Latest Jobs at Bridge International Academies

About The Role

• The Director, Policy and Partnership will play a substantial and crucial role in mobilising, growing and managing partnerships and sponsorships programmes across Bridge Nigeria. (S)he will use resource mobilisation, account management and communication (written and verbal) skills as well as administration experience to identify, develop, harness and manage collaborative relationships with external stakeholders at network/program level.
• This will involve sourcing new sponsors and partners and managing these relationships along with existing sponsors and partners particularly within the Non-governmental sector towards generating funding for the education of needy pupils across Bridge Schools in Nigeria.
• In this role you will maintain a database of prospective and existing partners and sponsors whilst collaborating with other internal departments to effectively manage the relationships, providing prompt responses to their enquiries/requests and actively follow up to ensure partners perform their own responsibilities and obligations.
• As part of this process you will be required to proactively and promptly communicate with sponsors and partners, and provide information and administrative support to aid the performance of their own obligations.
• The director will be involved in developing proposals; reports on judicious use of funds provided; and performance scores of the scholarship beneficiaries and operational highlights of adopted schools.
• Furthermore, you will be responsible for managing the licensing / approval process for our schools and will act as the focal point of communication between the government and the organisation in issues related to Licensing and registration of the school.
• This will involve coordinating complex interactions with our regulators, including but not limited to the Office of Education Quality Assurance (Lagos state), State Ministries of Education and Local Government officials.

What You Will Do

• Plan, develop, administer and evaluate programs, activities and daily operations related to the Policy & Partnership support function
• Identify CSR partners in the private sector to strengthen Bridge International Academies’ market presence and delivery
• Research, scout and close on new sponsorship opportunities for Bridge pupils, events and adoption of schools
• Develop, update and manage database of potential partners and sponsors and drive conversion
• Develop and defend proposals with potential partners and sponsors towards expanding sponsorship funding and programmes
• Utilise lead management techniques and maintain a detailed and dynamic database of key stakeholders while tracking progress
• Engage with the relevant departments within Bridge to identify needy pupils and jointly curate CSR programs where required
• Coordinate use of sponsorship funding, and ensure that it goes to the identified pupils and schools whilst ensuring that accountability documents are provided to the partners and the sponsors on time
• Manage relationship with key stakeholders comprising government ministries, departments and agencies at the Federal, State and Local Government levels, as well as sponsors and partners
• Oversee the registration and approval process of Bridge Nigeria owned schools
• Conduct research/ monitor legislation and document findings for internal sharing to ensure internal awareness and compliance at both corporate and academy-level
• Analyse and present research findings or meeting highlights in a written and verbal format including preparing and managing master-sheets, briefing notes, executive summaries etc.
• Prepare reports and presentations to deliver within Bridge Nigeria organisation and externally. You will also represent the organisation at industry forums and events
• Recruiting champions for Bridge Nigeria at Federal, State and Local Government levels.
• Engage with existing or prospective partners and sponsors and provide necessary information and updates on their respective sponsorship programs and beneficiaries
• Lead discussions during departmental and program-wide team meetings, contributing to strategy, discussions and decisions which will be beneficial to Bridge’s Policy & Partnerships initiatives
• Undertake any other specific Policy & Partnership projects as necessary.

What You Should Have:

• Bachelor’s Degree with superior academic performance
• Master’s Degree is an added advantage
• 10+ years’ experience working in a similar role the bulk of which should have been within the private or donor-funds /development or management consulting sectors, 4 of which should be at managerial level at the minimum
• Experience in acting as a company spokesperson; comfortable and skilled in both broadcast and print media interviews
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• A deep understanding of how the different levels of the government work and how policies are advocated and formulated
• Roll Call of contacts within all levels of government in Nigeria
• Prior experience within a fast-paced, metric driven consulting or educational organisation
• Excellent writing and oral communication skills are required
• Ability to multitask and execute on various projects
• A strong-sense of teamwork and ability to both manage and execute programs

