Regional Alumni Affairs Coordinator-East Africa
Nova Pioneer is looking for a superstar Regional Alumni Affairs Coordinator- East Africa on a full-time basis.
The Regional Alumni Coordinator – East Africa plays a critical role in bringing this vision to life by building and sustaining a vibrant, connected, and impactful Nova Pioneer alumni community across the East Africa region. This role is responsible for ensuring that Novaneers remain meaningfully connected to Nova Pioneer and to one another long after graduation, while continuing to access opportunities that support their academic, professional, personal, and leadership development. Through intentional programming, partnerships, mentorship, networking, and community-building, the Regional Alumni Coordinator will strengthen alumni pride and belonging, create valuable opportunities for graduates, and support their continued development as innovators and leaders.
This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of an innovative network of schools that is developing generations of innovators and leaders who will shape the African Century.
ABOUT NOVA PIONEER
Imagine a world in which every young person across Africa attends a school that truly sets them up for success in the 21st century. A school that cares about individual students and allows them to explore the world around them. A school that focuses more on developing skills than on memorizing content. At Nova Pioneer, we have done more than just imagine this future, we are bringing it to life. Nova Pioneer is a pan-African, independent network of schools offering high quality, accessible education from pre-primary through secondary school. Nova Pioneer uses a unique, inquiry-based learning approach that encourages students to ask “why” instead of telling them the “what”. It allows them to form their own thinking through exploration, investigation and collaboration. Nova Pioneer currently has 17 schools in South Africa and Kenya with a vision to launch 100 schools and reach tens of thousands of students across the African continent in the next decade. To learn more visit www.novapioneer.com.
ABOUT THE ROLE
Key responsibilities for the role include:
Alumni Affairs
- Planning and executing the annual Nova Pioneer Alumni Summit in partnership with the Managing Director of Schools- East Africa and Post School Success Lead.
- Planning and executing Nova Pioneer’s termly alumni internship and job shadowing programs in partnership with the Managing Director, East Africa, and Post School Success Lead.
- Managing onboarding, training and ongoing development of alumni interns.
- Managing onboarding, training and ongoing development of alumni doing job shadowing opportunities.
- Partnering with Nova Pioneer Schools in the creation, implementation and foundation building of Alumni Chapters.
- Partnering with the Managing Director of Schools and NP CEO to create the Alumni Advisory Committee to the Nova Pioneer Global Leadership Team.
- Creating and maintaining an alumni database to better understand where alumni currently are, their interests, their needs and ways that they can connect.
- Creating monthly alumni profiles, highlighting alumni and their accomplishments.
- Develop and manage alumni communications channels, including newsletters, social media, and website content.
- Researching, identifying, doing outreach and holding initial meetings with organisations and individuals that could partner in our alumni development.
- Creating quarterly alumni events.
- Creating and implementing a job board for alumni that allows them to access internships, job shadow opportunities and paid job opportunities.
- Coordinate alumni fundraising initiatives, including annual giving campaigns, major gifts, and planned giving.
- Research, identify and execute programs that support alumni self-exploration, academic pursuits and career exploration.
- Research, identify and partner with individuals and organizations that help promote alumni self-exploration, academic pursuits and career exploration.
- Participate in annual PSS department programs such as career days, university fairs and Alumni Connect.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Quest: Digital Learning, Innovation, and Post-School Success
Quest is Nova Pioneer's digital Post-School Success learning platform, designed to support students throughout their journey from secondary school to university, career, entrepreneurship, and beyond. The PSS Associate Manager will contribute to the development, delivery, adoption, and continuous improvement of Quest, helping ensure that students can access meaningful learning, guidance, and opportunities long after they graduate from Nova Pioneer.
- Support the development of the Quest platform: Collaborate with the PSS Lead and relevant teams on the design, development, testing, and improvement of Quest, including its learning experiences, content, and student-facing features.
- Support the digital PSS curriculum: Contribute to the design, delivery, and implementation of the virtual PSS curriculum on Quest, ensuring it complements campus-based programming and supports student learning and engagement.
- Support Quest Launchpad: Contribute to the design, delivery, marketing, and student support for Quest Launchpad, a bridge-year programme helping Form 4 and Grade 12 graduates prepare for university and other post-secondary opportunities.
