Head of Programs, Liberia

The context: 

Across the developing world, more children than ever are in school – but they are not learning. A recent study estimated that less than 1% of school children in Sub-Saharan Africa attend a school where the teaching meets basic standards of quality. At Rising Academies, we’re changing that, and we want your help. Our mission is to create the best schools and the most powerful teaching and learning tools for the people that need it most. We’re one of the fastest-growing quality-focused education companies in Africa, and a Certified B Corp®. 

About us and our work in Liberia:

We own and operate our own great value private schools, partner with governments to improve the quality of public school systems, and use our content and technology to help other education providers. Founded in Sierra Leone in 2014, we provided emergency education to children kept out of school by the Ebola Epidemic before opening our first school in April 2015. Today, we serve more than 250,000 students across more than 900 schools in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and now Rwanda.

In Liberia, following 14 years of civil war and the Ebola crisis of 2013-2014, Liberia's public education system was in a state of crisis. After extensive research and an international tour to study education systems that had successfully driven change, the Government of Liberia launched the Liberia Education Advancement Program (LEAP) in 2016, selecting Rising as one of its implementing partners.

Today, Rising manages 95 LEAP schools through this partnership with the government. Education partners in Liberia have recognized the impact Rising is making, and have called on Rising to support the system in other ways. Rising is providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Education through the USAID’s 5-year Education System Strengthening Activities project in partnership with FHI360. Within Liberia, Rising also supports Imagine Worldwide as the implementing partner for the One Tab Program.

Through great curriculum, intensive teacher coaching and actionable data, we help teachers and school leaders bring quality to every classroom. And we get results: show Rising students make more than twice the progress of their peers in comparable schools.

About the role:

We are seeking an exceptional, highly organized, and dynamic Head of Programs to take the reins and drive the delivery of outstanding results in our rapidly expanding portfolio of partnership programs in Liberia. You will be the driving force behind the implementation of our initiatives, making sure they are executed with precision and excellence.

The Head of Programs, Liberia will: 

• Manage a high-performing team of partnership program leads and support their ongoing professional development as effective managers and project leads.
• Execute on program implementation plans and work closely with teams to make adjustments as needed to support improved delivery. 
• Lead on the use of program implementation data to drive continuous improvement of program delivery, ultimately ensuring improved learning for all students.
• Ensure compliance with safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures within each program team, and support a culture of openness and transparency.
• Support outstanding relationships with the organization's stakeholder network, especially our government partners, collaborators and local communities.
• Work closely with program leads to ensure program budgets stay on track, key variances are accounted for and reporting is completed on time. 

Location and reporting:

The Head of Programs, Liberia reports directly to the Managing Director, Liberia and Rising’s Leadership Team. The role will be based from Rising’s office in Monrovia, Liberia. 

Application deadline: 

The closing date for applications is September 23, 2024. Applications will be reviewed and progressed on a rolling basis, we encourage interested applicants to apply as soon as possible.

Qualifications and Experience:

• 6-10 years of education, program or partnership management experience.
• Strong experience executing on program delivery and Implementation.
• Excellent understanding of development partnerships, fund-raising, donor strategies, governmental relations.
• Minimum of Bachelor’s Degree in Management, Social Sciences or development studies.

About You:

• An inspiring manager. You have a proven track record of success in management roles in a school network, social enterprise or non-profit, with experience developing high performing teams.
• A brilliant project manager. You have successfully delivered large scale, complex, multi-year projects and programs to a high standard..
• A data-informed decision maker. You have adjusted program delivery plans by using data to understand what’s working and what’s not to achieve improved impact. 
• A standard-setter for the details that matter. You have faced and dealt with organisational risk and maintained your organization's license to operate by ensuring the highest standards of compliance with key processes.
• A talented networker. You have built outstanding relationships with key stakeholders across a range of settings. Experience working closely with different levels of government is a major plus.
• A responsible budget owner. You’ve had budget responsibility for a large scale program, and can be counted on to set, manage and report on budgets effectively.

Prior professional experience in education is not a prerequisite, but a passion for it is.

Compensation and Benefits:

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package. We regularly benchmark our compensation against comparable businesses, social ventures and non-profits. 

Rising’s goal is to be transparent about salaries at all levels of the organisation and have a standard, global pay scale for all positions that is non-negotiable. 

The benefits we offer are built to have a strong added value on our staff’s well-being and we are excited to discuss this further with you in the process.

Rising is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to providing a work environment that is inclusive and free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions are based on individual qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, national origin, family or parental status, veteran or disability status.

Rising is committed to creating a culture within the organisation, and its schools, that recognizes the importance of safeguarding children and prioritizing their rights and needs. We strive to uphold international safeguarding standards, and keep the safety and well-being of our students at the heart of what we do. All Rising employees are expected to abide by the Child Protection Policy, and to have the same level of commitment to protect children from harm. Safeguarding questions are part of every interview process and all Rising employees undergo reference checks before joining the organisation.