Manager, Administration

Monrovia, Liberia 

Bridge Liberia

In 2016, Liberia’s President and its Ministry of Education announced Partnership Schools for Liberia (PSL), an innovative public private partnership designed to transform the primary public education system. Eight education providers - with proven track records in delivering high-quality education - were paired with public primary schools across Liberia; while teachers remained on the Government payroll. After a change of  national Government, PSL became the Liberian Education Advancement Programme (LEAP). 

LEAP is now in its sixth year; supporting 312 schools overall across the country; within that we support 60,800 students. Our schools are based in some of the most remote counties, such as Maryland in the south-east.

Government teachers have been re-trained, supported and equipped to succeed in the classroom. Four Independent Studies and Randomised Control Trials have  shown the efficacy of the programme. For us there was a statistically significant improvement in learning outcomes.  In a gold standard RCT, students supported in our programme were found to benefit by an equivalent of 2.5 years more of learning in just 3 years.

LEAP was designed to be self-sustaining once the Ministry of Education raises its education budget to $100 a child per year; until that moment it remains reliant on philanthropic support.

Today, we work across the country, in all of Liberia’s 15 counties, to ensure that all children have access to a high quality education and that Sustainable Development Goal 4 focussed on Quality Education becomes a reality for all children in Liberia. 

You will join a group of dynamic and passionate Liberians taking concrete action to help address the education crisis in Liberia and ensure a better future for the children of Liberia.

People

Our people are at the core of what we do, and supporting a diverse workforce that spans many industries, and many cultures, while at the same time keeping everyone aligned to our mission and mandate takes focus and determination. We work at massive scale. We are responsible for ensuring we support each team member to succeed, aligned to business goals and constraints. We are responsible for our human capital, including but not limited to all aspects of people operations including payroll, compensation and benefits; administration of all offices and support functions; and employee engagement. We are data-driven, and leverage technology to make both informed and efficient decisions and work processes. We are the champions of our values. We value continuous learning and extensive collaboration, and have a strong focus on performance. We are evidence-based, outcomes driven and lead through service.

Administration

Administration is responsible for all office support functions, including but not limited to support offices, school leader and teacher training locations, warehouses, and overseeing employee transport and housing as and when needed. We are responsible for the look and feel of each of our spaces, and ensuring each supports each team member to do their best work each day, individually and collectively, and that our culture is embodied in our work spaces. In addition to embodying our work values and encouraging cross-functional collaboration, our workplaces should provide a healthy and safe work environment. We ensure each team member has the assets they need to properly complete their work each day, and are supported both in their home office and during work travel. Our work helps everyone stay to connected to why we do what we do every day..

About the Role

The Administration Manager is responsible for overseeing all the administrative activities that facilitate the smooth running of all Bridge Liberia Offices in Liberia, and can lead strategic projects and events to improve the well-being of Bridge staff. This person is a highly energetic, superstar idea generator, organizer, project manager, and Microsoft Office whiz that can manage several Administration officers, and is willing to work whatever hours and times are needed to get things done. Last but not least, the Administration Manager is a friendly but firm presence in the office to ensure that all Company policies are being adhered to.

What You Will Do

• Manage the duties of office cleaners, building security, and maintaining a relationship with building management to ensure that Bridge Liberia is receiving the correct level of service.
• Coordinate all logistics and arrangements for Teacher’s Training.

• Organize meetings and managing databases
• Book transport and accommodation for staff traveling in field
• Organize company events or conferences
• Order stationery and furniture for office use.
• Manage office guest house and ensuring that the policy is adhered to by visiting staff.
• Ensure Residence and Work Permits are processed in time for all international staff
• Process visas for international staff
• Process Business Registration and Tax Clearance for Bridge and ensure all Bridge offices rental contracts are negotiated, processed and/or renewed 
• Deal with correspondence, complaints and queries
• Prepare letters, presentations and reports
• Supervise and monitor the work of administrative staff
• Manage office budgets on maintenance, repairs and office supplies
• Liaising with staff, suppliers and clients to ensure everyone needs are met in a timely manner
• Implementing and maintaining procedures/office administrative systems
• Organizing induction programmes for new employees 
• Ensuring that health and safety policies are up to date
• Attending meetings with senior management
• Assisting the organization's HR function by keeping personnel records up to date, arranging interviews and so on.

What You Should Have

• A Bachelor’s degree Social sciences, Business Management or in any relevant field 
• At least 3 years relevant experience, including extensive experience in logistics, procurement, contract negotiation, retail, sales, and customer strategy
• Prior experience working within a fast-paced, metric driven sales organization; start up or high-growth company experience preferred 
• Experience in an administrative role and good interpersonal and time management skills.
• Experience planning events; interacting with major stakeholders; community, business and government 
• Passion for Bridge’s vision of democratizing the right for all children to succeed

You’re also

• A detailed doer – You have a track record of getting things done. 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 creative problem-solver – Growing any business from scratch comes with massive and constant challenges. On top of that, we work in often fragile, sometimes volatile low-resource communities and with complex government systems. You need to be flexible and ready to get everything done effectively, quickly, and affordably with the materials at hand. 
• A relentless advocate – The children we serve and teachers we empower 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 benefit, experience, and value.
• A malleable 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.
• A data-driven decision-maker – When making decisions, you don’t rely on your intuition alone. You collect data, you analyze it and make decisions with clear justifications.
• A curious investigator – You ask why a lot. You don’t just take what you see and accept it. You wonder why it is that way, and are aware that the world we see is created by human choices and actions – and it could be different. You wonder, and see the world as wonderful even when you want to change a part of it that is unjust.