Head of Strategy and Operations

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.

About us:

We are a growing network of inspiring schools in West Africa. Our mission is to unleash the full potential of every student, equipping them with the knowledge, skills and character to succeed in further study, work, and day-to-day life.

We support more than 250,000 students across Sierra Leone, Liberia, Uganda and Ghana through a combination of low-cost private schools we manage directly, and partnership schools we manage in collaboration with governments. In Ghana, our private schools operate under the Omega Schools brand and offer three phases of education: pre-primary, primary and junior high. Independent evaluations have found that Rising students make learning gains two to three times larger than their peers in comparable schools.

About the role:

We are seeking an ambitious, motivated and highly organised Head of Strategy and Operations to join our team in Ghana. They will lead the efforts, both strategically and operationally, to make Rising Schools in Ghana profitable, year after year. Two key components to this are (1) understanding customers and giving them what they want at the right price; (2) understanding competitors and strategically refining our market approach and implementation accordingly.

The Head of Strategy and Operations will:

• Reach and engage target customers with powerful, data-informed messaging.
• Consistently hit target enrolment and attendance targets through the development and implementation of strategic plans.
• Contribute to building a stellar reputation for Rising Schools in Ghana.
• Identify strategic priorities by carefully reviewing and analysing data from across our growing school network in Ghana.
• Present insights and conclusions to the Ghana Management Team to drive performance across the organisation.
• Support teams at all levels of the organisation to understand and interpret customer data effectively.
• Conduct trainings across the organisation to build capacity around family/ community engagement and student recruitment and enrollment.
• Work closely with the RAN Director of Finance and Ghana MD to ensure that budgets and benchmarks are accurately set and adhered to for Ghana operations.
• Proactively identify and communicate potential outreach and enrollment improvements.

Location and reporting:

The Head of Strategy and Operations reports to the Managing Director of the Ghana team and will be primarily based in Accra, Ghana.

Requirements

Qualifications and Experience:

• University level undergraduate degree.
• Masters degree is preferable, but not required.
• Strong commercial experience in a related field (marketing & sales, business management).

About you:

• You are a strong communicator, able to motivate, challenge and support your team members.
• You set high standards for yourself and others, and go the extra mile to get things done.
• You understand the contexts in which we operate and the educational and operational challenges they pose.
• You are data-driven, making decisions in a logical way and on the basis of good evidence/reasoning.
• You are very well organised and have an eye for details.
• You have proficient Excel skills and are able to present data insightfully and clearly explain the meaning of it.
• You have experience with data collection, focus groups, and customer outreach.
• You have strong written communication skills, especially around public-facing materials, publications, and reports.
• You are comfortable developing and working with budgets.
• You have the ability to learn quickly, are happy to give and receive feedback, and are interested in trying new approaches.
• You have the highest levels of integrity and trustworthiness.

Benefits

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 recognises the importance of safeguarding children and prioritising 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.