You’re also

• A detailed doer – You have a track record of getting things done, with at least 10 years of post-graduate school experience. You’re organised and responsive. You take ownership of every idea you touch and execute it to a fine level of detail, setting targets, engaging others, and doing whatever it takes to get the job done. You can multitask dozens of such projects at once and never lose sight of the details. Likely, you have some experience in a start-up or other rapid-growth company.
• Self-driven - You are able to work independently, without prompting or push, driven by a sense of urgency and mindfulness around program goals in respect of pupil enrolment, bill clearance and schools financial health.
• A networking mastermind – You excel at meeting new people and turning them into advocates. You communicate in a clear, conscientious, and effective way in both written documents and oral speech. You can influence strangers in the course of a single conversation. Allies and colleagues will go to bat for your ideas. You have an existing network in Nigeria from prior experience in the country, preferably in the regulatory, education, or business sectors.
• A creative problem-solver – Growing any business from scratch comes with massive and constant challenges. On top of that, Bridge works in volatile, low-resource communities and runs on fees averaging just $6 a month per pupil. You need to be flexible and ready to get everything done effectively, quickly, and affordably with the materials at hand. Every dollar you spend is a dollar our customers, who live on less than $2 a day, will have to pay for.
• A customer advocate – Our customers – these families living on less than $2 a day per person – never leave your mind. You know them, get them, have shared a meal with them (or would be happy to in the future). You would never shrink back from shaking a parent’s hand or picking up a crying child, no matter what the person was wearing or looked like. Every decision you make considers their customer benefit, experience, and value.
• A life-long learner – You believe you can always do better. You welcome constructive criticism and provide it freely to others. You know you only get better tomorrow when others point out where you’ve missed things or failed today.

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About the Role

• We are looking for an operationally focused, relentlessly driven star to lead our People Group across the programme. This is a high-impact role for someone who loves challenges. You will be laser focused on motivating and retaining our best staff, and will work to ensure that our service delivery positively impacts all staff. 
• The ideal candidate comes from a strong commercial background. You may have retail, operations, or consulting experiences, with a strong track record managing organisations and people in very fast-paced environments.
• You are energetic, tireless, relentless, and you are comfortable dealing with people of all backgrounds.

What You Will Do

• Ensure top-notch global People service delivery. This means ensuring that all processes that touch employee needs are running smoothly. This includes all aspects of the employee life cycle, including contracting, employee on-boarding, payroll, benefits management, office administration, administration of off-site spaces, employee engagement, staff retention and career progression. 
• Execute a data-driven approach across all People activities. It is your responsibility to ensure you and your team are leveraging all available data to drive decision-making. 
• You will collaborate with other Groups and Departments on programming, including but not limited to Schools, Talent Acquisition, Technology, and Finance.  
• Align company processes and policies with best practices and employment/labour regulations in all countries of operation.
• Execute on performance and talent management initiatives and resource planning.
• Lead all investigations, meetings, and reviews related to any disciplinary issues of gross misconduct or gross negligence, as well as any appeals or grievances. 
• Lead on design and execution of child protection and safeguarding mechanisms. 
• Supervise the Manager, Administration and Manager, People Operations and other People staff as needed to ensure delivery of all People Group programming. 
   

What You Should Have

• Bachelor’s degree in business or other related field with top academic marks; MBA/grad degree a plus.
• At least eight years experience, including within leadership roles and for rapidly scaling companies - across operational and project managerial capacities.
• Strong analytical thinker, ideally with previous experience in board commercial and operational areas.
• Self-starter; highly driven individual that will take ownership from the get-go and proactively look for improvement.
• Strong leadership skills and demonstrated ability to work with a very diverse workforce.

You’re also

• A detailed doer – You have a track record of getting things done. You’re organized and responsive. You take ownership of every idea you touch and execute it to a fine level of detail, setting targets, engaging others, and doing whatever it takes to get the job done. You can multi-task dozens of such projects at once and never lose sight of the details. Likely, you have some experience in a start-up or other rapid-growth company.
• A creative problem-solver – Growing any business from scratch comes with massive and constant challenges. On top of that, NewGlobe works in often fragile, sometimes volatile low-resource communities and with complex government systems. You need to be flexible and ready to get everything done effectively, quickly, and affordably with the materials at hand.
• A relentless advocate –The children we serve and teachers we empower never leave your mind. You know them, get them, have shared a meal with them (or would be happy to in the future). You would never shrink back from shaking a parent’s hand or picking up a crying child, no matter what the person was wearing or looked like.  Every decision you make considers their benefit, experience,
  and value.
• A malleable learner –You believe you can always do better. You welcome constructive criticism and provide it freely to others.  You know you only get better tomorrow when others point out where you’ve missed things or failed today.
• A data-driven decision-maker – When making decisions, you don’t rely on your intuition alone. You collect data, you analyze it and make decisions with clear justifications.
• A curious investigator – You ask why a lot. You don’t just take what you see and accept it. You wonder why it is that way, and are aware that the world we see is created by human choices and actions – and it could be different. You wonder, and see the world as wonderful even when you want to change a part of it that is unjust.