Bridge International Academies Construction Researcher Job

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

About Bridge International Academies

Bridge International Academies is a startup revolutionizing education across Africa with a truly unique business model. The company has launched a large-scale franchise-like network of ultra low-cost for-profit private primary schools across Africa.

Our schools profitably deliver high-quality education for less than $4 per child per month, enabling local school managers to operate their school businesses profitably, while creating a highly successful business at the central level. We now have 25 schools in Kenya, and plan to rapidly scale the company to serve more than 1 million students.

About this position

Bridge International Academies is looking an innovative Construction Researcher to take up the R&D role within our construction team so as to continuously query, interrogate, investigate and improve both our construction processes and products.

The individual must be very comfortable working with processes and procedures as applied in low -income settlements and should be able to appreciate the unique dynamics of the construction process in these environments.

More specifically:

• The individual will be carrying on research on building components, building materials, technical construction processes and construction management processes.
• The task involves repeated and iterative improvement of quality requiring inquiring into old established methods already in use, at a very basic and fundamental level. It also requires meticulous attention to detail.
• In addition to carrying out research internally, the individual will need to be in touch with appropriate low-tech, low-income technologies around the world as familiarity with these shall be essential in informing research planning.
• Working in informal settlements can be very challenging and often requires many situational difficulties that arise as a result of working in these conditions. The individual will need to be comfortable being requested to re-programme their work at short notice in order to address unexpected site occurrences from time to time.
• Besides ensuring that R & D proceeds effectively, the researcher will be expected possess a ‘think-outside-the-box’ orientation as this forms the basis for fundamentally overhauling the current processes and products in an effort to achieve the research objectives.

Other responsibilities include:

• Review of anthropometric, ergonomic and spatial dimensions in currently in use, with a view to revising classroom sizes, furniture, etc.
• Review of indoor comfort levels in order to revise the ventilation and lighting provisions.
• Review of structural systems, materials and methods of construction.
• Research on sewerage disposal in informal settlements in order to recommend appropriate solutions in the various site scenarios that arise.
• Research on pavements, walling materials, roofing materials, doors, windows, etcetera, in order to seek cost-effective and appropriate in-use alternatives.
• Research on cost-effective and process-enhancing delivery methodologies for production management, materials management, quality control, process engineering and value management.

About You

• Minimum of 7 to 10 years experience in research in low-cost technologies preferably in existing low-income settlements.
• An expert level knowledge of how to effectively carry out R&D for a very high level of innovation and creativity in solution seeking..
• Must be able to manage competing demands, accept criticism and constructive feedback, while being extremely adaptable and flexible.
• Excellent writing and oral communication skills are required
• Ability to identify potential new areas of improvement and research communicate them clearly to the Head of Department.
• Good people management skills that result in timely completion of deliverables.
• Be willing to delve into all aspects of the school construction, to ‘improve the already-perfect’.

How to apply

Applicants should go to Bridge International Academies website – job postings - where all the new jobs are listed