Job title: Learning & Engagement Specialist
ABOUT US:
African Leadership Academy (ALA) identifies, develops, and connects Africa’s most promising young leaders and entrepreneurs, equipping them to drive Africa’s transformation. Beyond our flagship two-year residential program, our Short Programs team brings that same mission to life for thousands more young people each year — through immersive holiday camps, school visits, flagship conferences, and custom partnerships — all grounded in ALA’s core values of Integrity, Compassion, Curiosity, Diversity, Humility, and Excellence, and our BUILD philosophy of entrepreneurial leadership
POSITION OVERVIEW:
We’re looking for a Learning & Engagement Program Specialist to support the design and proposal writing, and lead the coordination and delivery of ALA’s signature hosted programs — including the Global Scholars Program, School Visits, the Model African Union conference, the Engineering Leadership Program, AI for Africa, and bespoke partner programs. You’ll be the connective tissue between big ideas and flawless execution: supporting with writing proposals that win new partners, designing the curriculum that makes a program unforgettable, and managing the logistics that keep hundreds of participants safe, engaged, and inspired.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Design & Deliver Signature Programs
- Support with end-to-end planning and delivery of School Visits (Oct–Mar) and the Holiday Programs season (Jun–Aug), from curriculum design to on-the-ground logistics.
- Support the design of BUILD workshops and interactive programming for visiting schools, camps and conferences.
- Create detailed curriculum documents and program packs and build feedback and evaluation tools to keep every season sharper than the last.
- Support the Writing of Winning Proposals & Grow Partnerships
- Support the writing of compelling proposals for new and existing partner schools, institutions and custom-program partners — including funding proposals for the Model African Union conference.
- Manage responsive, professional correspondence with schools, delegates, parents and partners across every phase of engagement.
Lead Administration & Logistics for Flagship Events
- Plan and support the annual Model African Union conference: school and delegate registration, participant documentation, invitations to keynote speakers and panellists, and every logistical thread from travel and accommodation to the gala night.
- Meticulously plan the logistics to support quality delivery of the holiday season of programs (Global Scholars Program, Engineering Leadership Program, and AI for Africa Program).
- Support recruitment and briefing of guest directors, educators, interns, and external contributors for all
programs. - Manage communications with various stakeholders across all programs, including schools, parents, teachers, participants, and other program partners.
Tell the Story & Track the Impact
- Capture and write impact stories from students, schools, and partners for ALA’s newsletter and social channels.
- Collect data and report on program outcomes, compiling comprehensive post-program reports with clear lessons learned.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS & SELECTION CRITERIA: (E.g. skills, knowledge, attitude needed to be effective in this role.)
Required Education and Experience:
- An Honours Degree.
- 4+ years’ experience in leadership or educational programming (youth programming is a strong plus).
- Proven proposal-writing skills, with strong written and oral communication, editing, and proofreading.
- A track record of delivering leadership, youth, or experiential programs — you can hold both the curriculum design and the logistics spreadsheet in your head at once.
- First-Aid certification is an advantage.
COMPETENCIES: Technical competencies
- A self-starting, can-do attitude: you take initiative, solve problems on the fly, and don’t pass the buck.
- Genuine passion for youth development, Africa, global citizenship, entrepreneurship, and leadership.
Generic Competencies
- Comfort working under pressure across a busy, multi-program calendar, with excellent organizational and team-collaboration skills.
- Strong people skills and an ability to build relationships and work with multiple internal and external stakeholders.
- Flexibility and adaptability to changing circumstances.
- Highly organized and strong attention to detail.
Attributes
Uphold the values and ethos of the school by actively promoting an emotionally secure, warm, stimulating, and safe environment appropriate to the needs of the individual pupils and their families.
- A commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
- Respect for all members of the community, irrespective of position, gender, age, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.
- A positive, resilient, and solution-focused attitude.
- A flexible approach and a willingness to get involved wherever needed.
REPORTS TO: Head of Short Programs
JOB LOCATION: ALA Campus, Honeydew, Johannesburg
START DATE: 01 January 2027
ISASA