Organisation Overview

The Pharo Foundation (the “Foundation”) is a privately funded entrepreneurial organisation that runs philanthropic programmes as well as the for-profit arm, Pharo Ventures. The vision of the Foundation is an economically vibrant and inclusive Africa. The mission is to achieve our vision by investing in Africa’s human and physical capital 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. The Foundation has carried out numerous projects in East Africa, with a focus on Ethiopia, Somaliland and Rwanda. The key themes for the philanthropic side of the Foundation are education, health, water and agriculture. At the end of 2019, the Foundation started its Pharo Ventures franchise to prioritise sectors where the Foundation believes a real impact can be made by establishing self- sustaining businesses that focus on job creation.

Headquartered in London, the Foundation has an operational Head Office in Nairobi, Kenya with country offices in Ethiopia (Addis Ababa and Assosa), Somaliland (Hargeisa) and Rwanda (Kigali) with further expansion plans in East Africa.

Position Summary

The Pharo Foundation aims to provide the highest quality education to children and young adults across East Africa and offers a merit-based scholarship programme to the graduates from Pharo Secondary Schools. The Foundation is now actively recruiting for a scholarship coordinator for the Foundation’s programme office.

The Foundation is looking for a driven and passionate individual who wants to make real change in the life of our students and unlock higher-education opportunities.  The Scholarship Coordinator will be entrusted with the overall responsibility of supporting the scholarship and college application process for K12 and tertiary scholarship programmes of the Foundation. Travel coordination and preparation and ongoing support for the scholars, once reached their final study destination.

Key Duties and Responsibilities 

1. Tertiary education scholarship award process

Coordinate the academic data collection for all graduate students at the Pharo Secondary School(s) and evaluate the internal transcripts for scholarship eligibility.

Work with finance team, school leadership and teachers to evaluate the eligibility of students, in line with the Foundation’s scholarship criteria.

Review scholarship applications and vet them for consideration.

Inform students about the scholarship policy and process of the Foundation and ensure full transparency, clarity and proactiveness of all students during the process.

Chair the ‘Scholarship Award Committee’ and ensure a fair and transparent scholarship award process, based on the eligibility criteria.

2. University Application Process

Guide and assist students during the university application process and ensure timelines are met.

Oversee Pharo Schools’ workshops on self-directed search strategies including writing resumes and cover letters, university placement letters, career development resources, researching undergraduate programs and more.

Guide the students in understanding types of universities/colleges such as public, private, liberal, community colleges, etc.

Inform students about potential study destinations and countries, make them aware of the local customs and cultural differences as well as potential barriers, to ensure that students make well informed decisions about preferred study destination.

Work closely with school leadership and the School Colleague Counsellors in organising job fairs, career awareness programs and other career specific workshops and events in collaboration with local and international universities.

Provide students with insight on useful coursework and degree programs that will support their career aspirations.

Connect students to additional resources such as financial aid/scholarships from other organisations or universities, vocational training, extensive counselling and therapy services and other academic assistance where needed.

3. Tertiary education scholarship and travel coordination

Liaise with students, parents, and guarantors to ensure all loan and scholarship agreements are duly signed and legally binding.

Work together and build partnerships with local embassies and ministries to facilitate the visa application process and support the students in the best possible way during their travel preparations.

Lead post-departure briefings for all students and their parents/guardians.

Create best practices and a knowledge database within the scholarship program, to institutionalise organisational learning and improve the programme over time.

Coordinate communication between students, universities, embassies, and other relevant stakeholders in the process.

4. Post placement support

Maintain a relationship with the students after travel and start of study and care for their well-being.

Coordinate all payments and financial aid from the Foundation to the student.

Follow the student’s academic journey, monitor their results and report on their performance at university.

Guide, counsel, and support student wherever possible to make them thrive as individuals and students.

5. Pharo School Scholarship Coordination

Identification, verification and selection of students eligible for the Pharo School Scholarship programme.

Create and maintain a student database with relevant information for the awarding and tracking of scholarship students at Pharo, including information about family income, academic performance, attendance, and relevant data.

Bridge communication between parents, students and scholarship sponsors and provide regular reports about performance.

Be the first-line response for hardship cases, including offering of pastoral support, interventions with parents/guardians, students, teachers, school leadership, or other stakeholders.

Responsible for the auditing and record keeping and accountable for the right use of scholarships to benefit the targeted group of beneficiaries.

Regular, comprehensive and structured reporting to the finance department of the Foundation.

6. Alumni Programme

Develop and maintain an Alumni Database and follow all Pharo School graduates in their life journey.

Develop a communications strategy with all alumni.

Maintain a communications platform amongst the alumni network.

Develop outreach programs to promote career advertisement services among students/alumni.

7. Other

Develop partnerships with private sector to avail internship opportunities for students during gap-years.

Develop partnerships with private sector and attend job-fairs to help with job-placement of students in their country after successful completion of their study.

Cost control and payment coordination during the programme duration for all students.

Support the annual budgeting process.

Manage all student data for all members of the scholarship program.

Job Requirements

Qualification Requirements 

The ideal candidate should have:

• Bachelors’ degree with extensive training in Career Counselling, Career Education, College Student Affairs, Social Development or related field. Master’s degree will be an added advantage.

• Has direct experience in College Preparation and Career Counselling.

• Is a hands-on coordinator, good and quick with numbers and can manage several tasks simultaneously.

• Has been exposed to the UK, US or Canada as a student or work experience and can prepare the students with hands on experience for their experience abroad.

• The ability to work autonomously, have strong self-motivation and the maturity to remain accountable for results.

• Basic understanding of book-keeping and financial procedures.

• Computer literacy and able to produce reports and organise data in a structured manner.

• Excellent communication skills and high emotional intelligence abilities.

• Behavioural Competencies 

• A passionate and driven individual with high social and emotional intelligence.

• Open minded and flexible individual.

• Creative thinker who can think outside the box.

• Respect 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.

• High levels of integrity, professionalism, resilience, accountability, commitment and determination.

How to Apply

This position is open to both female and male nationals from Ethiopia.
Review of applications will begin as soon as they are received, and only complete applications will be considered. 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 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 shortlisted candidates.

Application Requirements:

A detailed CV.

Cover letter - In your cover letter, please indicate your motivation for the role and state where you heard about this position or saw it advertised e.g. through our website, jobs board, etc.

An updated list of at least six (6) referees with their names, titles, current email addresses, and phone numbers.

Essay of not more than 1,000 words outlining the experiences you have gained that makes you the most qualified candidate for the role.

Interested and qualified candidates can apply using this link CLICK HERE