Field Operations Coordinator, Uganda
Educate!Who We Are!
🌍 Africa has the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population. By 2035, the continent is poised to contribute more young people to the global workforce each year than the rest of the world combined.
At Educate! we're obsessed with impact. We leverage iterative learning to build highly scalable youth employment solutions aimed at unlocking the potential of the world’s youngest continent.
Educate! prepares youth in Africa to learn, earn and thrive in today’s economy by:
- Introducing an employment-focused school subject into secondary and
- Delivering livelihood boot camps for out-of-school youth, with a focus on marginalized rural girls and young women.
To date, more than 500,000 youth have been meaningfully impacted across Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania, and along the way, Educate! has become the largest youth employment and skills provider in East Africa.
Educate! is a team of over 300 largely African staff and 300 volunteer youth mentors. We prioritize building an engaging, fulfilling and growth oriented work environment. 50% of our top 30 leaders have been with us for over 5 years, 10+ alumni have started their own organizations, and 6 current or former team members were Acumen Fund East Africa fellows.
We have been backed by top foundations such as Imaginable Futures, Livelihood Impact Fund, Jack Dorsey’s #startsmall, CIFF and Echidna Giving. Educate! won a 2018 Klaus J. Jacobs Prize and a 2015 WISE Award, and has been highlighted by the World Bank’s S4YE's Impact Portfolio, an Al Jazeera documentary, BBC, The Brookings Institution as one of 14 case studies on scaling education, and the Gates Foundation as a Goalkeepers Accelerator. In 2022, we received a catalytic investment from philanthropist Mackenzie Scott to scale our systems change work.
Educate!'s long-term vision is to design solutions that measurably impact millions of youth across Africa each year.
Good to note: To Our Awesome Applicants! 🚀💫
We know that incredible candidates sometimes hesitate to apply if they don’t meet every requirement. If this role excites you, we encourage you to apply!
We’re looking for passionate individuals who believe in our mission and can bring unique perspectives to our team—not just those who check every box. We value diversity and strongly encourage women and individuals from all backgrounds to apply.
Position Overview
Educate! is seeking a Field Operations Coordinator in Uganda, who will be responsible for coordinating youth transport logistics, identifying suitable venues, managing vendor relationships, and overseeing partnership engagement. Additionally, the Field Operations Coordinator will manage field logistics, oversight on the timely delivery of materials and resources to support smooth program execution. They will supervise the E!BA Field operations officer(s).
What You Will Do:
Youth Transport Coordination (20%)
- Transport Reimbursement Verification and Accuracy: Collaborate with the Performance Metrics department to verify youth attendance for transport reimbursement eligibility, ensuring all payment details are accurate, updated, and well-documented for timely processing.
- Payment Processing and Financial Coordination: Work closely with the Finance department to develop, maintain, and reconcile youth payment sheets, ensuring timely and accurate disbursement of transport funds while tracking missed or bounced transactions for accountability.
- Youth Support & Issue Resolution: Receive, act on, and document youth transport-related complaints or emergencies, providing timely solutions and maintaining clear, consistent communication with youth participants and staff on reimbursement updates.
- Budget Management and Cost Efficiency: Collaborate with the Field Operations Manager to track and manage transportation budgets, promoting cost-effective solutions while maintaining the Cost Per Youth (CPY) and supporting continuous improvement of the transport strategy.
- Compliance, Safety and Reporting: Oversee compliance with transport safety regulations and organizational policies, ensuring youth well-being during travel, and maintain accurate transport records for reporting and accountability.
Venue search and vendor management (20%)
- Venue Standards and Coordination: Work with the Program Management team to refine and share venue requirements, coordinate venue discovery initiatives across operational districts, and support timely quotation submission and negotiation processes with the Admin team.
- Vendor Identification and Onboarding: Collaborate with the Admin department to identify qualified meal vendors, lead vendor orientation sessions, and ensure alignment on expectations, service standards, and boot camp requirements.
- Vendor Performance and Compliance Management: Oversee vendor performance during boot camps, ensuring timely service, food quality, and adherence to safety and hygiene standards, while addressing and documenting any issues raised by venue managers or vendors.
- Records, Payments and Accountability: Maintain comprehensive records of venues and vendors including costs, capacity, and performance and collaborate with the Admin and Finance teams to ensure timely and accurate payment processing.
- Continuous Improvement and Strategy Development: Organize post-boot camp debriefs to gather feedback, strengthen relationships, and inform improvements, while leading the development and implementation of a student meal management strategy that ensures efficient meal distribution and tracking.
Partnership Management (20%)
- Partnership Strategy and Leadership: Develop and lead a comprehensive partnership management strategy that supports seamless execution of program activities and aligns with Educate!’s mission and objectives.
