Job description
About Kidogo
Founded in 2014, Kidogo is a rapidly growing non-profit social enterprise with a mission to unlock the potential of young children in East Africa’s low-income communities through quality, affordable, early childhood care & education. The science is clear: 90% of brain development takes place in the first 5 years of life, with the most critical gains seen in the first thousand days of life. And yet, the majority of young children in the earliest years (0-3 years old) are left in undesirable conditions, particularly in urban informal settlements (slums), when mothers need to work. This leads to children entering school with poor developmental outcomes (health, cognitive, socio-emotional) and being locked in the poverty cycle.
Kidogo exists to ensure young children, regardless of where they are born, are able to reach their full potential. We translate global research & best practices into fun and engaging activities for babies and toddlers that can be implemented at scale in community childcare settings.
Using an innovative social-franchising model, we equip women (“Mamapreneurs”) with the knowledge, skills, and tools to start or grow thriving childcare micro-businesses serving their local community. Kidogo is currently the leading childcare network in Kenya, with over 1,500 childcare centers directly transforming the lives of over 38,000 young children in 374 communities in counties.
The Kidogo Family is a fun, passionate, driven group of over 115 young (and young at heart) professionals who are reinventing the childcare system to unlock the potential of young children. As a rapidly growing organization, we have been more than doubling our reach every year. But as we look to the future, we have ambitions to scale much larger, both within Kenya and across East Africa, and to reach 1,000,000+ children with high-quality early care & education!
For more information: www.kidogo.co
About the Role
The Executive Assistant to Kidogo’s Chief Operations Officer (COO) will play a pivotal role in supporting the COO and the Nairobi office, playing an active role in offering administrative support, managing projects, and supporting the organizations’ operations. The position requires a passionate, dynamic, and tech-savvy individual with a proven track record of being a shared resource for executive leadership teams. They will also play a pivotal role in providing proactive communication and collaboration, office management, and event management to ensure the seamless functioning of the office and the COO’s duties and responsibilities.
Key Responsibilities:
- Serve as the primary administrative liaison for the COO, coordinating activities with Senior Leadership, Heads of Department, and other teams.
- Manage the COO’s daily schedule, organize virtual and in-person meetings, and ensure timely communication of upcoming commitments.
- Work closely with the COO and other leaders to provide timely information, follow up on commitments, and maintain confidentiality.
- Anticipate the COO’s needs, proactively bringing together resources to support the executive office. Prepare agendas for meetings chaired by the COO, assist with presentations, and coordinate quarterly board meetings.
- Collaborate with the respective teams in planning and executing various events and workshops that are being led by the COOs office.
- Assist with coordinating internal and external staff events and business meetings within the office, including conference room set-up and breakdown, reserving and setting up meeting rooms, preparing, and distributing agendas and other materials, managing any catering requirements, etc.
- Manage external contacts for the COO, maintaining periodic communication and prioritizing key contacts.
- Liaise with Board Members, arrange travel, process reimbursements, and handle board meeting logistics.
- Prepare project plans and summaries for activities being run directly linked to the COO.
- Adhere to organizational policies and procedures, ensuring compliance and appropriate decision-making protocols.
- Handle confidential information discreetly and professionally.
Qualifications
- At least 3 years of work experience in professional administrative and executive management roles supporting senior-level executives.
- Deep passion for offering support to executives and teams to meet operational excellence with proven project management and report writing capabilities.
- Solid experience in calendar or diary management, including making appointments, travel arrangements, and prioritizing the most sensitive matters.
- Technologically savvy; proficient in G-suite or Microsoft Office (preferably in a Mac environment), and comfortable using different and best-in-class diary management software.
- Excellent writing, proofreading, and verbal communication skills.
- Demonstrated ability to work as an individual contributor, manage multiple priorities, and provide flexible support across multiple geographies and time zones.
You will fit in well with the Kidogo Family if you are:
- A natural leader: You inspire your teammates to stretch themselves, challenge their assumptions, and constantly improve through direct mentorship, and serve as an example. You create a sense of mutual accountability, inspire action, and follow up effectively to ensure momentum.
- Fiercely compassionate: You exercise empathy and treat all people with respect and dignity. You combine the urgency of getting things done while appreciating the complexities of working in informal urban settlements.
- Visualize the path to the goal: You are highly strategic. You understand how decisions get made; you can take in multiple inputs simultaneously, make decisions with imperfect information, and chart a path forward for your team. You stay focused on the most important things, not getting lost in the noise.
- Adaptable / Agile: You have a willingness to learn and adapt. You are comfortable revisiting and refining aspects of a program and iterating based on lessons learned during the development lifecycle.
- Intrapreneurial: You see solutions, not challenges. You have a gritty, experimental spirit and actively find opportunities to reach our goals in more effective ways by exercising creative resourcefulness.
- Doer: You are efficient, organized, and use your time effectively. You can juggle many projects of varying urgency and importance simultaneously and can prioritize effectively. You seamlessly balance both urgent short-term tasks with larger long-term projects.
- Wear multiple hats: You can see problems from different perspectives and can balance competing demands (i.e., sustainability and quality). You are also comfortable juggling detailed tasks one minute and more significant strategic questions the next.
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the position is closed, though early applications are strongly encouraged. If you believe you meet the attributes and skills above, please click on the job link to apply.
Please apply on the official website using the link(s) below
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