Head of Program Implementation , Tanzania

Who We Are! 

🌍 Africa has the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population. By 2035, the continent is poised to contribute more young 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.

To date, more than 500,000 youth have been meaningfully impacted across Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania, and along the way, Educate! has become the largest youth employment and skills provider in East Africa.

Educate! is a team of over 300 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, Livelihood Impact Fund,  Jack Dorsey’s #startsmall, 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.

Good to note: To Our Awesome Applicants! 🚀💫

We know that incredible candidates sometimes hesitate to apply if they don’t meet every requirement. If this role excites you, we encourage you to apply! 

We’re looking for passionate individuals who believe in our mission and can bring unique perspectives to our team—not just those who check every box. We value diversity and strongly encourage women and individuals from all backgrounds to apply.

Position Overview

Educate!, the largest youth skills service provider in East Africa, is seeking a dynamic and enthusiastic HoPI (Head of Program Implementation) for the Tanzania Programs. This role is crucial for driving the growth and implementation of Educate! Program in Tanzania as we scale our efforts to impact millions of youths across Africa. As HoPI, you will lead the Program Implementation strategy, co-create processes, and foster a strong team culture. You’ll also collaborate with other departments to ensure efficient delivery and an impactful user experience through effective financial oversight. 

To all our amazing applicants: We are a diverse team and we strongly encourage women and individuals from diverse backgrounds to apply, even if you don’t meet every single requirement. We value potential, growth, and diverse perspectives in our team. 

Performance Objectives 

Program Management and Implementation Strategy (40%) 

• Participate in the co-creation of a scalable delivery model and expansion strategies for new counties with Impact Unit leaders and frontline teams. 
• Experiment with implementation strategies that unlock breakthrough ideas around recruitment, delivery, and community partnerships that enhance the org Brand 
• Manage the program and take full ownership of driving the impact goals, delivery KPIs, and the user experience. 
• Drive broad alignment with other relevant leaders to ensure that both internal and Payer program commitments are met while flagging any potential misalignments or need for trade-offs 
• Co-create and track stage and Quarterly goals and objectives with Impact unit leaders and program managers and lead alignment with other functional leaders where necessary 
• Create a data-driven culture for program management, ensure all decisions are backed by data and all the teams have clear data visibility and are empowered to use data in their day-to-day work 

Team Culture & Leadership (25%) 

• Establish, monitor, and reinforce systems and structures that build a high-performing and culturally aligned team. 
• Manage the Program management team to achieve program objectives, build strong frontline teams, and train the managers to strengthen their leadership capabilities 
• Serve as a coach and mentor to staff, empowering the team to achieve exceptional results 
• Build Leadership Mindset and brand ambassadors among program teams from top to bottom including contractors. 
• Model and establish initiatives that promote Educate!’s cultural tenets. Establish a mentor-centered management culture. Ensure honesty, integrity, and professionalism of teams. 
• Establish and cascade a culture that places a premium on respect, collaboration, and inclusivity while continuously ensuring that the team is operating in a psychologically safe environment. 
• Create team growth management strategy and maintain a healthy talent pipelining within the program 
• Conduct 3 tier management by observing the Program Officers, trainers, and other field teams in their role and offering insights on improvements and growth 

Collaboration & System Development (20%) 

• Oversee the development of Program Management standards, systems, and management tools that support the product at scale. 
• Co-develop 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 performance metrics, Product Design, Performance Metrics, and Tech to close gaps in strategy and implementation. This can be through but not limited to implementing the rapid assessment process for agile learning 
• Create and update the departmental sprint plans and manage the learning process through sprint calls to ensure teams know what has been learned, and how it has been learned and make recommendations. 
• Partner with Performance Metrics to build end-to-end product dashboards oversee information management systems (M&E and programs) and adapt as necessary to receive timely and accurate data. 

Financial Oversight (15%) 

• Co-develop and take full ownership of program budgets and ensure that this is aligned to the product stage strategy that optimizes for cost and strategic alignment to the Educate!’s budgeting philosophy 
• Manage the Cost Per Youth in the planning cycle, share proposals that bring the biggest product cost drivers down to the Managing Director 
• Instil a culture of cost-effectiveness and cost-consciousness, and always think about scalable costs as teams develop budgets and proposals. 
• Co-develop and review annual and quarterly program budgets, review Budget vs Actual with the program managers and ensure that the budget spent is within the approved threshold. 
• Work with the program manager on the strategy to uncover issues of fraud and/or misuse of funds. Ensure all members of the programs management team uphold policies and procedures in instances of fraud or misuse of funds. 

Qualifications 

• Looking for a steady, highly organized strategic thinker & operational planner and an implementation superstar with at least 4 years of experience owning and managing programs while building/improving necessary processes/systems 
• Experience working in the Education and youth space or entrepreneurship-related programs at a start-up or social enterprise is preferred. 
• Managed a diverse team for at least 5 years, building a culture for high-performing teams. Can thrive in a very agile/ adaptive environment. 
• Experience building efficient processes and systems to ensure quality last-mile delivery. 
• Passionate about addressing systemic problems.
• Fits our Five Cultural Tenets (see What is Educate! About? below). Learn more by looking at Educate!’s culture deck here 

Terms 

• The location is in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 

What We Offer 💼

• A vibrant, mission-driven environment with a supportive and fun team.
• Flexibility— Hybrid work environment to empower you in your mode of work. 
• 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.