Associate / Senior Associate - Education Partnerships Group

Education Partnerships Group (EPG) is looking for an exceptionally organised, highly motivated and capable Associate, or possibly Senior Associate, with excellent communication and strategic thinking skills to support project management and delivery as well as the coordination of business development and project expansion efforts across EPG’s global education programmes. The Associate will report directly to a Manager or Senior Manager and will be responsible for supporting: the execution of projects through project management, administration, and coordination support to programme teams, analysis of EPG’s funding and partnerships landscape, developing strategies, concepts and proposals for business development at a global and country-specific level, and developing external communications and marketing materials. The role is expected to initially focus on business development and support new project set up and then shift to an ongoing focus on project delivery with country programme teams.

The Associate will also support the senior management and programme teams to cultivate and maintain trusted relationships with potential partners and other key stakeholders; and support global education policy-related research. The role may require international travel up to 25% of the time, subject to global Covid-19 travel restrictions. 

The right candidate will be passionate about the role education plays in transforming lives and see this role as an opportunity to support the expansion of EPG’s system-wide approach to supporting governments to plan for and implement reform to improve learning outcomes globally. Depending on the successful candidate’s location, the role will require significant remote working and thus personal initiative and time management will be critical. 

• Location: Nairobi, Cape Town, Lusaka, Accra, Freetown or Abidjan. Remote working from other locations in sub-Saharan Africa may also be considered
• Contract: 12 months (renewable subject to funding)
• Hours: Full-time (37.5 hours per week)
• Reporting to: Senior Manager

Indicative responsibilities:

• Contribute to individual projects through discrete project management and delivery support – this may include developing and/or updating project work planning, monitoring and budgeting tools, and helping to coordinate policy research, analysis and policy reform processes
• Schedule internal and external meetings – both in person and remotely - attending meetings where required and taking detailed meeting minutes for external circulation
• Contribute to internal monitoring and learning 
• Support the programmes and business development teams to cultivate and maintain trusted relationships with potential funders, partners and other stakeholders, including in ministries of education
• Regularly follow up with internal and external stakeholders as required to progress relationship building, concept development and proposals, often working to tight timelines
• Desk-based research and analysis of EPG funding and partnership landscape – maintain a database of contacts and partners
• Input into global partnerships strategies and individual programme-level business development strategies – help coordinate research and planning, track progress and maintain and update documentation as required
• Develop marketing materials, external communications products and support the communications team to maintain EPG’s social media as requested.

Required Skills or Experience

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences (Law, Public Administration, Economics, Education or related field);
• 2+ years of professional experience;
• Excellent project management skills, including planning, monitoring and reporting;
• Exceptional organisational skills with excellent attention to detail;
• Experience with the professional use of the Microsoft Office Suite (i.e. Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook)
• Strong written communications and presentation skills in English;
• Strong interpersonal skills with a sense of humility and willingness to work with diverse team members, often remotely;
• A commitment to improving education quality for all children;
• Willingness to travel internationally up to 25% of the time;
• Commitment to EPG’s core values
  • Responsive | we start from a place of “yes”
  • Accountable | we accept ownership and healthy conflict
  • Rigorous | we create and meet high expectations
  • Inclusive | we seek diversity of perspectives and experiences
  • Respectful | we are quick to listen and empathize