School Support Officer
Rising Academies, Rwanda
Job Description
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 schoolchildren 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. Our mission is to create the best schools and the most powerful teaching and learning tools for the people who need them most. We’re one of the fastest-growing quality-focused education companies in Africa, and a Certified B Corp.
About us:
We own and operate our own great-value private schools, partner with governments to improve the quality of public school systems, and use our content and technology to help other education providers. Founded in Sierra Leone in 2014, we provided emergency education to children kept out of school by the Ebola Epidemic before opening our first school in April 2015. Today, we serve more than 250,000 students across more than 900 schools in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, and Rwanda.
Through a great curriculum, intensive teacher coaching, and actionable data, we help teachers and school leaders bring quality to every classroom. And we get results: independent studies show Rising students make more than twice the progress of their peers in comparable schools.
About the role:
We are seeking a highly professional, motivated, and organised education leader for our School Support Officer role in Rwanda. The School Support Officer will conduct regular follow-up with project stakeholders to ensure that key activities are completed successfully and on-time to achieve outstanding academic and school improvement outcomes in the Elimu-Soko Rwanda Project. The Government of Rwanda (GoR), through the Ministry of Education, has partnered with Dalberg Advisors and Hempel Foundation to set up Elimu-Soko Rwanda. The Elimu-Soko Rwanda Project is piloting innovations to improve how teachers teach foundational skills at lower primary level in public and government-aided schools. Rising's partnership schools are located in the Seven Districts; Nyarugenge, Kicukiro, Gasabo, Bugesera, Rulindo, Rwamagana, and Kamonyi. The successful candidate will be supporting the beneficiaries from all 40 pilot schools in 7 districts.
The School Support Officer will:
- Build strong relationships with Headteachers through regular phone calls and regular school visits.
- Set high standards and effectively support schools to achieve them.
- Build strong relationships with stakeholders, generate support and buy-in, and liaise with them as necessary on relevant matters as they arise.
- Ensure the effective implementation of Rising’s academic model to a high standard.
- Keep the Project Manager appraised of progress and challenges within each school, and report any issues as soon as they arise.
- Support Headteachers and Sector Education Inspectors to build and maintain positive relationships for better progress, and other key stakeholders.
- Learn from the successes and challenges of each school, proactively share lessons learned, and use these to improve the quality of other schools.
- Collect, review, and use data to inform decisions
Location and reporting:
This is a full-time on-site position. The post is based in Kigali, Rwanda. The school support officer will report to the Project Manager. This will be a 9-Month fixed-term, from November 2023 until July, 2024 with the possibility for an extension
Application deadline:
The target start date for this role will be November 15th, 2023
Requirements
Qualifications and Experience:
- Minimum 3 years of professional experience in the education sector, or similar role
- Passionate about improving the quality of education
- Strong organisational and record-keeping skills
- Familiarity with Google Docs, Spreadsheets, and Slides
- Familiarity with mobile data collection tools
- Minimum of University degree (preferred)
About You:
- You are a strong communicator, able to motivate, challenge, and support others.
- You set high standards for yourself and others and go the extra mile to get things done.
- You have the highest levels of integrity and trustworthiness.
- You understand the contexts in which we operate and the educational and operational challenges they pose.
- You are passionate about improving the quality of education.
- You are very well organised and have great record-keeping skills.
- You have strong relationship-building and interpersonal skills.
- You have the ability to learn quickly, are happy to give and receive feedback, and are interested in trying n