The Bridge OfferRoughly 2.7 billion people live on less than $2/day. In their communities, there is a huge gap between the education offered and the needs of the population. Too often the schools available to them fail. The quality offered is poor, teachers are unresponsive and occasionally abusive, and fees are expensive. Even “free” government schools can cost anywhere between $2 and $12 per month after all of the additional fees (some sanctioned, some not) are added up. 55% of families end up choosing private schools instead, but then fear for the stability and sustainability of their choice as many schools close after only a few years of service. Both the government schools and the private schools tend to lack well-conceived curriculum, student achievement data, and the capacity to react to that data.Families are actively searching for a better academic alternative.Enter Bridge International Academies. As of January 2015, Bridge operates more than 400 academies, serving roughly 120,000 pupils in Kenya and Uganda.Bridge utilizes a scripted-learning education methodology coupled with ‘big data’ (all teachers have tablets for instruction, assessment, and data-gathering) that allows us to make curriculum a little better every day.With plans to enroll ten million students ten years from now, Bridge International Academies offers a tremendous opportunity to grow with one of the world’s most exciting, ambitious, and socially conscious companies, with leadership roles available across a number of competencies and geographies.About The RoleBridge has done what many people thought was impossible. We have given families living in poverty access to the high-quality education that will allow their children to have a better life. Our success is greatly due to our customer-centric approach, which informs our policies as much as it does our marketing and communications – which are growing greater and greater as we scale. We need your help to ensure that all of our communications are consistent: straightforward but empathetic, warm but professional, and aspirational, but inclusive. What you will do
Focus on parent communications – helping with copy for advertising, developing talking points and scripts for Parent Meetings
Writing mass SMSs, Robocall scripts, Customer Care surveys and scripts, parent newsletters, and more.
Writing for academy staff, collaborating with our Academics, Operations, and HR teams on daily messages to staff; letters, SMS, and Robocalls; and talking points for Academy Managers and regional managers for difficult conversations as well as new news.
Owning the calendar for all of the messaging going out to our key stakeholders, ensuring everyone is informed without bombarding them with messaging.
Reporting on news stories related to Bridge/education, help with social media as well as occasional press events, work on the company newsletter, and participate in communications trainings for Operations staff, as needed. What You Should Have
Bachelor’s degree in relevant field, graduate degrees preferred
3+ years relevant experience including extensive experience in programme management, communications, marketing, advertising, event planning and community relations
Passion for Bridge’s vision of democratizing the right for all children to succeed
Results-driven, scrappy attitude with a desire for continuous improvement; Flexible and ready to work hard, travel, do whatever is needed to get the job done
Proven success driving growth at a data-driven, customer-facing organisation and ability to operate to scale
Strong familiarity of the communities Bridge International Academies are in; you have lived or worked in low-income communities for several years and are accustomed to how communities work
Supreme organisational, critical thinking, and communications skills with impeccable spoken and written English; additional local language skills preferred
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 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 and oral speech. You can influence strangers in the course of a single conversation. Allies and colleagues will go to bat for your ideas.
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.
