Title: Senior Manager, Internal Consulting
Reporting to: COO + Working closely with CoS to the COO
Location: Nairobi
About Food for Education
Food for Education (F4E) is an African-led, women-led social enterprise that uses technology, smart operations, and logistics to provide low-cost, high-quality meals that improve nutrition and education outcomes for primary school children in Kenya.
We are growing quickly. Our mission is to scale models that prioritise efficient supply chain management and sustainable sourcing, so we can continue lowering the cost of school lunches. We have delivered over 100 million meals since 2012 and are expanding to reach our goal of serving at least 1 million public primary school students in Kenya every day by 2027. Further, we will serve another 2 million children in other African countries through technical advice to African governments and share global best practices with other African school feeding partners.
Our Values
At Food for Education, our values are guiding principles that provide us with purpose and direction and set the tone for our interactions with all stakeholders:
● Build with excellence and curiosity - We’re not afraid to try new things and iterate as much as we can to find the best and most efficient way to get results;
● Be the change you seek - We acknowledge that continuous improvement is a shared responsibility;
● We do what we say; and say what we do - We embrace an ownership mentality;
● Ask why, and commit- Share openly, question respectfully, and commit fully. When we understand the why, we are able to work with a purpose.
About the role
As our inaugural Senior Manager, Internal Consulting, you’ll help to launch a high-impact consulting unit to tackle Food4Education’s thorniest growth and impact challenges—from kitchen efficiencies and menu improvements to strategic planning and org redesign. Your ultimate goal? Help us reach 1 million daily meals by 2027—and many more beyond then. In the short term, the Senior Manager will work with the COO and her Chief of Staff to design many of the processes and approaches that this team takes so that it can grow and thrive. You will also lead the design and management of the first projects this team does, from filtering client requests through project scoping and execution. Over time, you will help to pinpoint the most valuable approaches this team can take to ensure the team grows into a high-impact support unit within the organization. This role calls for a creative, ambitious, proactive strategist who is ready to influence and grow along with Food4Education. A generalist who feels comfortable executing in a number of topics and can build relationships to achieve success will thrive in this role.
Key Duties & Responsibilities
Team set-up and leadership (~25%):
- Help establish and set up Food4Education’s internal consulting team, including providing input on strategy and processes for soliciting, selecting, and executing projects.
- Inform the design of internal team processes to ensure coordination, common standards, and continual improvement.
- Create, test, and improve tools to enable team management and growth (e.g., project trackers, impact dashboards).
Project management (~60%):
- Lead or co-lead projects that address critical areas of need or opportunity for the organization, from scoping through execution and handover.
- Support the design and implementation of select organizational pilots, innovations, or growth projects to accelerate impact.
- Manage internal client relationships to build demand for the team’s work and ensure work is effective and well-received.
- Create and use project implementation tools that help set the standard for this team’s operations in the long term.
Ecosystem scanning and engaging (~15%):
- Maintain an understanding of critical dynamics in the markets and environments relevant to Food4Education’s work, including school feeding, nonprofit strategy and operations, and technological innovation.
- Maintain collaborative relationships with select peers, partners, and supporters to enable and sustain information-sharing and growth (e.g., think tanks, businesses, similar non-profits).
- Formulate Food4Education’s Internal Consulting function to be best-in-class relative to peers in field, utilizing industry knowledge and expertise.
- This role will be based in Nairobi and require 10-20% domestic travel to facilitate project execution.
Desired Candidate Profile
- Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Management, Economics, Engineering, or a related field; Master’s degree preferred.
- 7+ years of experience in consulting, finance, engineering, or similar strategic and analytics-heavy roles in fast-paced, client service environments.
- Experience managing people and teams, preferably on client-service projects.
- Experience with operating model, organizational design analysis, and transformation.
- Strong organizational and project management abilities.
- Exceptional strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to create order and find insights amidst ambiguity and excessive information.
- High emotional intelligence and the ability to navigate sensitive situations with tact and diplomacy.
- Excellent presentation, communication, and interpersonal skills, including expertise in Excel and PowerPoint. Optional expertise with statistical software (e.g., R, Stata) and project management tools.
- Proven track record of managing complex projects and driving organizational change.
- Self-motivated, proactive, and results-oriented.
- Strong sense of integrity and commitment to the organization’s mission and values.
We are an equal-opportunity employer
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.
Career Growth and Development
We have a strong culture of constant learning, and we invest in developing our people. You will have weekly check-ins with your manager 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 will have the opportunity to shape a growing organisation and build a rewarding, long-term career.
We aim to contact all our applicants, but due to the high volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates are contacted. If you do not hear from us within two weeks, your application might not be successful on this occasion. This does not mean you will not be considered for future roles, so please keep an eye on our job board and apply for positions that match your skills and experience.