- Stakeholder Engagement and Relationship Building: Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders including District Education Officers (DEOs), Resident District Commissioners (RDCs), local government officials, boot camp venue administrations, community leaders, and youth representatives to secure support and ensure community involvement in program implementation.
- Program Launch and Collaboration Management: Work closely with the Field Operations Manager to organize and lead district launches, ensuring effective collaboration with venue administrations and external partners to facilitate smooth boot camp operations.
- Communication, Feedback and Continuous Improvement: Maintain ongoing communication with all stakeholders to address challenges, share progress updates, and align on expectations; coordinate feedback sessions post-program to gather insights for future improvements and strengthen partnerships.
- Documentation, Accountability and Partnership Growth: Track and document all partnership activities to ensure transparency and accountability, while proactively identifying and pursuing new partnership opportunities that enhance program reach and impact.
Field Logistics and Materials coordination (40%)
- Material Planning and Coordination: Collaborate with the Field Operations Officer, Admin, and Program Management teams to plan and ensure timely delivery of all boot camp materials, maintaining an updated materials tracker and submitting Purchase Requisition Forms (PRFs) promptly.
- Inventory Management and Accountability: Monitor and manage material usage during boot camps to prevent shortages or overstocking, ensuring all material balances are verified, returned, and accounted for at the end of each program.
- Discrepancy Resolution and Quality Assurance: Work with the Field Operations Officer and Admin department to identify and address any discrepancies or variances in field materials, ensuring all items meet quality and quantity standards.
- Financial Coordination and Timely Processing: Coordinate with the Finance department to ensure all logistics-related payments, including contractor and vendor payments are processed on schedule, and that field team requests are addressed promptly to prevent delays.
- Logistics Support and Communication: Provide logistical support for the transportation, storage, and security of materials, maintaining clear communication channels between field teams and the office to track needs and resolve issues efficiently.
Who You Are:
You are an experienced and dynamic professional with a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and 3-5 years of hands-on experience in development work, start-ups, or social enterprises. You thrive in fast-paced environments and bring proven leadership experience, having successfully managed diverse teams, overseen budgets, and driven program results. Your ability to coordinate multiple projects simultaneously ensures that deliverables are met efficiently and to a high standard.
You will excel in this role if you have exceptional organizational skills, a keen eye for detail, and strong interpersonal abilities that foster collaboration across departments. Your proficiency in Microsoft Office and other relevant software enables you to streamline reporting and communication processes. Above all, you are a confident communicator and team leader, ready to inspire, guide, and ensure operational excellence in every aspect of program implementation. You are a fit to our Five Cultural Tenets (see What is Educate! About? below); Learn more by looking at Educate!’s culture deck here
Terms
- The location is Kampala, Uganda.
- The role will report to the Field Operations Manager.
What We Offer 💼
- A vibrant, mission-driven environment with a supportive and fun team.
- Competitive salary based on experience.
- Learning & growth opportunities
Application Process: Rolling basis, interviews happening soon!
Our Culture & Tenets(Values) 🌱
We’re ambitious. Are you? Educate! is growing fast, so new opportunities are opening up and expanding all the time. We’re inspired by people with drive, and we love to help them reach their full potential. We expect everyone at Educate! to contribute above and beyond their job description, grow their skills, and advance their careers, and we are committed to supporting our staff members on that journey of their careers, and we are committed to supporting our staff members on that journey.
- We put Youth First, Impact-Obsessed - We are purpose-driven, focused on impact, and prioritize what truly matters. We listen to youth, design our efforts around their needs, and ensure every dollar creates transformative experiences they value.
- We Exceed Expectations - We take pride in going above and beyond to achieve the best results—proactively identifying problems and seeking solutions without waiting or stopping at what's requested.
- We Are Always Learning - We are committed to seeking and applying new knowledge and ideas. We stay open-minded and continuously try new things, experiment, grow, and improve. We invest in learning for ourselves and our teams.
- We are One Team, Many Views - We value all individuals, believe diverse ideas and open dialogue drive excellence, foster a supportive and respectful environment where everyone can freely express themselves. We work as one team and prioritize the organization's mission over personal or team interests.
- We have the Startup Mindset - We innovate relentlessly to grow our impact, we never think “we have arrived” or “we’re done.”We constantly challenge the status quo, embrace change, and move quickly toward our vision. Unafraid of failure, we question anything that hinders progress.
Every person at Educate! — from interns to the executive director — is evaluated by how they live up to these five cultural tenets. They are at the core of how we achieve our mission and why we work as well as we do. Educate is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all who interact in our community. In creating this environment, we encourage people from a variety of cultures, backgrounds and life experiences to join our diverse team.
We’re committed to ensuring all candidates are screened for child and youth safety. As part of the process, you’ll need to provide a Certificate of Good Conduct. Educate! reserves the right to withdraw employment offers if any risks to youth are identified.