- Support Quest Next: Contribute to the development, delivery, and promotion of Quest Next, which supports students transitioning from college into careers, entrepreneurship, and other professional pathways.
- Champion student innovation and entrepreneurship: Support the use of Quest as a platform where students and alumni can showcase, develop, and continue building their innovation projects, entrepreneurial ideas, and businesses.
- Drive student engagement and adoption: Support marketing, student recruitment, onboarding, communications, and ongoing engagement to ensure students and alumni understand, access, and benefit from Quest offerings.
- Use feedback to strengthen the platform: Gather insights from students, alumni, families, and teammates to identify opportunities to improve Quest's learning experiences, accessibility, and impact.
ABOUT YOU
Skills and Qualifications required:
- A Diploma/Degree in Psychology/Sociology/Political Science/Commerce/Marketing/Business Administration/Human Resources/Education or any other relevant field.
- Nova Pioneer alumni are encouraged to apply. It will be important to be able to balance a full time role and any studies. If the applicant is a Nova Pioneer alumnus, they can be considered if they are in their final semester of their academic diploma/degree.
- You are passionate about school alumni and the impact that they make on the long lasting mission of a school.
- You are innovative and have experience in creating large scale programming and managing multiple workstreams.
- You have at least one year of experience in a busy start-up or innovative organisation or creating projects.
- You have grit and you are willing to bring your best self to work everyday
- You are self disciplined and do not require a lot of hand holding to get the job done.
- You are a great communicator: You can provide a clear and persuasive pitch to anyone and have excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- You have excellent project management skills and a deep understanding of how to guide a project from idea to implementation.
- You are results driven: You are goal oriented, move fast and take ownership of work.
- You are entrepreneurial and empathetic. You are able to understand the various Nova Pioneer stakeholders and think creatively about how to effectively communicate to them.
- You possess great computer skills - proficiency with Zoom, Excel & G Suite.
- You have very strong organisation, time management, attention to detail and follow‐up skills; high sense of urgency; demonstrated ability to successfully handle multiple projects concurrently
- You have the ability to thrive in a fast‐paced, entrepreneurial environment
- You are excited about our organisational culture—and in particular, you are fired up to challenge yourself by embracing mutual vulnerability and a firehose of feedback
HOW TO APPLY
Does working at Nova Pioneer excite you? If so, then apply now!
To apply, please complete the form on the right-hand side of this page. We cannot process applications that are emailed to us.
Please note: You are encouraged to attach your resume in PDF format to protect formatting.
All applications will be reviewed and applicants notified of the next steps. There are a series of stages in the Nova Pioneer interview process and candidates will be moved forward in the process depending on their success in the previous stage. The process is as follows:
- Phone interview: a short conversation to understand your skills and experience a little better.
- Practical demonstration of what you can do: you will complete a written task or a demonstration related to the role you are applying for. Teachers participate in a half-day selection day at one of our campuses as well as deliver a lesson to a class.
- In-person interviews: at this point you will visit one of our schools to meet the team and participate in a series of in-person interviews.
- Final interview: you’ll have a final conversation with the hiring manager before decisions are made.
WORKING AT NOVA PIONEER
Nova Pioneer is a place where our people experience tremendous growth, fast! We invest heavily in the growth of our people because it leads to greater mastery in both us and our students. “Novaneers” work harder and work longer hours than most schools but as a result, the growth they experience is extraordinary. We offer consistent and ongoing personal development and provide clear career pathways that ensure that our people are always achieving their personal and professional best. Nova Pioneer has a highly energetic, entrepreneurial environment where our people get to bring their creative and innovative ideas to life. We look for people who are flexible and who are able to adapt and respond quickly to adversity with a positive, can-do attitude (there are no problems, only solutions!). We welcome challenges and roll with the punches because it makes us, and our students, better. There is no problem too big for us! We bring infectious energy and enthusiasm to everything we do because joy fuels our work and learning. Read more about our culture principles here
Nova Pioneer will never request an application fee from candidates. If you are contacted with a request to pay a fee from someone claiming to be a Nova Pioneer Talent or Recruitment representative, please do not pay them and report it to us immediately on talent.ke@novapioneer.com or talent.sa@novapioneer.com.