Director, Programs

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About TaRL Africa

Position: Director, Programs

Reports to: Deputy Executive Director

Location: Nairobi, Kenya (Preferred) or Remote within Africa

Deadline: 13th November 2025

About TaRL Africa 

TaRL Africa initiative is hosted by Empower Learning Africa, a not-for-profit organisation registered and headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with teams in Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Zambia, and locally registered offices in Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire. TaRL Africa began as a joint venture by Pratham and J-PAL in 2019, with the goal of supporting governments and organisations across Africa to accelerate children's foundational skill learning using the evidence-based "Teaching at the Right Level" (TaRL) approach. TaRL Africa's vision is for every child across Africa to have foundational skills so that they can have a better future. Our mission is to ensure education systems effectively equip children with these foundational skills. 

We support governments and organisations in over 16 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to design, deliver, and scale impactful TaRL programmes while learning and sharing how the approach can be improved for different contexts. Since our inception, we have reached 7 million children in collaboration with partners. 

Summary of the Role: 

The Programs Director leads the strategic direction, oversight, and execution of TaRL Africa's programmatic portfolio across countries. This includes guiding high-impact implementation, strengthening government partnerships, driving evidence-based learning and adaptation, and ensuring sustainable scale. The Director oversees multiple sub-teams, fosters collaboration across the organization, and ensures our work delivers measurable improvements in foundational learning.

Major roles and responsibilities:

1. Strategic Program Leadership (25%)

• Lead the development and execution of TaRL Africa's overall program strategy across countries where TaRL Africa does not yet have a country presence. 
• Ensure coherence and alignment across delivery, program measurement, partnerships, improvement, and sustainability efforts.
• Oversee cross-team planning and execution of OKRs and strategic initiatives.
• Support the Deputy Executive Director in high-level decision-making and strategic reviews.

2. Leadership of Senior Program Team (25%) 

• Supervise and support a team of five senior program leaders, ensuring clarity, alignment, and performance.
• Foster a strong, collaborative culture across sub-teams, encouraging learning, continuous improvement and shared accountability.
• Ensure strategic staffing, performance management, and succession planning across the program function.

3. Government Partnerships and System Integration (15%)

• Provide senior-level support to governments and country teams in embedding TaRL into national systems.
• Represent TaRL Africa in key conversations with Ministries, and regional actors on scale, quality, and sustainability.
• Guide alignment between technical assistance efforts and long-term institutionalization goals.     

4. Fundraising & Donor Engagement (15%)

• Collaborate with the Fundraising team to position the organization and develop compelling proposals.
• Support the development of programmatic content for funding applications, reporting, and donor communications.
• Represent the programmatic vision and progress in high-level donor meetings and funder briefings.

5. Program Quality and Learning (10%)

• Oversee d program improvement priorities.
• Support the testing, reflection, and adoption of innovations that enhance impact and cost-effectiveness.
• Ensure learning from across countries is codified and feeds into decision-making.

6. Budgeting & Resource Management (10%)

• Provide oversight on programmatic budget planning and resource allocation.
• Ensure program resources are aligned with strategic priorities and grant requirements.
• Support cross-country financial planning in collaboration with Finance and Operations teams.

Education and Experience 

• Master's degree in Education, Public Policy, International Development, or a related field
• At least 10 years of progressive leadership experience in education or development programs
• Proven ability to manage senior teams and oversee multi-country operations
• Demonstrated experience in early-stage program design, scale-up, or systems integration
• Experience working with governments in Sub-Saharan Africa on education reform or large-scale program implementation
• Strong understanding of delivery models, MEL systems, and program strategy
• Excellent communication, relationship-building, and cross-functional management skills
• Fluency in English required; French or a local African language is an asset

Key Competencies

• Strategic and systems-oriented thinker
• Collaborative leader with experience managing technical experts
• Skilled in government engagement and partnership development
• Strong understanding of institutionalization and sustainability in education
• Adaptable, analytical, and committed to learning and improvement

TaRL Africa Values 

1. We put children's learning first.
2. We are always learning, improving, and innovating. 
3. We are locally rooted for high-quality delivery and sustainable impact. 
4. We are kind, respectful, and collaborative.
5. We are proactive, committed to integrity, and doing our best each day

This job description covers the main tasks and conveys the spirit of the sort of tasks that are anticipated proactively from staff. Other tasks may be assigned as necessary according to organisational needs.

TaRL Africa provides a nationally peer-benchmarked compensation package aligned with organisational salary scales, taking into account both qualifications and professional experience.

TaRL Africa is an equal-opportunity employer committed to having a diverse workforce.