Bridge International Academies is an education innovation
company that designs technology-enabled, national syllabus aligned content and
directly operates over 520 nursery and primary schools across Kenya, Uganda,
Liberia, India and Nigeria. We also have support offices in Cambridge, MA;
Washington, DC; London and Hyderabad. Our mission is to provide our pupils with
a life-changing education and we believe that every child should have a right
to world-class education regardless of her family’s income. We leverage
experts, data, and technology in order to standardize and scale every aspect of
quality education delivery, from how and where academies are built to how
teachers are selected and trained, and how lessons are delivered and monitored
for improvement. Bridge schools are technology enabled and data driven to
ensure accountability in the classroom for both learning and delivery. Bridge
also uses its expertise in curriculum design, teacher training and support, and
software development to partner with governments and NGOs to strengthen
education systems across the world.
The Bridge model delivers significant learning outcomes at
large scale by combining technology and customized learning materials. At
Bridge, we believe innovation and technology can transform learning. Our model
- which uses technology to deliver thoroughly researched and carefully designed
daily lesson guides to teachers in our academies - is proven to increase
learning outcomes for primary aged children. In Kenya, where Bridge has been in
operation for seven years, externally administered studies show that children who
attend Bridge learn as much in one year as what their peers learn in two.
We are vertically integrated, tech-enabled, and on our way
to profitability. Bridge expects to continue rapid expansion in our markets.
Bridge started operations in Nigeria in 2015 with the
opening of its first two (2) academies in Lagos. In 2016, twenty one new
academies were opened and another fourteen (14) recently in Term 3 of the
2016-17 academic year, and most recently twenty-one (21) in Term 1 of 2017-2018
academic year. There are now Fifty-Four (54) Bridge International Academies
serving over 11000 pupils currently in operation in seven (7) local government
areas of Lagos State and four (4) academies in Osun State, Nigeria. Having proven
its model in Lagos State and ventured recently into Osun State, Bridge Nigeria
is looking to expand operations further across Lagos and Osun States and more
importantly, in other States outside of these two.
Job Title:
Managing Director
We are seeking a Managing Director to take over leadership
of our Nigeria program and continue the ambitious and successful expansion in
Nigeria. The Managing Director will learn the full spectrum of business
operations and business methods from the outgoing Managing Director as well as
from the extended global team. The Managing Director should expect to work as
an intrepreneur in Lagos. While the Managing Director will have full corporate
support and benefit from the lessons learned and processes developed over 9
years from the operations of the company as well as from being in operation in
Nigeria for 2 years, this is a role that will require fearless, dogged,
entrepreneurial spirit. There will be no job harder than this, as the breadth
of functions needed to operate a vertically integrated education system is
staggering, and the challenges of accessing and serving the bottom of the
pyramid are well known. Great challenge is where there are great rewards -- the
opportunity to be the person who innovates across every step of multiple
industrial value chains to succeed in radically altering the future of hundreds
of thousands of children in the country.
What You Will Do
There is no pre-determined previous work experience for a
Managing Director. This person may have been in operations of a large corporation,
strategy consulting, business development, or even from a PhD.
The experience
of having started a company previously would be an advantage and the experience
of having started a company previously in the specified expansion country is an
advantage. The most important qualities of a successful Managing Director are
ambition, organization, drive, intellect, tenacity, problem solving and respect
for others.
Drive continued market expansion in Nigeria, including
managing a team of 600+ staff and growing which is needed to execute in-country
strategy and operations
Work with and leverage team support from the global teams
and support offices across the 7 countries we operate in to ensure in-country
operations are aligned to global processes and systems
Refine and execute country strategy to ensure sustainable
operations at scale and deliver the maximum learning impact to the children of
Refine and create highly-structured, insightful processes,
systems and recommendations with a data-driven approach alongside the in
country senior leadership team, to continue expansion and to support operations
at
Project manage the moving parts of the day to day operation
by ensuring each function is operating on time, on budget and on
Learn every step of the lifecycle of producing an
operational Bridge International
Lead on and be prepared to do every job in the entire Bridge
lifecycle, to some No job is too big or too small.
What You Should Have
Passion for Bridge’s vision of democratizing the right for
all children to
At least 10 - 15 years of post-undergraduate, full time work
experience
At least one work experience that required highly
independent work in an exceedingly challenging environment
Work experience at top corporations (in emerging markets and
the US or UK) balanced by a demonstrated interest in entrepreneurship and
data-driven decision-making, including the ability to flourish in dynamic,
ambiguous environments
Strong business network with senior executives in private
business, government and civil society spheres in the specified country
Prior full time work experience in the specified country
Prior experience starting a start-up; secondarily, prior
experience as an early hire at a start-up who remained with the company through
to profitability, acquisition, or
Work experience in a highly political industry, where
ideological conflict is common and strategy, ingenuity, negotiation and
persuasion are necessary for
Ability to manage a very broad scope of work; front office,
back office, development, regulatory
Willingness and comfort working in a Global matrix,
willingness to learning and input from the global functional
Record of strong academic performance from a leading
undergraduate and graduate institution
You’re also
A detailed doer - You have a track record of getting things
done, with at least 5 years of post-graduate school experience. You’re
organized and responsive. You take ownership of every idea you touch and
execute it to a fine level of detail, setting targets, engaging others, and
doing whatever it takes to get the job done. You can multi-task dozens of such
projects at once and never lose sight of the details. Likely, you have some
experience in a start-up or other rapid-growth
A networking mastermind - You excel at meeting new people
and turning them into advocates. You communicate in a clear, conscientious, and
effective way in both written and oral speech. You can influence strangers in
the course of a single conversation. Allies and colleagues will go to bat for
your ideas. You have an existing network in Nigeria from prior experience in
the country, preferably in the regulatory, education, or business
A creative problem-solver - Growing any business from
scratch comes with massive and constant challenges. On top of that, Bridge
works in volatile, low-resource communities and runs on fees averaging just $6
a month per pupil. You need to be flexible and ready to get everything done
effectively, quickly, and affordably with the materials at hand. Every dollar
you spend is a dollar our customers, who live on less than $2 a day, will have
to pay for.
A customer advocate - Our customers - these families living
on less than $2 a day per person - never leave your mind. You know them, get
them, have shared a meal with them (or would be happy to in the future). You
would never shrink back from shaking a parent’s hand or picking up a crying
child, no matter what the person was wearing or looked like. Every decision you
make considers their customer benefit, experience, and
A life-long learner - You believe you can always do better.
You welcome constructive criticism and provide it freely to others. You know
you only get better tomorrow when others point out where you’ve missed things
or failed
How to Apply
Do you want this job? Then click here to apply
Good Luck!!!
