Development Director

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! is seeking a strategic, dynamic, flexible, and systems-oriented Director of Development to lead and grow Educate!’s global development/fundraising function. 

As Director of Development, you’ll report to the CEO and serve as a senior leader across the organization, overseeing a team of 9 . You’ll be responsible for managing a team across several countries, advancing our philanthropy strategy, leveling up our grants systems and storytelling, and cultivating a high-performing team culture rooted in learning and accountability. You’ll serve alongside a peer leader who oversees the large contracting institutions (e.g. Gates, bilaterals). 

We're looking for a stellar builder and manager—someone who enjoys coaching and mentoring people, and sees systems as a tool for scaling excellence, not bureaucracy. You know how to put structure in place without slowing down momentum, and you thrive in dynamic environments where the path forward isn’t always obvious. You’re excited to coach others, not afraid to jump into the work and solve hard problems, and evolve to respond to shifting external landscapes—from the AI revolution to shifting trends in global development and donor behavior. 

We have a preference for candidates based in the UK or East Africa, but are open to remote employees in the US who can accommodate East Africa time zones. We are also open to discussing additional geographies for the right candidate. 

What You’ll Do🌟

1. Steward and Scale Educate!'s Development and Revenue Strategy

• Oversee strategic foundation and high-net-worth revenue strategy, serving as vital partner to the CEO and coach and mentor to the Director of Philanthropy 
• Manage a portfolio of funders and partners, and build relationship management systems, best practices, and team capacity building the Philanthropy team 
• Lead and grow Educate!’s grants function, including training and growing grant writing and reporting capacity for junior teammates and managers on the Philanthropy Team, while building and strengthening existing grants systems and processes that support growth 
• Position Educate! for long-term revenue growth by keeping a close pulse on emerging and/or shifting sector trends while adapting strategy and systems so Educate!’s development team remains dynamic 

2. Build and Improve Development Systems and Processes to Position for Growth

• Identify key gaps and areas for improvement or growth within Educate!’s development team, and steward projects from ideation through implementation to improve systems and processes. 
• Design and implement scalable systems for grant writing, reporting, data practices, relationship management, and more
• Partner with teammates across the development team to strengthen team workflows, grant operations, and fundraising systems—leveraging tools like AI to increase efficiency and quality outputs 

3. Lead, Empower, and Grow Educate!’s High-Performing Development Team

• Serve as a coach and mentor for Educate!’s Philanthropy team, and as vital teammate to the US Managing Director, who oversees institutional (e.g. Gates Foundation) sales and delivery, and overall external team operations. 
• Oversee and manage overall team performance alongside Educate!’s US Managing Director, setting and guiding workflows, and overseeing overall team performance and growth 
• Grow and strengthen Educate!’s high-performing development team, identifying gaps and areas for growth, while developing and implementing key trainings and capacity building to continuously grow and level up the function (e.g., grant writing workshops, compliance trainings, etc.) 
• Lead strategy and management of key team workflows and coordination (e.g., team calls, organizing annual retreats, etc.) 
• Build and foster a fast-paced, high-performing culture of accountability, ownership, learning, and sharp execution

4. Shape and Steward Educate!’s External Narrative

• Develop and strengthen Educate!’s external narrative for support and investment, working closely with senior development team members to evolve the message in response to sector trends and insights 
• Support the development of compelling, credible, and inspiring communication materials across the Philanthropy team 
• Serve as vital teammate and thought partner to the CEO and coach and mentor to the Communications team on branding, messaging, and long-term positioning of Educate!’s work and impact 

Who You Are 🦸‍♀️🦸‍♂️ 

• 8+ years of work experience (including management and leadership experience)  
• Proven track record of leading and growing high-performing teams within a fast-paced and dynamic environment, with highest level of personal and professional integrity. Demonstrated experience managing dispersed teams and working across time zones preferred. 
• Experience building systems and processes for growth—from developing new workflows and infrastructure (e.g., grants, CRM, reporting) to coaching team members and fostering a culture of high performance 
• Great communicator and storyteller, with the ability to distill complex ideas into compelling narratives across written and verbal formats 
• Experience managing a portfolio of external partners and relationships preferred, and driving strategy and drafting high-quality fundraising materials for diverse audiences (e.g., grant proposals, reports, etc.) 
• Strategic thinker with an ‘always learning’ mindset—comfortable navigating ambiguity, driving towards clarity, and evolving systems and approaches in dynamic environments 
• A proactive self-starter and extremely organized operator who isn’t afraid to jump in and/or steward projects from start to finish 
• Passion for expanding economic opportunity and employment for young people — and belief in the potential of Africa’s youth 
• Fits our Five Culture Tenets (see What is Educate! About? below); Learn more by looking at Educate!’s culture deck here 

Terms 

• Preference for candidates based in the UK or East Africa, but we’re open to remote employees in the US who can accommodate East Africa time zones. We are also open to discussing additional geographies for the right candidate. 
• Prior experience living and working in Africa is a plus. This role will require travel to East Africa. 

What We Offer 💼

• A vibrant, mission-driven environment with a supportive and fun team. 
• Competitive salary based on experience.
• Learning & growth opportunities  

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.