Bridge International Academies is a start-up for profit organization that is 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 have already launched the first 37 schools in our network in poor communities throughout Kenya with tremendous success, and will double the schools on a national level over the next quarter. The long-term plan is to rapidly scale the company to serve more than 1 million families throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.
Description
Manage the implementation of multi-city, multi-location training programs for Teachers and School Managers at Bridge International Academies. You will monitor and evaluate facilitators who run the 7-week training program, and build an operations system to service several training programs simultaneously.
As the organization scales, your work will eventually develop hundreds of training programs across Africa that will train thousands of Teachers and School Managers.
About this position
Bridge International has developed an extensive Teacher and School Manager Training Institute for our new school-level staff. Candidates are recruited from the local community and then trained to become effective teachers and school managers in only 7 weeks.
Many of the trainees have no previous work experience in either teaching or school management. On the teacher side, the training focuses on the most practical areas that teachers will need to successfully guide a classroom.
For example, we focus on assessment tools, classroom management and discipline, and implementing scripted lesson plans, which are based on the Kenyan national curriculum.
In the school manager training, the focus is on training the manager how to use the automated, systemized tools ( Smart-phone based) to manage school staff and budgets, report student enrolment, and manage tuition payments. Training facilitators follow a handbook to deliver consistent lectures, discussions, practice lessons and exams. We call this our “Training in a Box” model.
Due to the standardization and systematizing, our approach is most similar to that of other large scale chains of service businesses, like McDonalds. Similar to a McDonalds, the success of our schools depends critically on the success of our Facilitators who provide the instruction and support our Teacher trainees require.
We are seeking a full-time Manager of Training Implementation to supervise the multi-city, multi-country training to ensure that our 7-week long training sessions are delivered with integrity, quality and systemization.
In the coming years, Bridge International Academies will be launching hundreds of new schools each year, requiring the supervision of dozens of new Training Managers and Facilitators as they train thousands of new staff. Because of this scale, it’s critical that we ensure our trainings are effective and standardized so as to deliver a training program that produces large numbers of competent, capable school-level staff.
This position will primarily focus on building a centralized team capable of implementing decentralized programs throughout the country. This position will manage the overall content integrity and training delivery of Teacher and School Manager trainings, which will take place on a termly basis at multiple locations on a national scale.
The content-specific sessions about how teaching and instruction, and operational management systems works at our schools will come from the trained Facilitators, who are working from scripted video and PowerPoint sessions.
More specifically, the role of the Manager of Training Implementation includes:
- Develop a training team (training and logistics) which can produce several, simultaneous 7- week training programs throughout Kenya. Using the manual and checklists from our “Training in a Box” to supervise a team of 10-20 Facilitators and oversee the work of the Conference Assistants during the Monday-Friday training.
- Through logistics management and coaching facilitators, ensure the highest quality output of training content. Quality of training content will be measured by performance of teachers and school managers in the schools.
- Assure the successful delivery of training sessions throughout the country, including hiring training staff, procuring supplies, confirming print production and delivery, and general training operations.
- Troubleshoot IT issues for Smart phone training and database problems.
- Hire, manage and/or coordinate with vendors such as guides, cooks, cleaners, security guards, landlords over various sites. Facilitate authorization of vendor payments.
- Coordinate training content with the internal content development team to assure fidelity of training delivery.
- Problem-solve attendance and M-PESA training system as it scales across multiple locations.
- Assure procurement of supplies for training sites and trouble-shoot problems as they arise.
- Secure real estate for the training sites, as needed
- Continue to revise and improve the facilitator training manual and materials.
- Use checklists during training sessions to ensure that Facilitators are successfully and accurately delivering the Training material
- Work closely with the Procurement, Logistics departments to ensure successful delivery of supplies and printing.
- Participant in developing a feedback and analysis of current Facilitators to assure quality consistency across trainings.
- This is a very hands-on job, both in terms of designing an operations system and implementing the training program. The role requires you to be out in the field at training sites and in the slums where the schools are located. Observation of Teachers and School Managers in the field is required at least 5% of the time.
About
You
- You have 5 years’ experience designing and implementing site operations that focus on knowledge transfer and specific skill building for a particular role or job in any industry
- Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree preferred
- You have experience operating large-scale, multi-site simultaneous sessions in a fast-paced environment.
- You have experience creating and managing large teams working in remote locations.
- You have an analytical orientation and can design processes and procedures to build an operations system that can be quickly brought to scale.
- You are a proactive trouble-shooter and problem-solver, capable of improving the training operations on the fly and at scale.
- You have experience in identifying performance issues with staff and quickly rectifying it to improve the overall operations.
- You function well in a fast-paced informal environment with competing deadlines
- You are comfortable with ambiguity and quickly changing environments
- You have experience in delivering complex trainings to individuals with less formal education and work history, different educational backgrounds, skills levels and economic status.
- You are results-oriented and a “can do attitude” to do what it takes to get the job done.
- You are a fantastic communicator and a team player and can strike an instant rapport with people from all different walks of life and background (the trainees often live in the poor communities that we serve)
- You are comfortable with building a team and regularly communicating progress, success, and challenges to them.
Other
Requirements/Skills:
- Ability to evaluate facilitators’ skills and provide effective guidance for immediate improvement
- Computer skills including MS Office, database experience is a plus
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Must be a team player and open to new approaches and ideas
- Strong mentoring, auditing and reporting skills
- Ability to organize, prioritize, and manage multiple tasks and deadlines
In
order to be considered for this position all candidates must register and
upload their CV’s on our website at www.bridgeinternationalacademies.com