Director of Technology Job Nairobi

Job Description

Director of Technology Job Nairobi

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 and 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 and 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 500 childcare centers directly transforming the lives of over 38,000 young children in 33+ communities in 8 counties. We are currently testing a partnerships model, where we extend the franchise model in collaboration with actors such as employers or local government. Some notable successes have been: childcare at vocational training centers in partnership with Kisumu County, childcare at female prisons in partnership with Cleanstart (NGO), and providing technical assistance to other large, civil society organizations.

The Kidogo Family is a fun, passionate, driven group of over 85 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 100,000+ children with high-quality early care and education!

For more information: www.kidogo.co

Director of Technology Job Nairobi

About the Role

The Director of Technology will support Kidogo’s expansion plans into new markets by working closely with the COO to develop interdepartmental technology which ease communication and workflow between departments. S/he will also play a key role in re-building the Kidogo app to ensure effective connectivity and communication with the daycare owners i.e. the Mamapreneurs; as well as lead the organization’s overall technology strategy.

Your responsibilities will include:

1. Software Development:

• Lead the development and implementation of the Kidogo app based on identified openSource platforms within the agreed upon timelines and assessed company needs.
• Modifying softwares to fix errors, adapt it to new hardware, improve its performance, or upgrade interfaces.
• Directing system testing and validation procedures.
• Directing software programming and documentation development.
• Software debugging and maintenance.
• Managing the organization’s computer network, including hardware and software maintenance, troubleshooting problems, and adding new components as needed.

2. Strategy:

• Research and identification of the right interdepartmental systems for the company’s needs as it looks to scale into new countries.
• Develop and implement the company’s 100% paperless goals, with an assessment of how each department can meet the same and introduction of required systems.
• Advise the organization on appropriate need and use of current technology in support of business goals.
• Develop and execute a strategic technology plan, including execution of technology road maps.

3. Team Leadership:

• Creating plans for new technologies and recommending updates to existing systems based on new technology trends.
• Ensuring that the organization’s technology infrastructure is secure and up-to-date with current technology standards.
• Evaluating new technology to determine its usefulness for the organization.
• Developing policies and procedures for the use of technology within the organization.
• Ensure all software related projects are completed on time and within budget.

Key Qualities for Success in this role:

• Full stack developer, with experience building apps especially those targeting low income communities.
• 5+ years of experience in software development.
• Experience managing solutions targeting low-income communities with limited technology experience and network connectivity.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong collaborative and team leadership skills.
• Experience working with third-party developers.
• Experience building mobile-based applications from scratch.

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 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.

How to Apply:

Shortlist (www.shortlist.net) is our exclusive recruitment partner for this role. 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 apply above on the job link.

Director of Technology Job Nairobi