Director - Alumni Leadership (Asia Pacific)

Position Summary

Teach For All is looking for a Director Alumni Leadership to spearhead our efforts to unleash the impact of network alumni in the Asia Pacific region. We are looking for someone who is passionate about leadership development and systems change, and who deeply believes in the potential of our alumni network to positively improve outcomes for children and communities.

In this role, you will be responsible for cultivating Teach For All network alumni leadership across the Asia Pacific region in two ways. First, you will directly support Teach For All network partner organizations with their alumni strategy development - working with Heads of Alumni and CEOs across the region to facilitate learning, connectivity, and generate resources that lead to greater alumni impact over time. Second, you will also build your own strong relationships with alumni leaders in the region to cultivate their leadership and connectivity so that they can grow as leaders, learn from and support one another, to increase their impact. Working at both the organizational level and with alumni leaders directly, your role will focus on advancing alumni leadership, engagement, and impact across the region.

The ideal candidate is someone highly strategic with a track record of impact, who is creative, loves to build community, has strong program design skills, excels at building relationships and working collaboratively, and is highly competent at coaching and developing others. 

This role will be part of Teach For All’s Global Alumni Leadership Team, with counterparts in other regions to foster global learning, connectivity and innovation across the regions. The role will report to the Head of Alumni Leadership globally, but with a dotted line to the Head of Asia Pacific, working in very close - daily - collaboration with the Teach For All Asia Pacific regional team to develop and advance regional and local strategy for support

Outcomes

Success in this role means:

Each network partner organization will have a clear alumni strategy, rooted in their theory of systems change, that informs the design of their training and support for participants and their support for alumni; Alumni in the region are developing as impactful leaders and working collectively to bring about systems change in their contexts; and Alumni in the region are connected and are learning from and supporting each other in pursuit of transformational progress for children.

About the Global Alumni Leadership team

Today there are over 100,000 Teach For All network alumni working across more than 60 countries. Together, they are one of the world’s largest networks of local leaders working collectively in pursuit of transformational progress for children. While we know that each local context is unique, the similarities in the nature of the challenges facing children from place to place mean that solutions are often shareable. We have seen how much faster local leaders can move when they are exposed to what is possible in other contexts. Therefore, one of Teach For All’s biggest organizational priorities is to foster the leadership development and connectivity between these alumni so they can grow as leaders, learn from and support each other, to have even greater local impact.

To drive forward this effort, Teach For All’s Global Alumni Leadership Team (a) works with our network partner organizations to strengthen their efforts to develop their alumni at the local level; and (b) fosters cross-border connections between alumni so that they can benefit from being exposed to innovations and learning outside of their own contexts. The Alumni Leadership Team is globally spread, with team members in Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa and the Americas.

The Teach For All's Asia Pacific Region

The Asia Pacific one of the largest, most diverse and dynamic regions in the Teach For All global network, with 15 partner organizations in the following countries (in addition to several more prospective partner organizations in the pipeline): Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Teach For All Asia Pacific team works to grow and accelerate the impact of this community of partners, and generate awareness and support for Teach For All’s vision and mission in the wider region. The Teach For All Asia Pacific team is regionally distributed with team members located across different countries in the region, currently including Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Singapore and New Zealand. 

Roles and Responsibilities

As the Director of Alumni Leadership (Asia Pacific) at Teach For All, you will engage in the following and/or similar activities: 

Partner Support 

There are currently 15 network partners in the Asia Pacific region. Each organization is developing their alumni leaders at the local level. To support their efforts, you will:

Collaborate with Teach For All’s Asia Pacific regional team to diagnose and re-evaluate the needs of partners to build holistic support strategies  Establish strong, trust-based relationships with Heads of Alumni, conducting regular interactions to understand their unique challenges, successes, and areas of growth. Work closely with the Head of Alumni Leadership to remain at the forefront of the latest network knowledge and insights about alumni strategy and systems change practice, contributing new insights as you come across them. Strategically share these insights (based on your diagnosis of a partners’ needs and priorities) through various mediums including facilitating learning experiences, workshops, newsletters and online platforms, ensuring widespread access and engagement amongst Heads of Alumni. Build and manage a robust peer learning community between Heads of Alumni in Asia Pacific which facilitates information exchange, peer support, collaboration between them and ultimately accelerates their local efforts. Where necessary, provide personalized coaching and consulting to Heads of Alumni, leveraging your expertise to address specific challenges and enhance the impact of their alumni impact strategies.

