Chief Information Officer

Position: Chief Information Officer

Status: Full Time

Reports to:  Chief Executive Officer

Location: Hong Kong

About Us 

The Akilah Institute and MindSky are pioneers in unique educational programs and technology products for the African market. We deliver high-quality, market-relevant education at scale that connects youth in Africa to meaningful employment. The Akilah Institute is a leader in women’s education for emerging markets with a campus in Rwanda, a second East African campus opening in 2019, an office in Washington DC, and a Global Headquarters in Hong Kong. We are about to launch our new blended-learning, competency-based education platform that uses adaptive learning technology to provide a personalised education experience to each student. This has been designed with Michael Horn, the brilliant co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute of Disruptive Innovation and a renowned expert on blended learning.

Our academic model has a track record for success. Ninety percent of students are employed within six months of graduation. Graduates earn 12-13x the national median income.

To facilitate helping students find internships and career opportunities, we developed a proprietary online platform, MindSky. MindSky is an online careers platform that connects university students and graduates with employers.

Your Role

Akilah has entered an exciting growth phase and is scaling its systems rapidly to serve an increased student body and a second campus in East Africa. We are looking for people who are excited to bring cutting-edge technology to underserved populations and are eager to solve the unique puzzles and problems that presents. Our CIO will drive the strategic vision of all tech and systems on multiple campuses including our careers platform, MindSky.

As we adopt a competency-based blended learning curriculum, our academic and business models depend heavily on the right technology stack to deliver curriculum online and support rapid growth.

We are seeking an experienced executive, leader, and people manager to oversee our technological transformation by vetting and implementing interoperable, organization-wide technology systems and business processes. You will partner closely with fellow members of the Akilah executive team to devise our information strategy and ensure that all systems necessary to support our operations and objectives are in place.

The ideal candidate is not only a proven technologist, but a versatile business leader whose recommendations will inform overarching company objectives beyond technology. The candidate is primarily a business strategist with deep experience in technology, ideally having worked at a technology company in the past. The candidate is highly collaborative and experienced in change management, and is able to demonstrate prior experience leading a major transformation of an organization’s key technology infrastructure.

Responsibilities:

• Oversight and guidance over the implementation and optimization of a Salesforce-integrated student information database and learning system
• Management of interoperability across Akilah’s technology ecosystem, including student database, Quickbooks, Salesforce, admissions system, careers platform, and other data sources
• Oversight of the product and technology teams, with responsibility for our product roadmap
• Information technology strategy, to include the technology infrastructure, equipment, tech support, server maintenance, and network management across two campuses
• Selecting and implementing suitable technology to streamline all internal operations
• Hiring and coaching your team, to include product and technology, information systems, and IT infrastructure
• Directing and organizing all IT-related projects
• Monitoring changes or advancements in technology to discover ways that Akilah can gain competitive advantage

Requirements

• 7+ years at a technology company in a business management role, such as business operations, product management, or large-scale program management
• Excellent knowledge of IT systems and infrastructure
• Background in designing and developing IT systems and planning IT implementation
• Solid understanding of data analysis, budgeting, and business operations
• Metrics orientation and ability to work with data -- prior database management experience is a huge plus
• Superior analytical and problem-solving capabilities
• A strong strategic and business mindset
• Excellent organizational and leadership skills
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal abilities
• MBA preferred
• Willingness and excitement in building the capacities and skills of fellow team members
• Coaching experience a plus
• Ability to manage a team based in Kigali, Rwanda

Please address cover letters to Anastasia Uglova.