Practice Lead, Education

Job Purpose

The Practice Lead, Education will provide strategic leadership and direction for the organization’s education practice across Africa, with a particular focus on Nigeria and Kenya, although this may expand in line with strategy. The role will drive the design, execution, and scaling of innovative education programs that leverage technology to improve learning outcomes.

A key part of this role involves supporting EdTech startups within the organization’s ecosystem — helping them achieve significant adoption and growth of their solutions through distribution initiatives, partnerships, and ecosystem development.

The Practice Lead will oversee cross-country teams, manage key partnerships, and represent the CcHUB as a thought leader in education innovation/EdTech across Africa.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Visibility

• Define and lead a pan-African strategy for the education practice, aligned with the current organizational strategy, with an initial focus on Nigeria and Kenya.

• Translate emerging trends, policy shifts, and ecosystem insights into actionable strategies that position the organization as a thought leader in education/EdTech.

• Identify new opportunities, partnerships, and approaches to deepen impact and expand CcHUB’s footprint in the education sector.

• Represent CcHUB in regional and global forums to share insights, build visibility, and strengthen partnerships across the education and innovation ecosystem.

• Contribute to organizational strategy and cross-practice collaboration to ensure alignment and synergy with other innovation areas.

• Work closely with the Startup Support and Investment teams to effective and well rounded support for the edtech startups

• Lead the development of multi-country fundraising and proposal development to improve sustainability

 Program Design and Delivery

• Lead the design and implementation of education initiatives that leverage technology and innovation to improve access, quality, and equity in learning.

• Link education programs to workforce development goals through teacher digital upskilling and training in 21st-century skills.

• Ensure programs are contextually relevant, evidence-based, and aligned with national education policies and priorities.

• Oversee all aspects of program delivery — from concept design and pilot testing to scale and impact measurement.

• Encourage collaboration between startups, educators, and policymakers to drive meaningful innovation and uptake.

• Establish robust systems for program management, performance tracking, and reporting to ensure excellence and accountability.

• Mainstream AI, green and sustainable technologies within our education programs

EdTech Startup Support and Distribution

• Lead efforts to support EdTech startups in achieving significant adoption and growth across African education systems.

• Design and execute distribution initiatives that connect startups with schools, educators, learners, and government partners to pilot and scale proven solutions.

• Build and manage partnerships with ministries, private organizations, and NGOs to facilitate the deployment of innovative learning technologies.

• Provide strategic guidance to startups — helping them refine their products, validate impact, and develop sustainable go-to-market models.

• Track and report on adoption metrics and learning outcomes from startup deployments to inform future growth and investment.

Partnership Development and Ecosystem Strengthening

• Build and nurture a diverse network of ecosystem actors — including governments, schools, EdTech startups, investors, NGOs, foundations, and private sector partners — to foster collaboration, shared learning, accelerate innovation, and drive systemic change in education.

• Lead the development of partnership frameworks, and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) that align with the organization’s strategic goals.

• Design and implement initiatives that strengthen local EdTech ecosystems, such as knowledge exchange platforms and ecosystem roundtables.

• Collaborate with ecosystem partners to improve the enabling environment for education innovation, including advocacy for supportive policies, infrastructure, and funding mechanisms.

• Support ecosystem mapping and intelligence-gathering to identify emerging players, market gaps, and partnership opportunities.

• Establish communities of practice or working groups that connect educators, innovators, and policymakers around common learning and innovation goals.

 Team Leadership and Capacity Building

• Lead and mentor a diverse, multi-country education team to deliver excellence in programme and startup support.

• Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and accountability across the education practice.

• Provide strategic direction, performance management, and professional development support to the team.

• Ensure strong coordination and knowledge sharing between country teams across locations.

• Build and nurture a cohesive team culture rooted in the organization’s values of innovation, integrity,  collaboration, empathy, and excellence.

• Implement team development practices that strengthen the middle management layer within the team and promote succession planning

• Foster a culture of creativity, accountability, and continuous learning.

• Support professional development and ensure effective collaboration between Nigeria, Kenya, and other emerging teams.

• Model strong leadership values — integrity, empathy, curiosity, and excellence.
   

 Research, Learning, and Impact

• Promote experimentation, emerging technologies , and data-driven insights to transform teaching and learning.

• Oversee monitoring, evaluation, and learning processes to measure programme outcomes, impact, and inform strategic decisions.

• Drive the generation and dissemination of insights from research, pilots, and partnerships to influence education policy and practice, and strengthen CcHUB’s position as a thought leader in the education and EdTech space.

• Collaborate closely with the Program Management Unit (PMU) on monitoring, evaluation and learning.

Year 1 KPIs will include:

• Strategic Leadership and Visibility

• Program Design and Delivery

• Edtech Startup Support and Distribution

• Partnerships and Ecosystem Development

• Team Leadership and Capacity Building

• Research, Learning and Impact