Practice Lead, Education

Company Description

CcHUB is Africa's leading innovation and creative ecosystem builder, dedicated to nurturing talent, ideas, and startups across the continent. In 2010, we began as Nigeria's premier innovation center, dedicated to accelerating the application of social capital and technology for economic prosperity in Nigeria. We have since grown our physical presence to five cities (Lagos, Abuja, Kigali, Nairobi, and Windhoek) across Africa, and we work closely with stakeholders - including entrepreneurs, civil society organizations, government, and private sector - to identify and nurture novel solutions to social challenges in Africa.

In 2017, Co-Creation HUB launched Growth Capital in partnership with Omidyar Network, Bank of Industry, and Venture Garden Group to provide early-stage funding for startups driving social change. In February 2019, Co-creation HUB opened a Design Lab in Kigali, Rwanda, focusing on Research and Development and Human-Centered Design to enable innovation for social impact. Our Kigali Centre collaborates with global stakeholders to explore the application of technology in addressing Africa's systemic problems in education, public health, governance, and other areas of our work. In September 2019, we expanded our footprint by acquiring iHUB in Nairobi, Kenya, strengthening our commitment to supporting entrepreneurs and innovators across the continent. In 2020, we launched CcHUB Syndicate, an investment vehicle designed to improve capital access for startups and bridge the funding gap in Africa's innovation ecosystem. In 2021, we established the Creative Economy Practice to drive the growth of Africa's creative economy by applying innovation and technology. In 2023, we further expanded our presence by opening the Co-creation HUB in Windhoek, Namibia. These expansions have been intentional in contributing to our vision to be Africa's leading pan-African creative and innovation ecosystem enabler.

Since its establishment, CcHUB has supported the development and launch of over 10,000 innovative technology companies that address social challenges across Africa in areas such as budget transparency, agtech, education, fintech, healthcare delivery, the creative economy, and sustainability.

Job Description

Job Purpose

The Practice Lead, Education will provide strategic leadership and direction for the organization's education practice across Africa, with a particular focus on Nigeria and Kenya, although this may expand in line with strategy. The role will drive the design, execution, and scaling of innovative education programs that leverage technology to improve learning outcomes.

A key part of this role involves supporting EdTech startups within the organization's ecosystem — helping them achieve significant adoption and growth of their solutions through distribution initiatives, partnerships, and ecosystem development.

The Practice Lead will oversee cross-country teams, manage key partnerships, and represent the CcHUB as a thought leader in education innovation/EdTech across Africa.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Visibility

• Define and lead a pan-African strategy for the education practice, aligned with the current organizational strategy, with an initial focus on Nigeria and Kenya.
• Translate emerging trends, policy shifts, and ecosystem insights into actionable strategies that position the organization as a thought leader in education/EdTech.
• Identify new opportunities, partnerships, and approaches to deepen impact and expand CcHUB's footprint in the education sector.
• Represent CcHUB in regional and global forums to share insights, build visibility, and strengthen partnerships across the education and innovation ecosystem.
• Contribute to organizational strategy and cross-practice collaboration to ensure alignment and synergy with other innovation areas.
• Work closely with the Startup Support and Investment teams to effective and well rounded support for the edtech startups
• Lead the development of multi-country fundraising and proposal development to improve sustainability

Program Design and Delivery

• Lead the design and implementation of education initiatives that leverage technology and innovation to improve access, quality, and equity in learning.
• Link education programs to workforce development goals through teacher digital upskilling and training in 21st-century skills.
• Ensure programs are contextually relevant, evidence-based, and aligned with national education policies and priorities.
• Oversee all aspects of program delivery — from concept design and pilot testing to scale and impact measurement.
• Encourage collaboration between startups, educators, and policymakers to drive meaningful innovation and uptake.
• Establish robust systems for program management, performance tracking, and reporting to ensure excellence and accountability.
• Mainstream AI, green and sustainable technologies within our education programs

EdTech Startup Support and Distribution

• Lead efforts to support EdTech startups in achieving significant adoption and growth across African education systems.
• Design and execute distribution initiatives that connect startups with schools, educators, learners, and government partners to pilot and scale proven solutions.
• Build and manage partnerships with ministries, private organizations, and NGOs to facilitate the deployment of innovative learning technologies.
• Provide strategic guidance to startups — helping them refine their products, validate impact, and develop sustainable go-to-market models.
• Track and report on adoption metrics and learning outcomes from startup deployments to inform future growth and investment.

