Director of Education - Njabini, South Kinangop Sub-County, Kenya

Job Title: Director of Education

Reports to: The Executive Director

Location: Njabini, South Kinangop Sub-County, Kenya

Office Hours: Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Brief on Client

We partner with teachers in rural Kenya to transform schools so that girls can thrive. By introducing programs and resources across our School Network, we are supporting girls to realize their human rights by making informed decisions about their bodies, their education, and their future. 2024 is a pivotal year for Flying Kites. With a multimillion-dollar, multi-year grant to scale our work and multiply our impact, we are building the capacity of our 42-person (and growing!) Kenya team, establishing our Academy as a model school for gender equity, and expanding our School Network to reach all 46 public primary schools in the South Kinangop Sub-County, benefiting more than 20,000 students – 10,000 girls and 10,000 boys – and 1,000 teachers over the next five years.

Role Summary

The Director of Education is responsible for developing, leading, and executing the mission and strategic goals of our primary school, and positioning the institution as a model school for Gender Transformative Education from which we design, pilot, and scale interventions that address barriers to learning across our network of public primary schools in South Kinangop Sub-County (“School Network”). In this role, he/she is responsible for designing and managing programs that achieve measurable improvements in literacy, gender equitable teaching practices, and differentiated instruction strategies. In addition, the Director of Education provides leadership and guidance to the Head of School to ensure alignment and mission-centeredness in the management, practices, and day-to-day operations. Finally, the Director of Education collaborates closely with the Director of Programs to develop and facilitate training programs for teachers across our School Network.

Responsibilities

•  Develop, implement, and execute a program for Gender Transformative Education, including a clearly-articulated logical framework, timeline, and tools for measuring impact toward target outcomes.

•  Establish and introduce key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor and measure teacher capacity aligned with target impact goals, particularly in areas of literacy, gender equitable classrooms, and differentiated learning.

•  Develop, implement, and execute a professional development strategy for teachers aligned with identified needs, Ministry of Education requirements, and organizational goals, including the design and facilitation of in-house workshops, coaching/mentoring practices, digital resources, and engagement with outside experts.

•  Oversee the performance management process of teachers based on achievement of established KPIs and quantifiable professional development goals.

•  Establish KPIs and provide guidance and direction to the Head of School in support of the effective day-to-day management of FKA, ensuring that all programs (curricular and extracurricular) achieve clearly-stated objectives, are implemented on time, and comply with organizational policies, procedures, and priorities.

•  Establish, communicate and institutionalize policies, practices, and procedures to ensure compliance with

•  Ministry of Education standards and alignment with core organizational mission, priorities, and objectives.

•  Collaborate with the Finance Department and Head of School to develop and manage the operating budget while identifying strategies to optimize costs aligned with goals to enrich the quality of programs and resources.

•  Serve as a member of the Global Leadership Team by upholding and modeling the value-driven culture of the organization, participating in calls and meetings with the larger Leadership Team, and sharing/cascading information to teachers and the community.

•  Prepare and communicate termly and annual impact reports for circulation to the wider leadership team, including quantitative and qualitative data aligned with target outcomes for identified priority areas.

•  Support fundraising and development initiatives as directed by the COO.

•  Continually assess, identify, and address gaps and weaknesses to improve programmatic and operational performance, efficiency, and effectiveness

We are looking for:

•  An inspiring and creative thinker who is deeply passionate and knowledgeable about gender equity

•  A results-oriented and community-centered leader with a commitment to working and living in rural Kenya.

•  Familiarity and experience with the objectives and target outcomes associated with Kenya’s competency-based curriculum (CBC) at the primary and junior school levels

•  Knowledge and understanding of Gender Transformative Education concepts and implementation strategies, particularly for students in very young adolescence

•  Highly developed program/project management skills, including design and application of logical frameworks and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) methodologies.

•  Ability to develop and deliver professional development training to teachers and other adult learners

•  Mature and professional interpersonal skills; ability to interact effectively in a multicultural environment with stakeholders and colleagues at all organizational levels

•  Exceptional written, oral, and presentation skills in English and Kiswahili

•  Knowledge and high proficiency in computer applications

•  Self-reliant and results-oriented with the flexibility to live and work in a rural community

•  Excellent judgment, integrity, and problem solving skills

•  Strong mentoring experience to inspire and develop teams with diverse levels of expertise

•  Entrepreneurial team player who can multitask, prioritize effectively, and adhere to deadlines

•  Exceptional analytical skills to effectively assess, monitor, and communicate data

Education and work experience:

•  Master’s degree (or higher) in Education

•  5+ years leadership experience at a school or non-governmental organization in Kenya

•  Advanced education, certified skills, and/or professional experience in the area of gender equity, including knowledge of Gender Transformative Education goals and practices

Additional requirements:

•  Ability to manage and be accountable for the handling of confidential and sensitive informations

•  Ability to respond quickly and maintain composure in situations that impact the safety and security of children

•  An incident-free Children’s Check and National Police Check (Certificate of Good Conduct) is a strict condition of employment and must be provided at time of hire and updated on request

•  Consistent with the leadership level of this position and the need to effectively communicate with US-based colleagues, periodic weekend and after-hours work is expected and required to meet organizational priorities

•  Occasional travel based on organizational priorities

•  Additional responsibilities may be assigned to support coverage for management-level and other colleagues who are absent, on holiday or personal leave