Across the developing world, more children than ever are in school – but they are not learning. A recent study estimated that less than 1% of school children in Sub-Saharan Africa attend a school where the teaching meets basic standards of quality. At Rising Academies, we’re changing that, and we want your help. Our mission is to create the best schools and the most powerful teaching and learning tools for the people that need it most. We’re one of the fastest-growing quality-focused education companies in Africa, and a Certified B Corp®.

About us:

We own and operate our own great value private schools, partner with governments to improve the quality of public school systems, and use our content and technology to help other education providers. Founded in Sierra Leone in 2014, we provided emergency education to children kept out of school by the Ebola Epidemic before opening our first school in April 2015. Today, we serve more than 250,000 students across more than 900 schools in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and now Rwanda.

Through great curriculum, intensive teacher coaching and actionable data, we help teachers and school leaders bring quality to every classroom. And we get results: independent studies show Rising students make more than twice the progress of their peers in comparable schools.

We have recently closed our Series A funding round and won a multi-year, multi-million dollar grant to accelerate the development of our digital ed-tech solutions for low-income students across the globe. Our ‘Bambai’ suite of digital tools already includes a school information system, school observation tool, chatbot tutor, accelerated learning program and teacher coaching app. This is just the start. We want to expand our range of digital products to help improve the quality of education for millions of students around the world. If you want to make a difference to the lives of teachers, students and parents, then we are the right place for you.

About the role:

We are looking for an experienced and exceptional User Research & Design Associate to join our Digital team. This role will sit with our Rori team and will support the team with its content creation for users. As User Research & Design Associate for Rori, you will play a pivotal role in enhancing the understanding of Rori’s learning experience in classrooms. The ideal candidate will empower learning through innovative observation, insightful reporting, and continuous improvement.

The User Research & Design Associate will:

• Generate comprehensive qualitative reports, incorporating appropriate reporting techniques, after each classroom observation
• Collaborate with the Learning Design Manager and Rori Content Manager to recommend improvements based on classroom observations for each iteration of Rori
• Document and analyze classroom Rori data to identify areas for improvement and adjustment.
• Conduct interviews and surveys with stakeholders to generate qualitative insights on the effectiveness of Rori as a learning tool
• Provide inputs and create maths content for Rori based on feedback from staff and students
• Support to create a teacher training module to be conducted when Rori is introduced in a new school
• Train teachers on ways to implement new features of Rori in the classroom
• Suggest enhancements to Rori’s features based on user feedback
• Support the content manager in producing learner-friendly and quality maths content

Location and reporting:

This is a full-time hybrid position based in Accra-Ghana but with a view to travel to other partner schools across Ghana. The User Research & Design Associate will report directly to Rising’s Learning Design Manager with dotted reporting to Rori Content Manager.

Application deadline:

The target start-date for this role will be the first week in May 2024.

Requirements

Qualifications and Experience:

• 2+ years of experience in user research, content design or related role
• General experience in content creation, user research and analyzing insight
• Experience developing and writing online maths  or educational content  and concepts
• EdTech experience is a plus
• Experience teaching maths across primary and/or secondary levels of education is a plus
• Digital learning experience within an educational role is a plus
• Bachelor’s Degree in Education, Mathematics, Business, or a related field

About You:

• You have excellent verbal, written, interpersonal, organisation, and communication skills
• You can communicate with technical, content teams and business stakeholders in a multicultural environment, as well as clearly document content for these audiences
• You demonstrate people skills; must be able to collaborate effectively with diverse personalities and skill sets, and enjoy constructive conflict
• You have a strong track record of professionalism, trustworthiness, working independently and collaboratively
• You possess effective communication, relationship building, and teamwork skills
• You can take initiative and problem-solve when challenges arise
• You are comfortable working with senior leadership, reporting on data and outcomes
• You are willing to take risks, fail, learn, give and receive feedback, and try new approaches
• You are passionate about improving the quality of education across Africa

Benefits

Compensation and Benefits:

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package. We regularly benchmark our compensation against comparable businesses, social ventures and non-profits.

Rising’s goal is to be transparent about salaries at all levels of the organisation and have a standard, global pay scale for all positions that is non-negotiable.

The benefits we offer are built to have a strong added value on our staff’s well-being and we are excited to discuss this further with you in the process.

Rising is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to providing a work environment that is inclusive and free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions are based on individual qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, national origin, family or parental status, veteran or disability status.

Rising is committed to creating a culture within the organisation, and its schools, that recognises the importance of safeguarding children and prioritising their rights and needs. We strive to uphold international safeguarding standards, and keep the safety and well-being of our students at the heart of what we do. All Rising employees are expected to abide by the Child Protection Policy, and to have the same level of commitment to protect children from harm. Safeguarding questions are part of every interview process and all Rising employees undergo reference checks before joining the organisation.