Deputy Managing Director

Start date: July 2022
Location: ideally Germany-based, remote work possible, office in Berlin Position: full-time (80% possible)

About Kiron
Kiron Open Higher Education gGmbH is a non-profit organisation founded in 2015 with the mission to enable access to high-quality education for refugees and underserved communities through digital solutions. Our team of Kironistas is international, agile and thinks out-of-the-box. We are education experts, techies, designers, project managers, communicators, grant writers, researchers, coffee-drinkers, innovators and dreamers, who work together on this mission every day.

To achieve our goal we are strengthening our leadership team with additional expertise and network. We are looking to hire a Deputy Managing Director that can help us solidify newly developed strategic areas of collective impact, social business spin-offs, job market integration and international mobility / migration, with a focus on refugees and other underserved communities.

As our new Deputy Managing Director
… you will co-own the strategic and visionary direction of our products, programs and organisation. You will provide strategic leadership to our programs and product teams, engage in high-level fundraising and network activities, and support our evolution to a sustainable, hybrid funding model.

In this role, you will be responsible for:

• Leading the assessment and development of our product and organisation-wide roadmap
• Conceptualising new products and programs
• Managing the organisation alongside the Executive Director
• Developing our strategy, based on our competencies and stakeholder needs
• Leading and coaching the programs and products team

Depending on your skills and interests, you might also be involved in:

• Developing new funding and projects with current and potential partners
• Managing our country offices

Internal stakeholders

• Executive Director
• Product & Programs Teams
• Country Officers
• Project Managers
• KDLS

External stakeholders

• Partners & donors

About you
To succeed and grow in this position, you will likely be:

• Value-driven, humble and passionate about our mission and dedicated to the communities we serve
• A people person and excellent communicator, able to connect with various stakeholders (from colleagues, to partners, to our students) with the same degree of respect, while targeting your message and tone and generating engagement and enthusiasm
• Resilient, pragmatic and persistent, able to navigate and integrate complexity while seeking to simplify and staying on course while adjusting to changing circumstances
• Flexible in your thinking and creative, able to spot solutions where others see problems, to identify new ways of approaching challenges, constantly seeking to learn and grow and keen to guide others in this process

… and will likely have:

• Led (and scaled) projects, programs and/or products in the NGO, public or social impact space
• Experience in refugee and migration contexts and/or in online / blended learning
• Fluent English

Ideally, you might also have:

• Worked in social business contexts (B2C and/or B2B and/or B2G)
• Familiarity with the migration / refugee and / or education landscape and relevant organisations
• Fundraising and project development experience
• General management experience
• Touchpoints with design thinking / agile methodology
• Fluency in other languages, preferably German and / or Arabic 

This is what you can expect…

After your first month, you will have taken over full responsibility for selected teams and areas of work.

After three months, you will have provided substantial feedback to the current theory of change and strategy.

After six months, you will have become a crucial part and pillar of Kiron’s success and growth.

After 1 year, you will be able to cover all aspects of Kiron’s programs and strategy.

Why join Kiron?

• We are a mission-driven organisation committed to making a difference for underserved communities
• We offer a flexible, agile and entrepreneurial work environment, where purpose, enthusiasm, and your ideas are valued
• We are a vibrant and international team based in Germany, Jordan and Lebanon
• We provide a competitive salary and benefits package, as well as team-building activities, possibilities for professional development, and flexible and remote work arrangement

This profile draws on our experience of people who have been successful in this role in the past. We warmly encourage you to apply if you feel your experience and skills equip you for this job but are not listed here! 

Are you ready to join our mission? Then please submit your  application via the link.

If you are interested in learning more about Kiron or have questions about the position or your application, please contact careers@kiron.ngo. Kiron Open Higher Education is an inclusive organisation.

We explicitly encourage candidates from underrepresented communities and groups to apply, especially those with a migration / refugee background.

We can provide financial assistance for interview expenses if required. We are also happy to discuss individual requirements relating to the application process and/or the demands of the role itself with candidates who have disabilities to ensure reasonable adjustments are confirmed in advance. Please contact careers@kiron.ngo if you would like to speak to someone in confidence about your needs.