Primary School Sector Lead
Cape Town, WC, ZA
Job description – Primary School Sector Lead Job Title: Primary School Sector Lead Country: Based in Cape Town, South Africa About the project: SPAC EduConservationis a pan-African environmental educational project focusing on integrating well researched Africa-centric conservation resources to enrich and supplement the curricula of the formal education systems in African countries. Purpose of the Job: The Primary School Sector Lead provides academic and pedagogical leadership for primary schooling within the project, ensuring excellence, coherence, and innovation across all SPAC EduConservation initiatives. The role combines strategic oversight with hands-on collaboration in the development and delivery of educational materials, training, and implementation activities, ensuring that all primary education deliverables are well-curated, contextually relevant, and pedagogically rigorous. Working closely with the Education Manager and the broader Education Team, the Sector Lead serves as both a strategic advisor and first-line support — driving educational quality, achieving deliverables, and ensuring that all content, training, and implementation approaches are practical, impactful, and grounded in SPAC EduConservation’s Educational Philosophy, Environmental Education (EE), and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) objectives. Board: SPAC Board Superior 3 Level: SPAC EduConservation Director Superior 2 Level: Project Manager: Education and Development Superior 1 Level: Education Manager (TBR) Incumbent: Primary School Sector Lead Requirements: Minimum Education: Tertiary Diploma / Degree. Background in Education and Content Development. A Master degree in education or related qualification is advantageous. Minimum Experience Required: At least seven (7) years of professional experience in primary education and content development. Previous experience in a management role and working within a non-profit setting is advantageous. Bilingual proficiency in French is a strong asset. Minimum ICT Proficiency Required: Demonstrated ICT skills with proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and Google Workspace. Key Responsibilities: KPA 1 – Sector Leadership in Pedagogical Excellence and Innovation Lead and actively contribute to pedagogical excellence and innovation across the Primary School sector by collaborating in the development and delivery of lessons, resources, and training modules that are practical, engaging, and impactful in real classroom settings. Drive creative approaches to content design and teacher development that promote active learning, critical thinking, environmental awareness, and learner-centred pedagogy. Ensure strong alignment between SPAC EduConservation’s educational philosophy and national curriculum standards, adapting resources to diverse African contexts. Champion best practice and pedagogical consistency across all programmes, ensuring that educational materials and teacher training are impactful, and embody SPAC EduConservation’s principles of inclusivity, relevance, and environmental responsibility. Guide and mentor teams in developing classroom-ready materials, teacher training modules, and science communication resources that uphold rigour, usability, and creative engagement. Promote innovation through reflection, research, and collaboration, ensuring that SPAC EduConservation’s Primary School portfolio continually evolves to meet emerging educational priorities and opportunities. Monitor emerging educational needs and field realities, sharing insights, opportunities, and challenges with management to inform timely, evidence-based decisions. Ensure all materials are pedagogically sound, curriculum-aligned, scientifically accurate, environmentally responsible, culturally appropriate, and practical for classroom use. Translate national policy into practice through the creation of practical tools and teacher training materials. Review educational content for flow, usability, appropriate language, and effective use of resources to maximise teacher confidence and learner engagement. KPA 2 – Collaborative Support and Direct Team Leadership Act as the right hand to the Education Manager, ensuring strong coordination, clear communication, and seamless alignment across all education activities, deliverables, and sector priorities. Provide first-line pedagogical and operational support to Country Leads for Pedagogy and Impact, offering guidance, feedback, and coaching to ensure consistent progress and quality. Maintain open, regular communication with in-country teams through calls, updates, and field visits, ensuring effective planning, follow-up, and responsiveness to evolving needs. Support cross-sector collaboration (ECD, Primary, High School, Teacher Training) to ensure educational continuity and alignment across all learning phases. Contribute professional insight and recommendations to the Education Manager, helping to refine strategies, coordinate deliverables, and sustain momentum across teams. Foster a supportive and collaborative team culture, encouraging initiative, reflection, and joint problem-solving to maintain pedagogical excellence and operational effectiveness. Collaborate with the Design and Production team when required to finalise print-ready materials, ensuring accuracy, usability, and visual and pedagogical consistency. Adopt a proactive, solution-oriented approach that drives timely delivery, quality outcomes, and measurable impact across all activities. Balance creativity and innovation with the need to meet deadlines, manage scope, and ensure quality, consistency and practicality. KPA 3 – Strengthen Capacity, Quality, and Impact Build capacity and confidence among Country Leads, educators, and collaborators to ensure pedagogical depth, creativity, and consistent delivery of high-quality outputs. Lead internal reflection and professional learning activities that promote continuous improvement, innovation, and shared accountability within the education team. Contribute directly to the design, review, and refinement of educational resources, ensuring pedagogical coherence, clarity, and usability across lessons and training materials. Ensure that primary-level educational offerings are curriculum-aligned, inclusive, and engaging, advancing SPAC EduConservation’s EE and ESD goals through learner-centred approaches. Collaborate with the Education Manager, Project management, the MEL team, and Design \& Production teams to ensure resources are practical, evidence-informed, and ready for classroom and teacher-training use. Maintain strong, regular communication with SPAC EduConservation’s in-house development team and country teams to ensure alignment, responsiveness, and sustained momentum. Support monitoring and learning processes by providing feedback on resource use, training outcomes, and teacher engagement, feeding insights into adaptive planning and improvement. Promote open communication and collective ownership of educational quality, ensuring that impact is measurable, sustainable, and grounded in real classroom change. KPA 4 – Implementation, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Collaborate with the MEL team, Education Manager, and Project Management to support monitoring, evaluation, and learning processes as required. Collaborate with the MEL team to shape and refine education-specific indicators and tools. Support the collection, analysis, and use of data to guide programme improvements and reporting. Document and share good practices, challenges, and innovations to support internal learning. Competencies Deep knowledge of teaching, content development, assessment, and teacher professional learning. Strong background in environmental or science education with practical classroom insight. Proven ability to lead and motivate teams while maintaining focus on quality and deliverables. Excellent communication, writing, and facilitation skills. Strategic, adaptable, and solutions-oriented, with the ability to manage complexity and competing priorities. Passionate about education, conservation, and measurable impact across Africa. Proven ability to manage teams and education projects across multiple countries. Excellent writing, editing, communication, and facilitation skills. Proficient in project management, with the ability to meet deadlines and manage complex workflows. Skilled in using Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, and virtual platforms (e.g. Zoom, Skype). Experience working with creative teams (e.g. editors, designers) and developing user-ready content. Strong analytical, administrative, and logistical skills. Strategic, detail-oriented, and proactive, with the ability to thrive under pressure. Collaborative, adaptable, and responsive to changing needs. * Willing and able to travel within Africa; must hold a valid passport. Job Type: Full-time Work Location: In person
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