ABOUT ALU

ALU provides higher education for a higher purpose. Our students declare missions, not majors. They develop the real-world skills to take on the world’s most pressing challenges. And they take ownership of their learning from day one through our peer and student-led approach – because ALU believes in the power and agency of young people to start shaping the future right now. Together with a world-class faculty and staff, our students are igniting a ripple of positive impact across Africa and the world.

We are dedicated to fostering an open yet secure environment, balancing the safety of students, staff, and visitors with respect for individual rights, and safeguarding responsibilities.

HOW WE WORK

The ALU Team works in starkly different ways to traditional academic bureaucracies. We approach education from first principles, empower individuals to design, test, and implement creative new ideas, and work closely together to craft transformative learning experiences. We are deeply passionate about our students and excited by the challenge of building something entirely new.

The African Leadership College of Higher Education team is committed to ensuring the safety and Well-being of all students under our care. As part of this commitment, we have a comprehensive safeguarding policy in place, which outlines our Zero-tolerance approach to any violation of safeguarding.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Vice Provost is a senior academic leader at ALU who works closely with the Provost and Chief Product Officer to shape and advance the University’s academic strategy. This role is central to ensuring that ALU’s programs remain globally competitive, industry-relevant, and anchored in academic quality, while also scaling innovation across the institution.

The Vice Provost represents ALU in high-profile higher education and industry forums, strengthening the University’s reputation, credibility, and influence within Africa and globally. While the core mandate is to drive academic excellence and program leadership, the role also steers ALU’s research and thought leadership agenda, connecting emerging ideas and scholarship with curriculum, pedagogy, and entrepreneurship.

This is a role for a visionary academic and strategist who thrives at the intersection of academia and innovation. The successful candidate will anchor academic credibility while pioneering new models of faculty, research, and knowledge creation, redefining how a 21st-century African university contributes to higher education, leadership, and innovation on the global stage.

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES

Academic Strategy  

• Drive integration of industry trends and global best practices into academic almanac, ensuring offerings remain relevant, competitive, and distinctive.
• Support with oversight of academic program quality, accreditation, and regulatory compliance, guaranteeing continuous improvement and excellence.
• Partner with Product and Delivery teams to ensure curriculum, pedagogy, and student experience achieve high impact.
• Champion academic innovation by embedding new approaches, technologies, and pedagogies into teaching and learning.
• Build and sustain strong relationships with accreditation bodies, regulators, and strategic partners to elevate academic credibility.

Thought Leadership & Research

• Coordinate applied research efforts that inform and enrich curriculum design, industry engagement, and student experience across the Institution.
• Facilitate collaboration with internal and external experts to develop research agendas linked to academic and institutional priorities.
• Act as a brand ambassador by representing ALU in conferences, forums, and public discourse, positioning the University as a thought leader.
• Identify and secure external funding opportunities to support research, academic initiatives, and strategic projects.
• Enhance the visibility and credibility of ALU through published research, events, and high-profile engagements.

Academic Program Leadership

• Provide strategic oversight in collaboration with Product and Design teams, for academic program execution across undergraduate, postgraduate, and executive education.
• Ensure pedagogy and methodology are consistently applied and evolve to maintain academic rigor and market relevance.
• Participate in and recommend ALU signature events and program-specific events that strengthen the institution’s reputation and student experience.
• Serve as faculty professor and teach courses aligned with expertise, contributing directly to student learning and academic excellence.

Faculty Leadership

• Promote the University and support the building of a strong pipeline of qualified faculty, aligned with the institution’s values and mission.
• Train and develop high-quality faculty with strong research and teaching capabilities.
• Provide mentorship and career development opportunities for the University’s faculty, across all programs.
• Evaluate postgraduate faculty performance and promote excellence in teaching, research, and thought leadership.

Program Leadership

• Drive and lead the concepts, strategies and operational success of specific units within the institution including Centre for Entrepreneurship, School of Business, Centre for Reimagine Africa.
• Lead the Business Development agenda, ensuring academic products and services are well-positioned in the marketplace and in entrepreneurship ecosystems.
• Serve as the Custodian of the Entrepreneurship Ethos, embedding entrepreneurial thinking across academic programs and institutional culture.
• Ensure Executive Education is designed and delivered at global standards, aligned with ALU’s strategy, and responsive to evolving leadership and industry needs. 

Success in this role will be measured by:

• Academic Strategy & Quality: Growth in ALU’s visibility, credibility, and global footprint in higher education, supported by strong accreditation outcomes and alignment with global best practice.
• Program Impact: Strength and quality of academic programs, reflected in rankings, enrolment, retention, completion rates, and student satisfaction.
• Executive Education Growth: Expansion of executive education offerings, measured through enrolment, revenue growth, participant impact, and repeat partnerships.
• Faculty Excellence: Advancement of faculty recruitment, development, and performance, ensuring a strong pipeline of qualified, innovative educators.
• Thought Leadership & Research: Tangible research outputs, recognition in industry and academia, and the development of high-value partnerships and funding opportunities.
• Entrepreneurship Ethos: Clear integration and visibility of entrepreneurial thinking across programs, student outcomes, and institutional reputation.

Ensure the safety and well-being of all young persons and vulnerable adults with whom we deal,  by adhering to ALU’s comprehensive safeguarding policy, maintaining a zero-tolerance approach to any violations of safeguarding standards. 

REQUIRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Terminal degree (PhD, EdD, DBA, or equivalent) from a recognized institution, with specialization in business, education, or a closely related discipline.
• Extensive leadership experience (10+ years) in senior higher education roles, ideally including oversight of business schools, executive education, or centers of innovation/entrepreneurship.
• A proven track record in academic strategy, program leadership, and institutional development, preferably within an African or global university context with a strong business and leadership orientation.
• Recognized scholarly contributions, including publications, research outputs, and participation in international academic or industry forums.
• Demonstrated excellence in teaching, curriculum innovation, and pedagogy, with the ability to align academic programs to industry and societal needs.
• Strong expertise in business development and market positioning of academic products and services, including executive education.
• Proven ability to navigate complexity and lead across multiple stakeholders (faculty, students, regulators, funders, and industry partners) in a competitive higher education landscape.
• Exceptional strategic communication, stakeholder engagement, and networking skills, with the ability to represent the institution globally.

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES

• Academic Excellence: Deep commitment to fostering world-class postgraduate education and research.
• Industry Engagement: Strong network and ability to build partnerships with corporate and entrepreneurial ecosystems.
• Strategic Thinking: Capacity to align academic initiatives with current institutional products and services.
• Team Development: Ability to mentor faculty and staff while fostering a culture of excellence and collaboration.
• Innovation & Entrepreneurship: Commitment to pioneering the ALU educational models and promoting entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial leadership in postgraduate education.
• Business Development: Strong ability to engage with investors and external partners to drive business growth for ALU.

About One Acre Fund

Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund equips 5.5 million smallholder farmers to make their farms more productive. Across nine countries that together are home to two-thirds of Africa's farmers, we provide high-quality farm supplies, tree seedlings, accessible credit, modern agronomic training, and a wide range of other agricultural services. On average, this model enables any farmer to increase their income and assets on supported land by more than 35 percent, while permanently improving their resilience. This is all made possible by our team of 9,000+ full-time staff, drawn from diverse backgrounds and professions.

To learn more, please see our Why Work Here blog post.

About the Role

We believe that new technology is critical to building the most effective rural distribution network on the African continent. Today, we reach over 1.6 million farm families and we aspire to serve more than 10 million households in the coming decade. Reporting to the Chief Technology Officer, you will lead the development of our technology, focusing on a mobile tech transformation: providing our field staff with the mobile-based tools to reach more farmers; developing scalable, direct communication channels with farmers to improve customer service; and digitizing and decentralizing data collection tools to speed up data flows and improve efficiency.

We are looking for someone with the technical experience to bring this vision to life; the Director of Engineering will transform our technology into a core organizational strength, working through several development teams that cross our tech stack

Responsibilities

• Own the tech stack and overall architecture and strategic direction: You will guide our team to work toward a common vision of our tech stack, ensuring a robust solution across all of our technical needs whether back-office, client-facing, or business intelligence needs.
• Lead efficient delivery of impactful software products: Provide detailed, hands-on guidance for tech projects based on an intimate understanding of our clients and internal users. Maintain a robust and well-documented architecture, balancing elegant design with practical requirements across our functional needs.
• Leverage Talent into an Agile Center of Excellence: Support a talented team to work at their best - support Agile processes that go beyond scrum ceremonies to drive efficiency and excellence in all areas. Use new technologies to support the velocity and quality of deployments.
• Develop Leaders and Build Team: Manage a leadership team of ~5 senior-level direct reports, and increase career growth and performance across the division.
  • Grow the careers of leaders across the tech division through weekly check-ins and workshops, ongoing development feedback, and regular career reviews.
  • Provide technical mentorship to the team.
  • Lead recruitment efforts to ensure we are building our team with top talent.
  • Set clear performance expectations and support the team to build itself as a center of excellence.

Career Growth and Development

We have a strong culture of constant learning and we invest in developing our people. You’ll have weekly check-ins with your manager, access to mentorship and training programs, and regular feedback on your performance. We hold career reviews every six months, and set aside time to discuss your aspirations and career goals. You’ll have the opportunity to shape a growing organization and build a rewarding long-term career.

Qualifications

Across all roles, these are the general qualifications we look for. For this role specifically, you will have:

• 10+ years of industry experience with 5+ years leading and managing technology teams.
• Experience working with mobile technology solutions.
• Passion for providing hands-on execution guidance for large teams.
• Experience managing Agile software engineering teams successfully deploying solutions to support complex processes.
• Experience translating complex customer needs into high-quality tech solutions that deliver impact.
• Experience with our tech (C# .Net Core, CouchBase, React Native, and Kubernetes) and our tooling landscape (GitHub, JIRA, and Azure DevOps).
• Humility. We are looking for a passionate professional who combines a focus on excellent performance with good humor, patience, and a service mindset interested in joining our family of leaders.
• Language: English is required in all locations.

Preferred Start Date

As soon as possible

Job Location

Nairobi, Kenya; or Kigali, Rwanda (these two locations are preferred but we are open to locations within our program countries)

Benefits

Health insurance, housing, and comprehensive benefits

Eligibility

One Acre Fund can support a work permit for this role. However, nationals of (or those with an extensive professional background and work history in) our countries of operation are preferred.

Application Deadline

9 February 2026

One Acre Fund never asks candidates to pay any money or pay for tests at any stage of the interview process. Official One Acre Fund emails will always arrive from an @oneacrefund.org address. Please report any suspicious communication here (globalhotline@oneacrefund.org), but do not send applications or application materials to this email address.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI), and anti-racism are deeply connected to our organization’s mission and purpose. One Acre Fund aspires to build a culture where all staff feel consistently valued, represented, and connected – so that our team can thrive as professionals, and achieve exceptional impact for the farmers we serve.

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.