Curriculum Lead, Arts Education Initiative (Consultant)

Terms of Reference

Client: Pharo Foundation

Consultancy: Curriculum Lead, Arts Education Initiative

About the Arts Education Initiative:

The Arts Education Initiative is a pre-launch creative initiative backed by Pharo Foundation, built to fill a genuine gap in East Africa’s creative education landscape, one where studio-based learning, interdisciplinary practice, entrepreneurship, and cultural ambition exist in the same space.

The initiative's founding vision is to train the next generation of African creative founders: individuals who will reshape creative industries, build companies, own IP, and export African culture on their own terms. Where most existing institutions focus on preparing students for existing jobs, the Arts Education Initiative is focused on developing creative leaders and the industries they will build.

The Arts Education Initiative is being incubated within Pharo Foundation and will launch with a pilot campus in Nairobi, 2–3 core programmes, and a founding cohort of students, faculty, and partners. Initial programmes will span fashion design, material culture, fine art, storytelling and performance, and business for creative economies.

Consultancy Assignment:

Pharo Foundation is seeking an experienced consultant to support the design and development of the Arts Education Initiative’s academic and learning framework. The consultant will lead and facilitate curriculum development workshops, guide the creation of the school’s academic structure and pedagogical model, and collaborate closely with the operations and leadership teams to translate ideas into a practical and scalable curriculum roadmap.

An early priority for the consultant will be to identify and design 2–3 short courses suitable for launch in the near term, providing immediate programming momentum while laying the groundwork for the school's longer-term academic vision.

This role is ideal for a professional with deep expertise in curriculum design, creative education models, workshop facilitation, and interdisciplinary learning environments.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and facilitate curriculum development workshops with founders, advisors, faculty, and key stakeholders.
• Identify and develop 2-3 short courses ready for launch in the near term, designed to build early audience, test programme assumptions, and demonstrate momentum to partners and funders.
• Design a high-level curriculum framework and programme architecture for the school.
• Define learning pathways, programme sequencing, modules, and learning outcomes.
• Support the integration of entrepreneurship, innovation, and professional practice across programmes.
• Advise on pedagogical approaches, studio-based learning models, and student experience design.
• Translate workshop outcomes into clear curriculum documentation and implementation roadmaps.
• Collaborate closely with the operations and leadership teams on workshop planning, coordination, documentation, and delivery.
• Provide recommendations on academic structure, assessment approaches, and interdisciplinary learning integration.
• Benchmark relevant global and African creative education models to inform curriculum development.

Deliverables:

• Facilitated curriculum development workshops and summary reports.
• Document a complete and structured curriculum framework and programme structure, including content outline, content mapping and lesson structure.
• 2–3 short course outlines ready for immediate delivery, including programme description, target audience, duration, and learning outcomes.
• Learning pathways and module sequencing recommendations.
• Proposed pedagogical and assessment approach.
• Curriculum roadmap and implementation recommendations.
• Final consolidated curriculum development report.

Ideal Candidate:

• Strong academic and/or professional background in education, curriculum development, learning design, or creative education.
• Proven experience developing curricula, academic programmes, or learning frameworks.
• Demonstrated experience facilitating workshops, co-creation sessions, or collaborative learning engagements.
• Familiarity with creative education, studio-based learning, interdisciplinary programmes, or alternative education models.
• Strong stakeholder engagement, communication, and organizational skills.
• Experience working within arts, culture, fashion, design, or creative industries is highly desirable.
• An understanding of African creative ecosystems and cultural contexts is strongly preferred.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced and evolving environment.

Duration:

The consultancy is expected to run for approximately 12–16 weeks. It will be structured in two phases, with a review checkpoint between phases to assess progress, alignment, and continuation of the engagement.

Reporting Line:

The consultant will work closely with the Arts Education Initiative team and report to the designated Operations Lead at Pharo Foundation.

Location:

Nairobi-based candidates are strongly preferred. The assignment will involve a combination of in-person workshops and virtual collaboration sessions. Candidates based outside Nairobi with availability to travel for in-person engagements will also be considered.

Application Process:

Qualified consultants are required to provide:

1. A detailed CV;
2. A motivation letter outlining relevant experience and demonstrating fit for this assignment. Sample work is welcome; and
3. A proposed workplan and estimated costs for the assignment.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We reserve the right to appoint an exceptional candidate before the closing date and encourage early applications. Only shortlisted consultants will be contacted due to the high volume of applications received.

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive institution. We actively encourage applications from candidates across backgrounds, disciplines, and geographies, particularly those with lived experience of African creative economies.

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