Operations Programme Manager at Bridge International Academies

The Bridge Approach

Education is in crisis in many countries around the world. It is estimated that 264 million children and young people are out of school, and 330 million children are in school but  not learning. In addition, an extra 69 million teachers are needed to achieve the 2030 UN education goals.

Many education systems are plagued with inadequate materials and poor management systems, all leading to chronic teacher absenteeism and a lack of learning. Education reform  is challenging but it is urgently required if we are to prevent another generation of children missing out. So, we work in partnership with governments, NGOs and non-state actors to address the huge education imbalance between what is available and what is needed right now — we work to bridge the gap.

We believe parents have the right to choose a school for their children and we enable families to enjoy seeing their children learn, improve and flourish at Bridge schools. We locate our schools in some of the most disadvantaged communities in the world. Families in our communities can be earning just $1.90 per person a day; a level the World Bank notes is at extreme poverty. By putting learning at the centre of all we do, Bridge has become an extremely popular choice for underserved families and low-income communities.

With plans to enrol ten million students ten years from now, Bridge offers a tremendous opportunity to grow with one of the world’s most exciting and ambitious social enterprises, with leadership roles available across a number of competencies and geographies.

[Operations/Programme Manager]
The Operations Team designs, implements, and manages academy-level operations and support. We are the nerve centre of the company.

About the Role

Certain aspects of what we do originate in other departments or teams – from Development, Marketing, Recruitment and Training, Finance or Human Resources – but end with Operations.  No matter how well other departments may complete their individual functions, it is up to Ops to be the interface that brings all academy-level support functions together. 

The role of Programme Managers is a microcosm of the overarching goal of the entire Operations Team, broken down by specific functional components.  Each Programme Manager has a unique sphere that s/he is responsible for owning.  Within that realm of responsibility, Programme Managers identify and analyse operational needs, design strategies and processes to address these challenges, and supervise the necessary training, monitoring, and constant adjustments needed for these programmes to execute successfully.

What You Will Do

Programme Managers work closely with other departments to design and run these programmes.

Some of the deliverables Programme Managers are tasked with include:

• Teacher Staffing- Bridge promises to have a teacher in class every day of the academic year. To meet this promise to our parents, the Programme Manager must work closely with our Recruiting and Training and People Operations Departments to make sure we find effective ways of filling local vacancies and with our Customer Care Department to devise ways to manage our nationwide team of substitute teachers so that can immediately provide cover for any class missing a teacher due to sickness or other. The challenge is to efficiently and effectively provide coverage for over 4,500 classrooms across Kenya and Uganda.
• Academy Repairs – with over 400 academies, we need to continually ensure our academies are in good condition and account for both minor and major repairs. The Programme Manager must identify common challenges and problems and provide efficient and cost-effective solutions. This programme must work closely with our Construction Department and with regional managers to ensure quality repairs are carried out.
• Lesson Delivery – Bridge’s teachers use teacher computer tablets to deliver our Kenyan- and Ugandan-curriculum focused lessons every day. To make sure everything is working properly, the Programme Manager must analyse vast amounts of data to pinpoint any challenges in this process. This includes working closely with the Software Team to limit the number of technological issues that come up and to immediately solve those that do arise and coordinating with our Academic Team to devise strategies and processes to drive improvements in lesson deliveries.

What You Should Have

• Ideal candidates should have experience managing projects, identifying business challenges through data and observation, creating solutions for these issues, and overseeing an operational programme.
• They should be proficient analysing and managing large amounts of data and comfortable working closely with different departments and teams.
• Experience bringing ideas and programmes to scale, working at similar ambitious start-up companies, or building and managing teams across countries is an added plus.  
• Bachelor’s Degree required
• Masters preferred
• Minimum 3 years work experience required.

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 startup or social enterprise.
• A creative problem-solver – Growing any enterprise from scratch comes with massive and constant challenges. On top of that, Bridge works in often challenging, 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). 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.