Head of Strategic Partnerships and Innovation

The context: 

Across the developing world, more children than ever are in school – but they are not learning. A recent study estimated that less than 1% of school children in Sub-Saharan Africa attend a school where the teaching meets basic standards of quality. At Rising Academies, we’re changing that, and we want your help. Our mission is to create the best schools and the most powerful teaching and learning tools for the people that need it most. We’re one of the fastest-growing quality-focused education companies in Africa, and a Certified B Corp®. 

About us
Founded in Sierra Leone in 2014, Rising Academies works with governments to improve the quality of teaching and learning in public education systems. Across seven rigorous randomized controlled trials, students in Rising-supported schools have learned, on average, 2.4x faster each year than their peers in comparable schools.

Today, we support more than 450,000 students across 1,400 public schools in West and East Africa. We combine strong pedagogy with deep implementation experience, teacher and school leader support, data and technology, helping governments translate good ideas into approaches that work in real schools and can reach large numbers of children.

Our role depends on the problem we are trying to solve. We design and strengthen foundational learning partnerships; support effective delivery through public education systems; and co-design, localize and test promising new approaches, including third-party technology and AI solutions. We generate evidence on learning impact, implementation, cost and system fit so that decision-makers can determine what to adapt, scale or stop.

Technology and AI are important tools within this approach. We use them where they can strengthen teaching and learning, improve implementation or reduce the cost of delivering effectively.

Our ambition is to meaningfully improve learning for millions of children.

About the role:

Rwanda now has a growing concentration of opportunities across RisingFaster and broader foundational learning work, Co-design & Testing partnerships, potential Last Mile roles as successful solutions scale, and Product R&D including Rori, Tari and LearnLens. The opportunity is significant, but the portfolio is also becoming more complex and increasingly requires senior in-country capacity that can work across government, external partners and Rising's own products and programmes.

The Head of Strategic Partnerships & Innovation, Rwanda will help turn these opportunities into a coherent, government-aligned portfolio. The role will focus on strategic partnerships, government alignment, technical and AI-related engagement, and connecting opportunities so they develop coherently rather than as separate projects. This is not primarily a programme-delivery or deep technical-specialist role. The value of the role will come from helping Rising stay close to government priorities, make better strategic decisions, convert emerging opportunities and identify new ones earlier.

The Head of Strategic Partnerships & Innovation, Rwanda will:

• Build and maintain a clear, prioritized Rwanda partnership and innovation pipeline, with government sponsors, funding pathways, decisions and next steps.
• Own and maintain senior external relationships across key institutions in the country by ensuring they always have a positive experience with Rising.
• Work with MINEDUC, REB, NESA, MINICT and other relevant institutions so Rising's digital and AI work is shaped with government and aligned to education-system priorities.
• Advance RAISE and WadhwaniAI ORF toward clear government-backed next-stage pathways with agreed objectives, partner roles, funding requirements and scale decisions.
• Help define credible Rwanda use cases and system pathways for Bambai+, Rori, Tari, LearnLens and other relevant technologies, including clear no-go recommendations where appropriate.
• Strengthen RisingFaster and other core government partnerships by identifying where technology can improve implementation quality, data use and cost-effectiveness.
• Provide targeted strategic support to Imara where Rising can add distinct value without taking operational ownership of Imara initiatives or duplicating existing leadership.
• Identify important shifts in government or funder priorities early enough for Rising to adapt before significant investment or delivery commitments are made.
• Work across programme, Digital, CAIO, Impact/MEL, Finance, Operations and Business Development colleagues to turn opportunities into coherent, resourced and executable pathways.
• Originate or materially advance at least one significant new opportunity beyond the current base plan during AY26/27.

Location and reporting:

This is a full-time position based in Rwanda, primarily from Rising's Kigali office, with regular government, partner and school engagement. The role reports to the Country Director, Rwanda, with a dotted-line relationship to Business Development, and works closely with programme, Digital, CAIO and other cross-functional colleagues.

Application deadline: 

Target start date is 4 January 2027.

Requirements

Qualifications and Experience:

• Approximately 8+ years of progressively responsible experience in strategic partnerships, business development, government relations, education, technology/AI, public-sector innovation, philanthropy or a closely related field.
• Strong experience engaging senior government stakeholders and navigating multi-stakeholder partnerships; direct familiarity with Rwanda's education, technology or public-sector ecosystem is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to turn emerging opportunities into clear strategies, partnership structures, funded pathways or executable workplans.
• Strong strategic judgement, including the ability to distinguish high-potential opportunities from distractions and make evidence-based go / no-go recommendations.
• Comfort engaging with digital and AI-enabled products at a strategic level and translating technical concepts into government, education and partnership implications without needing to be a deep technical specialist.
• Experience working across functions and influencing senior colleagues without relying solely on formal authority.
• Strong written and verbal communication, including concise senior briefs, proposals, concept notes and partner-facing materials.
• A relevant degree or equivalent professional experience. A relevant postgraduate qualification is desirable but not essential.

About You:

• You are a trusted relationship builder who can earn credibility with government, funders, technology partners and internal teams.
• You are strategically and practically minded: able to see the big picture while understanding what it takes to make an idea work in schools and government systems.
• You are comfortable taking ownership in an environment where opportunities move quickly and information is sometimes incomplete.
• You ask strong questions, prioritize rigorously and can say no to opportunities that do not fit the strategy.
• You are intellectually curious about AI and emerging technology and can engage credibly with technical colleagues without needing to be the engineer in the room.
• You communicate directly, thoughtfully and professionally, including when you need to challenge assumptions or recommend that Rising should not pursue an opportunity.
• You are collaborative and generous with colleagues, and you make other people's success as important as your own.
• You exercise sound judgement and discretion in sensitive government, partner and funding conversations.

Benefits

Why Join Us?

• Compensation: We offer a competitive salary and benefits package. We regularly benchmark our compensation against comparable businesses, social ventures and non-profits. Rising’s goal is to be transparent about salaries at all levels of the organisation and have a standard, global pay scale for all positions that is non-negotiable. 
• Continuous Development and Growth: Rising is a Certified B Corp and twice named in its “Best for the World” list. We are committed to continuous development, which is grounded in our values and a vital part of how we bring the ‘Rising Way’ to life. We provide a nurturing environment where our staff are supported with the right ongoing conversations with their managers, among teams and as an organization, to support their career growth and help us reach our goals. 
• Impact: Our students achieve learning gains 2.4 times faster than their peers in comparable schools, positioning our impact in the top 10% of global education interventions. This role offers an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to this proven success.

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Rising is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to providing a work environment that is inclusive and free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions are based on individual qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, national origin, family or parental status, veteran or disability status.

Rising is committed to creating a culture within the organisation, and its schools, that recognises the importance of safeguarding children and prioritising their rights and needs. We strive to uphold international safeguarding standards, and keep the safety and well-being of our students at the heart of what we do. All Rising employees are expected to abide by the Child Protection Policy, and to have the same level of commitment to protect children from harm. Safeguarding questions are part of every interview process and all Rising employees undergo reference checks before joining the organisation.