Job Description

company profile

 The Pharo Foundation (the “Foundation”) is a privately funded entrepreneurial organisation that runs philanthropic programmes as well as for-profit social enterprises. The Vision of the Foundation is an economically vibrant and inclusive Africa. The Mission is to achieve the Vision by investing in the human and physical capital of Africa, with a strong focus on job creation.

 Established in 2011 as a UK based non-profit, the Foundation has since made a strategic shift to directly design and implement its own programmes to ensure greater engagement with communities, better results and increased accountability.

 At the end of 2019, the Foundation also started its Pharo Ventures franchise to prioritise sectors where the Foundation believes a real impact can be made by establishing self- sustaining businesses, which focus on job and economic value creation.

 The Foundation has a programme office in the Benishangul Gumuz regional state in Ethiopia with further expansion plans in the Amhara region, whilst our work in the regional capital Assosa mainly focuses on health, agriculture and education. The Foundation has been implementing an integrated livelihood development programme, which includes agriculture, water, health and education components. In Homosha district, The Pharo School operates as a full boarding school with a capacity of over 240 students and a primary school in Assosa. The schools aim to achieve the highest standards of pedagogic, intellectual and personal development to its students. As the Foundation aims to provide the highest quality education to the children and young adults of Ethiopia, we are also actively looking to build a driven and passionate team drive these initiatives.

 Headquartered in London, the Foundation also has an operational head office in Nairobi (Kenya) with country offices in Ethiopia (Addis Ababa, Assosa), Somaliland (Hargeisa) and Rwanda (Kigali).

Position summary

 The Head of Education position is a key leadership role within the Foundation that will be entrusted with the overall responsibility of developing and managing the Foundation’s education strategy and activities in Ethiopia.

 The position is based in Addis Ababa and will report to the Director of Education, East Africa, (Kenya) and the Country Representative (Ethiopia). This is a high level, well-remunerated role that will give the right candidate an excellent mix of challenge and fulfilment.

 The role encompasses executing all aspects of the educational strategy and operations, from early childhood to secondary school programmes as well as higher education and vocational schools. Other components of the role include designing curriculums, overseeing academic standards, recruitment of staff and students, well-being of students, future expansion plans, financial budgeting, financial management and controls and managing positive external relationships with community and governmental stakeholders.

 Key Duties and Responsibilities 

 Strategy 

• Work with the Director of Education, East Africa to develop a comprehensive multi-year, multi-school education and expansion strategy for the Foundation in Ethiopia.
• Implement the education strategy of the Foundation in Ethiopia, as agreed with the Director of Education East Africa, the CEO and the Board of Trustees.
• In collaboration with Director of Education and Country Representative, conduct needs assessments and develop business plans that streamline education programmes and enhance the Pharo Schools brand in Ethiopia.

 Academic

• Provide leadership and guidance on curriculum selection and ensure highest academic standards are achieved at all levels.
• Ensure Pharo Schools attract and retain the best students for academic excellence.
• Create the “Pharo School” brand name as Centres of Excellence in education in Ethiopia.
• Ensure Pharo Schools are accredited and comply with all national (and when applicable) international standards.
• Ensure highest standards of teaching and learning pedagogy.
• Promote the holistic approach of child development in all Pharo Schools.
• Promote the teaching of 21st century skills with a key focus on critical thinking and problem solving.

Human Resources Development and Management 

•  Attract and retain the highest quality teachers, administrative and support staff.
• Develop and implement procedures to train, supervise, evaluate and upgrade staff continuously to ensure high academic and work standards.
• Ensure all students and staff are informed of and internalise the Foundation’s Culture, Vision, Mission and Values.
• Establish a culture of open communication, shared learning and cooperation across all Pharo Schools.
• Promote Continuous Professional Development (CPD) of teachers and direct reports.

 Financial Management

•  Prepare and manage multi-year financial statements and budgets.
• Prepare and submit monthly management accounts.
• Coordinate financial auditing and the production of annual audited accounts.
• Put controls in place to ensure all schools are run with fiscal responsibility and accountability.
• Undertake regular financial reporting as guided by the fiscal policies of the Foundation.

