External Relations Associate

Who We Are 

Africa has the world's youngest and fastest-growing population. By 2035, the continent is poised to contribute more young people to the global workforce each year than the rest of the world combined. 

At Educate we're obsessed with impact. We leverage iterative learning to build highly scalable youth employment solutions aimed at unlocking the potential of the world's youngest continent. 

Educate prepares youth in Africa to learn, earn and thrive in today's economy by: 

1. Introducing an employment-focused school subject into secondary and 
2. Delivering livelihood boot camps for out-of-school youth, with a focus on marginalized rural girls and young women.

To date, more than 500,000 youth have been meaningfully impacted across Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania, and along the way, Educate has become the largest youth employment and skills provider in East Africa.

Educate is a team of over 300 largely African staff and 300 volunteer youth mentors. We prioritize building an engaging, fulfilling and growth oriented work environment. 50% of our top 30 leaders have been with us for over 5 years, 10+ alumni have started their own organizations, and 6 current or former team members were Acumen Fund East Africa fellows. 

We have been backed by top foundations such as Imaginable Futures, Livelihood Impact Fund,  Jack Dorsey's #startsmall, CIFF and Echidna Giving. Educate won a 2018 Klaus J. Jacobs Prize and a 2015 WISE Award, and has been highlighted by the World Bank's S4YE's Impact Portfolio, an Al Jazeera documentary, BBC, The Brookings Institution as one of 14 case studies on scaling education, and the Gates Foundation as a Goalkeepers Accelerator. In 2022, we received a catalytic investment from philanthropist Mackenzie Scott to scale our systems change work.

Educate's long-term vision is to design solutions that measurably impact millions of youth across Africa each year.

Good to note: To Our Awesome Applicants

We know that incredible candidates sometimes hesitate to apply if they don't meet every requirement. If this role excites you, we encourage you to apply 

We're looking for passionate individuals who believe in our mission and can bring unique perspectives to our team—not just those who check every box. We value diversity and strongly encourage women and individuals from all backgrounds to apply.

Position Overview 

Educate is an award-winning non-profit social enterprise seeking for an External Relations Associate that will be responsible for managing a portfolio of institutional funders and developing a strong generalist skill set across the full partnership lifecycle—from prospecting and proposal development to grant delivery, reporting, and renewal. Success in this role will require strong project management, relationship-building, communication, and problem-solving skills. Responsibilities include the following.

As an External Relations Associate, you'll help manage partnerships across their full lifecycle—from prospecting and proposal development to grant delivery, reporting, and renewal. You'll collaborate closely with colleagues across fundraising, communications, and programs to deliver results and sustain growth.

This is a dynamic opportunity to gain broad institutional partnerships experience while contributing directly to Educate's mission to prepare youth across East Africa with the skills they need to succeed in today's economy.

What You'll Do  
Project Management 

• Coordinate all stages of the funding process from developing proposals to reporting on program outcomes ensuring alignment across internal teams and partners.
• Research and document new funding prospects, maintaining up-to-date relationship tracking and supporting the pipeline management process.
• Prepare and follow up on key donor meetings, including diligence, briefings, and prospect engagement.
• Support coordination and logistics for conferences, events, and internal projects involving multiple stakeholders.

Relationship Building 

• Develop and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with funders and internal stakeholders.
• Support renewal processes by compiling impact data, learnings, and partnership summaries.
• Contribute to partnership stewardship by helping ensure timely, thoughtful communication with donors.
• Support fundraising strategy at conferences and events through prospect research, event preparation, and outreach.

Communication 

• Draft compelling proposals, concept notes, and pitch materials tailored to donor priorities.
• Coordinate and write high-quality grant reports, working closely with Educate teams across countries to gather and synthesize information.
• Create clear, engaging written content—such as donor emails and briefings—that communicates Educate's impact and vision.

Problem Solving & Process Improvement 

• Identify potential challenges in partnership management and propose creative, effective solutions.
• Manage donor compliance requirements and diligence requests, ensuring accurate, timely responses.
• Strengthen internal systems to improve efficiency and consistency in grant reporting and compliance tracking.
• Help refine and document internal processes to enhance collaboration across the External Relations team.
• Support the development of tools or resources that make donor management and reporting more efficient

Qualifications

This position is ideal for an early- to mid-career professional (typically with 2–3 years of work experience) who thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment and is eager to grow in the field of fundraising and institutional partnerships.

We're looking for someone who:

• Excels at project management — organized, detail-oriented, and skilled at keeping multiple priorities moving on time.
• Communicates clearly and confidently, with strong writing skills and experience crafting content for different audiences and purposes.
• Builds trust easily — reliable, responsive, and comfortable managing shifting priorities and workflows.
• Collaborates with empathy and adaptability, bringing high emotional intelligence and a team-first mindset.
• Navigates ambiguity with confidence, proactively identifying solutions and learning as you go.
• Manages time effectively, balancing competing priorities across dispersed or remote teams.
• Takes initiative — a self-starter who's energized by ownership, problem-solving, and delivering results.
• Is curious about fundraising and partnerships, and excited to help grow an innovative social enterprise through creative approaches to revenue generation.

What We Offer

• A vibrant, mission-driven environment with a supportive and fun team. 
• Competitive salary based on experience.
• Learning & growth opportunities  

Application Process: Rolling basis, interviews happening soon

Our Culture & Tenets(Values)

We're ambitious. Are you? Educate is growing fast, so new opportunities are opening up and expanding all the time. We're inspired by people with drive, and we love to help them reach their full potential. We expect everyone at Educate to contribute above and beyond their job description, grow their skills, and advance their careers, and we are committed to supporting our staff members on that journey of their careers, and we are committed to supporting our staff members on that journey. 

1. We put Youth First, Impact-Obsessed - We are purpose-driven, focused on impact, and prioritize what truly matters. We listen to youth, design our efforts around their needs, and ensure every dollar creates transformative experiences they value.
2. We Exceed Expectations - We take pride in going above and beyond to achieve the best results—proactively identifying problems and seeking solutions without waiting or stopping at what's requested.
3. We Are Always Learning - We are committed to seeking and applying new knowledge and ideas. We stay open-minded and continuously try new things, experiment, grow, and improve. We invest in learning for ourselves and our teams.
4. We are One Team, Many Views - We value all individuals, believe diverse ideas and open dialogue drive excellence, foster a supportive and respectful environment where everyone can freely express themselves. We work as one team and prioritize the organization's mission over personal or team interests.
5. We have the Startup Mindset - We innovate relentlessly to grow our impact, we never think "we have arrived" or "we're done."We constantly challenge the status quo, embrace change, and move quickly toward our vision. Unafraid of failure, we question anything that hinders progress.

Every person at Educate — from interns to the executive director — is evaluated by how they live up to these five cultural tenets. They are at the core of how we achieve our mission and why we work as well as we do.  Educate is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all who interact in our community. In creating this environment, we encourage people from a variety of cultures, backgrounds and life experiences to join our diverse team. 

We're committed to ensuring all candidates are screened for child and youth safety. As part of the process, you'll need to provide a Certificate of Good Conduct. Educate reserves the right to withdraw employment offers if any risks to youth are identified.

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