Job description
Position Summary:
Teach For All is looking for a dynamic and experienced team leader to manage Teach For All support for the network’s newly formed and growing Africa region. As the Head of Africa you will manage Teach For All’s engagement with the region’s early stage entrepreneurs and partner CEOs. You will be responsible for continuously deepening and strengthening relationships across the region and will serve as an overall strategic resource who assists partners and prospective partners with assessing their greatest needs and marshaling network resources to meet them. You will set the global organization’s external vision and priorities for the region and lead the regional team to ensure the network is maximizing the impact of both current and future partners.
The Head of Region position provides an exceptional opportunity for an individual with superior leadership, analytical, interpersonal, intercultural, and external skills to serve as a key contributor to our mission and help shape the education landscape in the region. The right candidate is one who has a proven ability to set vision, build culture, influence results through others, build strong relationships, and make sound strategic decisions that drive impact. This individual is required to have deep familiarity living and working in the region, must reside in region, and reports to the Head of Partner Engagement and Head of Network Growth.
Outcomes
Demonstrated annual aggregate increase in partner programmatic results across the region as measured by progress towards Teach For All’s Intended Outcomes and partners’ assessment of and satisfaction with Teach For All support and connectivity.
New partners launch as strong, sustainable, and aligned local organizations that are deeply rooted in Teach For All’s unifying theory of change
A strong base of regional and global champions who support the work of partners and Teach For All in the region, including the need to raise $88M in funding for our collective work in Africa with partners by 2025
The regional team is highly engaged and invested in a strong vision for regional impact. Regional team strength and engagement are measured in Teach For All’s annual staff survey.
Responsibilities
Regional Strategy: Setting Vision & Orienting Regional Team Execution (70%)
In collaboration with the Africa regional team and partner CEOs, establish, evolve, and drive execution of a regional strategy and priorities for support to current and prospective network partners.
Act as the primary senior relationship holder with all current and prospective regional CEOs, and build positive, long-term relationships as a means to achieving our shared vision and core purpose.
Build capacity of current and prospective partner organizations and enhance their strategic clarity through providing direct support and thought partnership as well as strategically leveraging support from regional and global specialists.
Facilitate connections, learning, and leadership development experiences for and among current and prospective partner CEOs within the region and more broadly across the network by strategically making decisions about how to best employ network resources and foster connections that drive impact.
In collaboration with partner CEOs & relevant external affairs colleagues, establish, evolve, and manage vision and execution of an external affairs strategy that fosters a strong regional ecosystem and assesses and acts on opportunities for fundraising, public sector and multilateral support, programmatic partnerships, and other potential champions both on the continent and abroad. This includes:
In partnership with the region’s partner CEOs and Teach For All’s Global Special Projects Lead, secure financial resources for Teach For All’s Africa Fund (a multi-million dollar initiative that aims to raise revenue from global funding sources to supplement local revenue that partners are raising across the continent to fuel their operations) as well as for Teach For All’s support of those partners
Work in partnership with Teach For All’s Government and Multilateral Partnerships team and network partners to develop and execute a strategy for building multilateral support for the work of Teach For All and partners in Africa
Represent Teach For All externally as appropriate, and engage a wide set of stakeholders (including network CEOs, Global Advisory Council members, Board members, and current/prospective funders) to further develop the network’s presence and elicit support for our work in the region.
Regional Team Strength: Building & Fostering a Strong and Resourcefully Allocated Regional Team (20%)
In collaboration with functional team leads, hire, onboard, coach, and contribute to performance feedback of regional staff members to ensure a strong, highly effective team that attracts & retains diverse, talented staff.
Lead regional team members by ensuring high performance, leadership development, strong culture and effective allocation of financial and staff resources across the region to maximize regional impact.
Build a team and foster a culture that exemplifies Teach For All’s vision, values, core purpose, intended outcomes.
Ensure team operations provide effective systems and structures to communicate, collaborate, and access resources, knowledge, and tools needed for daily work.
Contribute to the Global Organization’s Strategy (10%)
Participate in various Team Lead discussions to input on broader programmatic and external engagement decisions that impact the design and implementation of engagement & support to current and prospective partners as well as our engagement with external stakeholders.
Act as a mentor to staff, helping shape organizational culture and build judgment and skills of colleagues.
Serve as a senior leader within the organization to inform organizational priorities and resource allocation.
Requirements
Bachelor’s degree required
Minimum of 8 years professional experience required
Experience having managed a unit/team required
Experience working and/or living in the region required; experience working/living internationally is a plus
Willingness and ability to reside and work (authorization) in region long-term required
Prior experience with one of our network partner organizations, either as a participant or staff member, strongly preferred
French fluency strongly preferred
Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:
Ability to be highly visionary, strategic, and analytical
Demonstrates strong judgment and critical thinking
Ability to deeply understand multiple local contexts quickly as well as Teach For All’s unifying principles and theory of change
Exemplifies Teach For All’s core values
Ability to develop strong, authentic relationships with diverse individuals, and to influence and motivate others through both formal and informal authority across cultures
Impeccable organization, prioritization, time management, and attention to detail
Ability to navigate and drive towards impact in complex and ambiguous situations
Ability to operate in a flexible working environment, self-manage against high volume, and leverage key others for advice and input
Sensitivity to racial, cultural and ideological diversity
Ability & willingness to travel frequently to all partner organizations in the region
Travel and Hours
Travel expected, approximately 30 – 50%, mostly within the region to provide direct support to partner organizations and early stage entrepreneurs, or to attend regional gatherings, but also some travel out-of-region to attend conferences etc. Given that we work across all time zones, non-traditional hours for very early or late night calls are an expectation of this role.
Compensation
Salary for this position is competitive and depends on prior experience and includes a comprehensive benefits package.
