Description
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 enroll 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 at Bridge
Operations are central to how everything functions seamlessly at Bridge. We are seeking an Operations Director who will be responsible for all core operations within East Africa. Both directly and indirectly, the Operations Director is responsible for managing one of the largest and most diverse teams within the East African operation. This includes a central and distributed headquarters team that supports and monitors the academies’ operations and designs all the processes and systems that are critical to the success of each and every academy.
About The Role
The Operations Director is ultimately responsible for the critical performance of our entire network of 350+ schools across Kenya and Uganda. This includes operations, supply chain, IT, internal audit, and retail.
You will be responsible for ensuring every school operates effectively. That school staff are supported, provided with the correct tech assets and supplies. That the school facilities are maintained. That revenue is collected effectively, that uniform, school feeding and other programmes are running well. That instructional delivery runs effectively.
This is a high-impact role for someone who loves taking on challenges in large scale – we employ 5,000+ employees across East Africa.
Responsiblities
You will be responsible for managing a team of 50+ staff across two countries, driving the execution, management and innovation of the following departments to serve our academies’ needs
The Operations Director is one of the most senior roles in the East African, business, making up a key role in the Senior Management Team.
Customer Care Call Centre – serving both as the support hub for our academy manager, teachers and parents;
Quality Assurance – our internal data-driven, field based audit and monitoring team;
IT – supporting our tech-enabled academies to function and excel;
Supply Chain – overseeing our warehousing, procurement and logistics, making sure every academy has all the resources needed in the most cost-effective and efficient way possible, while negotiating with global suppliers;
Retail – ensuring school feeding, uniform and other potential revenue drivers are run effectively;
Programme Management teams – managing 3-4 programme managers responsible for everything from preventative fraud management, facilities and repairs, instructional and academic delivery through systems compliance.
What You Will Do
General management of the warehouse operations and strategic planning on activities to provide feasible solutions to challenges that may arise while involving yourself in practical work on the floor on receiving, arranging and dispatching of materials.
Responsible for all operational performance indicators of our academies, including but not limited to:improving adherence and compliance to existing systems and processes
Striving for operational excellence in a resource-constrained environment
Continually iterating and improving systems
cost of headquarters support per pupil
educational outcomes as measured by academic testing programme
Learn, reinvent, optimize and manage every aspect of the operations of a Bridge International Academy and the necessary headquarters support, from classroom instruction to latrine-cleaning to customer care.
Create highly-structured, insightful processes, systems and recommendations with a data-driven approach; and, alongside senior executives, critique and modify the operational components of the Bridge model.
Do or lead every job in the entire academy operations and support to some extent. No job is too big or too small.
Manage a diverse support team including customer care, quality assurance, IT, programme managers, procurement, warehousing and logistics.
What You Should Have
At least 8+ years of post-undergraduate, full time work experience
Work experience managing a multi-unit retail environment
Work experience developing and managing a culture of total focus on customer satisfaction
Work experience drastically improving the productivity and reducing cost of a product or service
Work experience managing and coordinating several teams to deliver on a tight schedule
Work experience in emerging markets
Record of building data-driven operational systems
Record of strong academic performance from a leading undergraduate and, if attended, graduate institution
Work experience, preferably in operations, as an employee at any company that has rapidly grown in headcount and number of locations, e.g., large scale retail
Work experience in a highly political industry, where ideological conflict is common and strategy, ingenuity, negotiation and persuasion are necessary for success
Experience of management consulting a plus
You’re also
A detailed doer – You have a track record of getting things done, with at least 8 years of post-graduate school experience. 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 data analyst – You are comfortable interrogating assumptions, testing ideas, and making decisions based on data. You have experience crunching numbers, but also do not lost sight of the bigger picture. You can take a strategic view while also getting stuck into the weeds.
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 $7 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.
