Regional Manager, School Management at Bridge International Academies

Bridge ensures efficient management of its schools through a schools organizational structure that divides schools into regions and territories and assigns management oversight of each region to one Leadership and Development (L and D) Supervisor. An L and D Supervisor is responsible for the management of a group of schools and L and D Supervisors report to a Regional Manager who in turn is responsible for the success of that school region or territory. The schools are situated in various communities across the state in Nigeria to which you are assigned. As Regional Manager, you will:

What You Will Do

• Work closely with a large group of schools Leadership and Development Supervisors in your territory to ensure that they are operating at the highest levels.
• Work closely with the Training Manager to ensure feedback from the field is translated to effective training content, systems and processes which further empower Teachers and Headmasters to lead successful schools.
• Empower L and D Supervisors focus intensely on instructional leadership, including each teacher completing the scheduled lessons each day; on positive classroom and school management without corporal punishment; and school strength through retention, which is a sign of parents’ belief in the positive contribution of the school.
• Provide management oversight to Leadership and Development Supervisors in your region or territory and ensure operating performance and instructional learning targets are met.
• Provide coaching and mentoring to Leadership and Development Supervisors in your region to help develop their management skills and support achievement of their academy goals.
• Regional Managers completely own (and therefore, are accountable for) the performance metrics of all of the schools in their territory, as measured by operational and  instructional benchmarks
• This role requires a constant presence at the schools and close interaction with each School Head or School Administrator to ensure that there is continuous bi-directional communication and coaching.
• In addition to interactions with schools, the Regional Manager is expected to build close relationships with the local and state level government officials, the traditional and local community leaders, and Parents of the children in the school to promote the importance of education, garner support for the school and education ministry’s activities as it relates to their children and to keep a constant monitor on their feedback.
• Must be ready to travel on a daily basis to schools in your region. The schools are situated in various communities across the state in Nigeria to which you are assigned.

What You Should Have

• High level of energy and enthusiasm so as to be effective in a fast paced environment with multiple demands.
• This role would suit someone who has extensive experience doing community based work, field management expertise and strong people management and program management skills.
• Degree qualified with at least 5 years of professional work experience
• Prior team leadership experience using a hands-on role model approach to management and the ability to coach and motivate others to achieve results
• Proven ability to drive results
• Passion for providing outstanding customer service
• Excellent practical problem solving skills with the ability to multi-task and prioritize effectively
• Previous experience building relationships with government and community officials
• A passion for what we do is essential and experience in low cost education environments or in the public schooling environment is an advantage. 
• Must be dynamic, articulate, organized with an attention to detail
• Must have demonstrated capacity to plan, prioritize and deliver tasks on time to meet goals in a high pressure environment
• Must be passionate about following processes and procedures and be extremely data-driven
• Must be passionate about education and schooling in general
• Must be comfortable working in low income communities
• Must have respect and sensitivity towards cultural, gender, ethnicity and religious diversity
• Must have maturity and confidence in dealing with high ranking official of government institutions, international institutions and non- government institutions
• Willingness to have tough conversations when circumstances require it and to take a “no nonsense” approach to driving business results.

You Are 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, Bridge 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 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.