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Executive Director of Carnegie Mellon University Africa

Employer
Carnegie Mellon University
Location
Rwanda
Salary
Salary Not specified
Date posted
Sep 17, 2020

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Position Type
Faculty Positions, Education, Education Administration & Leadership
Employment Level
Executive
Employment Type
Full Time

Job Details

Established out of a partnership between Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and the Government of Rwanda, CMU-Africa is addressing the critical shortage of high-quality engineering talent required to accelerate the economic development and digital transformation of Africa—home to the fastest growing workforce in the world. CMU-Africa was established in 2011 and is the only U.S. research university offering its master’s degrees with full-time faculty, staff and operations in Africa.

 

CMU’s presence in Rwanda provides a platform to engage in Africa’s most significant opportunities and challenges across the continent through world-class education and contextually relevant research.

Our vision is to educate and empower the next generation of African leaders and innovators by delivering a world-class educational experience. Our mission is to produce creative and technically strong engineers, who have been trained in the African context, and prepared to make transformative impact in their communities and the world.

 

We are seeking an Executive Director of CMU-Africa to provide strategic and senior operational leadership to our programs in Kigali, Rwanda. We are looking for someone who is passionate about the coming transformation of Rwanda and Africa, and want to be a driving force in that transformation. The scope of the role includes:

  • Overall operational oversight of CMU-Africa, ensuring the organization is effectively and efficiently delivering on the defined strategies, goals and objectives of CMU-Africa and its partner organizations
  • Growing CMU-Africa’s ability to attract significant new resources from governments, foundations, associations, individuals and corporations in Africa and around the world. This will include managing and nurturing relationships involving partner organizations that have the interest in and capacity to make groundbreaking commitments
  • Managing, together with our Director, commitments to all partner organizations, which includes regularly communicating with the Government of Rwanda and the MasterCard Foundation, currently two of the strongest partners to CMU-Africa
  • Building upon CMU’s world-class reputation and driving a marketing and communications strategy for CMU-Africa to engage key audiences

Along with the Director, you will be a key leader of CMU-Africa, and will help develop short-, medium- and long-term plans that will position the organization to operationally fulfill its mission, and spur the future engagement and investment needed. Reporting jointly to our College of Engineering Dean and CMU-Africa Director, you will balance high-level oversight and direction of multiple administrative areas including business operations, partnership relations, student affairs and student services. You will employ multiple strategies to emphasize direct relationship building with faculty, staff and students at CMU-Africa and with other colleges and university leadership.

 

Externally, responsibilities will also involve initiating conversations and interactions that can lead to transformational gifts enabling outstanding advances in Engineering-related teaching, learning and discovery. In addition, you will continue to find opportunities and initiatives and, in consultation with the Dean, Associate Dean/s and Director of CMU-Africa, develop new strategies and tactics sought at attracting more resources for CMU-Africa’s critical work. As part of the position’s development responsibilities, you will collaborate regularly with the college and university advancement team and external university partners. In this context, you will have familiarity with the college’s overall campaign priorities, as well as the individual strategies and key initiatives planned and launched to achieve those goals. In addition, you will develop alternative approaches that allow the college to build upon existing partnerships to attract major commitments needed to realize shared goals.

 

Core responsibilities will include:

  • Serving as the most senior staff member of CMU-Africa; executing operational oversight to ensure CMU-Africa is fulfilling on its strategies, goals, and objectives towards its mission
  • Working in partnership with the director, dean, and associate dean/s to develop and implement strategies to grow CMU-Africa’s brand and reputation on the continent. Managing relationships that are local, regional, national, and international in scope
  • Collaborating with our college and university’s development offices, to develop and implement a comprehensive plan for fundraising. This work will include planning, oversight, management, and performance measurement and solicitation strategies
  • Providing leadership to and managing all critical initiatives to ensure CMU-Africa is delivering on its goals and objectives
  • Directly supervising professional staff

Qualifications:

  • 8 or more years of progressive professional international experience in a related field required. At least 5 years’ experience at an academic or non-profit organization and a corresponding record of accomplishments in fundraising and operational management preferred
  • A strong global network with connections in Africa and across the global, who align with CMU-Africa’s strategic priorities. Work experience in Africa is strongly preferred.
  • Bachelor's degree required.

Flexibility, excellence, and passion are vital qualities within CMU. Inclusion, collaboration and cultural sensitivity are valued proficiencies at CMU. Therefore, we are in search of a team member who is able to effectively interact with a dynamic population of internal and external partners at a high standard of integrity. We are looking for someone who can contribute through their work/life experiences to the diversity and excellence of the academic community.

 

You should demonstrate:

  • Ability to drive and execute a high-level strategic plan and engage the organization behind it.
  • High degree of energy, creativity, flexibility, organizational and interpersonal skills
  • Ability to work both independently and collaboratively with colleagues
  • Demonstrated ability to work in a partnership culture
  • Strong aptitude for verbal and written communication, presentation, and relationship development
  • Ability to interact with colleagues, supervisors, and customers both face to face and across time zones.

This position is based in Kigali, Rwanda. Occasional nights and weekend hours maybe required. Regular international travel required.

 

Are you interested in this opportunity with us? Please apply.

 

More Information:

 

Please visit “Why Carnegie Mellon” to learn more about becoming part of an institution inspiring innovations that change the world.

 

A listing of our employee benefits is available at: www.cmu.edu/jobs/benefits-at-a-glance/.

 

Carnegie Mellon University is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veteran.

Company

Carnegie Mellon Univesity

Carnegie Mellon University challenges the curious and passionate to imagine and deliver work that matters.

A private, global research university, Carnegie Mellon stands among the world's most renowned educational institutions, and sets its own course. Start the journey here.

Over the past 10 years, more than 400 startups linked to CMU have raised more than $7 billion in follow-on funding. Those investment numbers are especially high because of the sheer size of Pittsburgh’s growing autonomous vehicles cluster – including Uber, Aurora, Waymo and Motional – all of which are here because of their strong ties to CMU.

With cutting-edge brain science, path-breaking performances, innovative startups, driverless cars, big data, big ambitions, Nobel and Turing prizes, hands-on learning, and a whole lot of robots, CMU doesn't imagine the future, we create it. 

Many seek Pittsburgh for being a hot spot for entrepreneurship and a model for future cities. Others come for the city's burgeoning food scene.

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