Partnership Development and Ecosystem Strengthening

• Build and nurture a diverse network of ecosystem actors — including governments, schools, EdTech startups, investors, NGOs, foundations, and private sector partners — to foster collaboration, shared learning, accelerate innovation, and drive systemic change in education.
• Lead the development of partnership frameworks, and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) that align with the organization's strategic goals.
• Design and implement initiatives that strengthen local EdTech ecosystems, such as knowledge exchange platforms and ecosystem roundtables.
• Collaborate with ecosystem partners to improve the enabling environment for education innovation, including advocacy for supportive policies, infrastructure, and funding mechanisms.
• Support ecosystem mapping and intelligence-gathering to identify emerging players, market gaps, and partnership opportunities.
• Establish communities of practice or working groups that connect educators, innovators, and policymakers around common learning and innovation goals.

Team Leadership and Capacity Building

• Lead and mentor a diverse, multi-country education team to deliver excellence in programme and startup support.
• Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and accountability across the education practice.
• Provide strategic direction, performance management, and professional development support to the team.
• Ensure strong coordination and knowledge sharing between country teams across locations.
• Build and nurture a cohesive team culture rooted in the organization's values of innovation, integrity, collaboration, empathy, and excellence.
• Implement team development practices that strengthen the middle management layer within the team and promote succession planning
• Foster a culture of creativity, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Support professional development and ensure effective collaboration between Nigeria, Kenya, and other emerging teams.
• Model strong leadership values — integrity, empathy, curiosity, and excellence.

Research, Learning, and Impact

• Promote experimentation, emerging technologies , and data-driven insights to transform teaching and learning.
• Oversee monitoring, evaluation, and learning processes to measure programme outcomes, impact, and inform strategic decisions.
• Drive the generation and dissemination of insights from research, pilots, and partnerships to influence education policy and practice, and strengthen CcHUB's position as a thought leader in the education and EdTech space.
• Collaborate closely with the Program Management Unit (PMU) on monitoring, evaluation and learning.

Year 1 KPIs will include:

• Strategic Leadership and Visibility
• Program Design and Delivery
• Edtech Startup Support and Distribution
• Partnerships and Ecosystem Development
• Team Leadership and Capacity Building
• Research, Learning and Impact

Qualifications

Qualifications & Experience:

• Minimum 8 years of professional experience in education or EdTech, with at least 3 years in a senior leadership or management role.
• Advanced degree in Education, Development Studies, Technology Management, or related field (preferred).

Competencies:

• Proven experience designing and implementing education programs or scaling EdTech innovations.
• Strong understanding of the education/Edtech ecosystems in Africa, particularly in Nigeria and Kenya.
• Ability to provide strategic advice and mentorship to edtech startups on edtech adoption and distribution with education stakeholders
• Expertise in designing, executing, and improving education/edtech programs and initiatives that address the needs of various stakeholders in the education value chain.
• Proven ability to lead, motivate, and manage a diverse team to deliver high-quality programs.
• Ability to develop strategic partnerships with government, private organizations, and donors/NGOs, schools, etc, to create opportunities for sustainable adoption of edtech solutions at scale.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, able to address both operational and strategic challenges faced by the education team.
• Strong presentation and public speaking skills to effectively represent CcHUB at industry events, conferences, and to different stakeholders.

Additional Information

The role is hybrid (upon confirmation), with onsite work required in Lagos, Nigeria

Co-creation HUB (CcHUB) is an equal opportunity employer. The Company prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. The Company conforms to the spirit as well as to the letter of all applicable laws and regulations.