 Policy Development

•  Prepare and implement appropriate and robust policies, ensuring that they are revised and updated regularly.
• Create safeguarding policies and ensue that they are reviewed regularly, and all staff and students are aware of these policies and follow its guidelines.
• Enforce other relevant policies and procedures as they are developed.

Compliance, Audit and Risk

•  Ensure that all Pharo Schools in Ethiopia are in compliance to all local and national requirements and policies.
• Protect the Pharo Schools and the Foundation from undue risk exposure and mitigate where necessary.
• Ensure that regular financial, management and academic audits are carried out in all Pharo Schools and Pharo Education Programmes in Ethiopia.

 Stakeholder Relationships

•  Ensure good working relationships with cooperation and support from governmental entities, parents, alumni and the larger community.
• Represent the Foundation in educational forums in Ethiopia.
• Represent the Pharo Schools in the media and public engagements in Ethiopia.

 Operations Management

•  Supervise the management of all schools’ facilities, and their on-going care and maintenance.
• Ensure proper maintenance and care of all movable assets.
• Maintain the asset register, ensuring that all assets are properly labelled and all records are easily accessible.

Reporting

•  Ensure open and continuous communication with the Director of Education East Africa, employees and all other key stakeholders.
• Regularly report the progress of the education component as per the reporting requirements of the country office for internal external consumption
• Provide regular reports on all aspects of the schools’ business and operations.
• Inform the Director of Education, East Africa and the Country Representative, Ethiopia of any issues or concern that might jeopardies the Pharo Schools or the Foundation with respect to non-compliance, reputational risk or safeguarding.

Role: Head of Education Ethiopia, based in the Addis Ababa Office

Reporting to: Director of Education, East Africa (Kenya), Country Representative (Ethiopia).

Functional Relationships: Finance and Administration Manager (Ethiopia), HR Manager (Ethiopia), Finance Manager (London), Heads of Education (Somaliland and Rwanda), Director of Academics, Education Business Manager and Head of Career Counselling and College Preparation.

 Direct Reports: Education coordinators/officers based in program areas, Principals/Heads of Schools of Pharo Schools in Ethiopia.

Job Requirements

Qualification Requirements

• The ideal person should possess a Master’s degree in Education.
• S/He must possess a minimum of ten (10) years professional experience, eight (8) of these in senior management roles in schools or as a School Head/Principal.
• Demonstrated experience in successfully recruiting, retaining and developing educators, staff and administrators.
• Excellent business acumen
• The ability to work autonomously, have strong self-motivation and the maturity to remain accountable for results
• Excellent communication skills both when working with peers and colleagues, as well as when remaining an approachable and accessible figure to direct reports

 Behavioral Competencies 

• Passionate and driven individual with high social and emotional intelligence
• A natural and effective leader who can manage staff in a K-12 setting across different locations
• Excellent communicator with fluency in written and spoken English
• Open minded and flexible individual
• High levels of integrity, professionalism, resilience, accountability, commitment and determination
• Creative thinker who can think outside the box
• Respects and understands the local culture and values and yet embraces and can work within international work ethics and standards
• Dedicated team player with demonstrable experience in setting up good governance and processes at scale

How to Apply

Please send the information listed below, as a single PDF file, to the following email address with the subject line: Head of Education – The Pharo Foundation Ethiopia

 reece.owen@big5search.com

•  A detailed CV and Cover Letter
• An essay of no more than 1,000 words outlining: 
• What education leadership experience have you gained that makes you the most qualified candidate for the role?  
• What is your plan and/or experience in transforming schools into high performing schools? Kindly give examples from your experience.
• A one-page list of five references with current addresses, phone numbers, and email contacts.

NB: State on your application where you saw the advert for this position. Review of applications will begin as soon as they are received, and only complete applications will be reviewed. In the event that an outstanding applicant is identified early in the search process, we reserve the right to appoint before the deadline. For this reason, we encourage interested and suitably qualified candidates to apply at the earliest possible time. Due to the high volume of applications, we regret that we will only be able to contact short-listed candidates. If you do not hear from us during this period, please consider your application unsuccessful.