Partnerships Manager - Education Sub Saharan Africa

Education Sub Saharan Africa (ESSA) is a charity improving education in sub-Saharan Africa so that young people achieve their ambitions and strengthen society. We support university and college leaders, employers, policymakers, and young people?to turn evidence into practical solutions and maximize resources. By working together, we improve education policies and delivery.

Our goal is to increase access to university or college, improve the quality of education, and enable young people to transition into work. This will support more than?1.4 million current students at over 500 universities and colleges in Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia to achieve their ambitions, and create more opportunities for the millions that will follow.

The Partnerships Manager is an exciting and critical position within the ESSA team, driving partnership development, on-the-ground, in-country, to maximise the impact of our work. The role will involve managing ESSA’s Employability project that brings together universities, colleges and employers, to ensure young people have the required skills for work.

The successful candidate will contribute to identifying, establishing, developing, securing and maintaining effective long-term relationships and partnerships with stakeholders. They will generate and refer leads, research and provide knowledge of partnership needs and requirements, and ensure ESSA’s relationships in-country remain positive, effective, and productive. S(he) will be a focal point-of-contact (in-country) for existing partners and potential new partners.

Person Specifications:

Essential

• Bachelor’s degree level in a relevant discipline e.g. social sciences, economics, business management
• At least 3-5 years of experience in a similar position e.g. relationship building, stakeholder management, project management
• Ability to proactively engage in information gathering, synthesis and critical thinking.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Confidence engaging at all levels within an organisation.
• Networking and negotiating skills.
• Ability to think strategically and consider the broader perspective, to solve problems.
• Very good planning and organisation skills.
• A team player who is culturally aware/sensitive, with the ability to work collaboratively and creatively with stakeholders from diverse backgrounds.
• Knowledge and understanding of the Tertiary Education ecosystem in sub-Saharan Africa and the key players.
• Passionate about the role of education in unlocking the potential of young people in sub-Saharan Africa, and the link between universities and colleges (incl. TVET), employers and work.

Desirable

• Practical experience in the field of international development and education
• Existing in-country network within the private sector/industry
• Existing in-country network within the education sector
• Experience managing projects and the ability to coordinate a project team to deliver against tight timelines.
• Post-graduate degree or higher
• French speaking