counsel, auditors, and taxation lawyers as needed.

 Strategic Planning, Programmatic Alignment & Support – 20%

• Strategic Planning & Communication 
• Collaborate with the MD & DCOO in the development of the country's operational plan, aligning with organizational goals and priorities.
• Communicate operational performance metrics and progress reports to senior leadership.

• Programmatic Alignment & Support 
• Collaborate with program teams to understand operational needs and ensure alignment with overall program goals.
• Identify opportunities to improve program delivery through efficient resource allocation. 
• Develop and implement systems and processes that enhance communication and collaboration between program and operational teams.
• Foster a customer-centric culture within the operations team to enhance service delivery while anticipating and mitigating risks.
• Develop and implement operational efficiency-related initiatives & training programs within the operations team to ensure the team is dynamic and delivering to efficient standards.
• Collaborate with departments to implement and assess compliance with the Child Protection and Safeguarding policies

Qualifications 

• Dynamic experience highly preferred, with demonstrated ability to operate well in complex and fast-changing environments 
•  8+ years of work experience, with 5+ years of operational management and/or leadership experience 
• Experience managing medium to large-size teams and balancing multiple priorities 
• Financial integrity and budget management experience 
• 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 (see What is Educate! About? below); Learn more by looking at Educate!’s culture deck here 

What We Offer 💼

• A vibrant, mission-driven environment with a supportive and fun team.
• Flexibility— Hybrid work environment with at least 3 days in our awesome Nairobi office (If working from the Nairobi office)!
• Competitive salary based on experience.
• Healthcare coverage for you and your dependents, work laptop, Internet & call stipend
• Learning & growth opportunities
• This is a Fixed term  contract with a possibility of extension based on performance

Application Process: Rolling basis, interviews happening soon!

Our Culture & Tenets(Values) 🌱

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 are purpose-driven, focused on impact, and prioritize what truly matters. We listen to youth, design our efforts around their needs, and ensure every dollar creates transformative experiences they value.
2. We Exceed Expectations - We take pride in going above and beyond to achieve the best results—proactively identifying problems and seeking solutions without waiting or stopping at what's requested.
3. We Are Always Learning - We are committed to seeking and applying new knowledge and ideas. We stay open-minded and continuously try new things, experiment, grow, and improve. We invest in learning for ourselves and our teams.
4. We are One Team, Many Views - We value all individuals, believe diverse ideas and open dialogue drive excellence, foster a supportive and respectful environment where everyone can freely express themselves. We work as one team and prioritize the organization's mission over personal or team interests.
5. We have the Startup Mindset - We innovate relentlessly to grow our impact, we never think “we have arrived” or “we’re done.”We constantly challenge the status quo, embrace change, and move quickly toward our vision. Unafraid of failure, we question anything that hinders progress.

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. 

We’re committed to ensuring all candidates are screened for child and youth safety. As part of the process, you’ll need to provide a Certificate of Good Conduct. Educate! reserves the right to withdraw employment offers if any risks to youth are identified.