Develop Alumni Leaders

There are currently ~10,000 alumni leaders in the Asia Pacific region. To support them to grow as leaders, and learn from one another, you will:

Proactively build strong, credible relationships with alumni leaders to understand their unique challenges, successes, and areas of growth. You will be the Teach For All “point person” for alumni to field their requests and ideas, and the ‘go-to’ for Teach For All staff with questions about alumni in the region. Partner with the Asia Pacific regional team, network CEOs and Heads of Alumni, and alumni themselves to create and execute the strategy to develop alumni leadership and connectivity at the regional level. Be responsible for co-creating high-impact opportunities and learning experiences such as the , roundtables and interactive workshops that develop alumni leadership and connectivity in the region. This will involve leading collaborations between Heads of Alumni, the Asia Pacific regional team and Teach For All’s global teams. Manage a small group of alumni volunteers, “”, who will support you to execute your strategy to foster connectivity in the region.  Foster vibrant and engaging online communities of alumni with similar job roles and career pathways and/or interests related to impact and education, leveraging platforms like Zoom, WhatsApp, and Facebook to foster their connectivity, leadership development and peer learning. Support alumni to self-organize regional virtual and in-person learning experiences to foster their leadership development and impact, including managing applications to Teach For All’s . Capture and share stories of alumni leadership and impact to inspire and motivate others and demonstrate progress. Support fellows and alumni from the region to participate in Teach For All’s global communities and learning experiences (School Principals, Entrepreneurs, Climate, Education in Emergencies, etc.) so that there is strong representation from the Americas in these global spaces, and they are able to learn with peers from other regions.

As the ideal candidate, you will bring:

Minimum 8-10 years full time work experience, including at least 5 years of work experience in the Asia Pacific region. Experience working in multiple country contexts across the region is strongly preferred. Must be able to work fluently in English. Professional Fluency in one or more additional languages from across the Asia Pacific region is strongly preferred. Relevant working experience with a credible background in leadership, leadership development, systems change, and/or network building. Prior experience and a strong track record of impact as alumni and/or senior leader from within the Teach For All network is strongly preferred  Passion for growing the leadership capacities of others, specifically alumni and Heads of Alumni  Strong ability to build strong, credible relationships with multiple stakeholders to understand their goals and motivations to support collaboration while working virtually and remotely. Exceptional strategic thinking abilities with proven track record of diagnosing and solving complex problems, exercising strong judgment, and working with ambiguity. Ability to work collaboratively and flexibly with colleagues regionally & globally, including a high volume of virtual engagement (i.e., conference calls, virtual collaboration tools)  Superior project management skills: a self-starter with the ability to manage multiple streams of work, use strong judgment to independently determine actions and prioritize tasks, and work effectively in a dynamic, globally dispersed team environment. Experience and ability to design and execute powerful remote and in-person learning experiences and foster connected communities.  Strong orientation towards diversity, inclusivity, and equity with heightened levels of self-awareness, cross cultural competence and humility, and ability to adapt approach and communications styles accordingly. Ability to influence and motivate others outside of direct team relationships. Experience managing and mobilizing volunteers. Exemplifies Teach For All’s and a commitment to Believes in the interdependence between us and our partners in solving this global problem

Compensation

Salary for this position is competitive and dependent on country of hire, prior work experience and includes a comprehensive benefits package.

Work Authorization

Please note, this position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship. All candidates must possess local permanent work authorization/permit to be considered. 

Travel and Hours

Travel possible, approximately 10-15% when it is safe to do so and in accordance with local travel guidelines. Given that we work across different time zones, some non-traditional hours for early or later calls are an expectation of this role. 

Posting Date: February 19, 2020

Apply now

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Therefore, candidates are encouraged to apply at their earliest convenience. Please submit your resume or curriculum vitae and a one-page letter of motivation in English directly online. Your letter should summarize motivations for your application and how your skills and experience align with the terms of this opportunity.

About Teach For All

Teach For All is a global network of 60 independent, locally led and governed partner organizations and a global organization committed to developing collective leadership to ensure all children fulfill their potential. Each network partner recruits and develops promising future leaders to teach in their nations’ under-resourced schools and communities and, with this foundation, to work with others, inside and outside of education, to ensure all children are able to fulfill their potential. Teach For All’s global organization works to increase the network’s impact by capturing and spreading learning, facilitating connections among partners, accessing global resources, and fostering the leadership development of partner staff, teachers, and alumni.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusiveness

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization that inspires individuals of all backgrounds – across nationalities, races, ethnicity, religions, political views, economic backgrounds, sexual orientations, physical disabilities, languages, ages, genders and prior experiences – to bring their full selves to the work of ensuring educational opportunity for all.

In order to maximize our effectiveness in fulfilling Teach For All’s mission, we also feel it is important to focus on increasing representation and inclusiveness with respect to two dimensions in particular: we prioritize diversity of geography because this can help us quickly understand and connect with the diverse cultures and geographies of the world. We also prioritize increasing the representation and inclusiveness of team members who themselves have experienced the inequities we’re working to address by nature of sharing the background (e.g. economic, racial and ethnic, religious) of the most disadvantaged groups in their countries.

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