Sponsorship Coordinator

About the Organisation

Together We Learn is a small international development charity with a vision to break the cycle of poverty in Ethiopia by enabling disadvantaged children to access quality education.

We have been working closely with our Ethiopian partner organisation for over 25 years to achieve this. Our UK team is a small, close- knit team that supports the fundraising, international communications, and project delivery of the Ethiopian team.

Our approach is to work alongside state education infrastructure, addressing a range of needs related to access to and quality of education, as well as children’s wellbeing.

Our work with schools includes school infrastructure projects - providing safe, local schools - and supporting teachers with training and resources to inspire children to flourish in the classroom. We also work closely with the children, their families and communities to understand and address the issues they face at home and how these impact their ability to attend and concentrate in school.

We are at the start of a new strategic phase with a focus on building the capacity of our Ethiopian partner organisation to shift the power and be more locally-led in our work.

We are particularly interested in hearing from candidates with a connection to Ethiopia, or from the African diaspora.

Sponsorship Coordinator

The Role: The Sponsorship Coordinator works closely with the Ethiopian team to facilitate sponsor communications and support the smooth delivery of our student sponsorship programme. They are responsible for reviewing and sending student updates collected by the team in Ethiopia to our international sponsor community; liaising with the Ethiopian team to deliver key sponsorship activities; and engaging new and existing sponsors in the sponsorship programme.

Reports to: Chief Executive
Hours: 15 hours per week (part-time role 40%)
Salary: £8,620 per annum (21,548 pro rata)
Location: London office, preference for hybrid working, remote applications considered, employee must be living in the UK.

(We are also seeking a part-time Project Coordinator (40%) and would consider applications to work in both roles. If you wish to apply for both, please state this in your cover letter)

Responsibilities

Ethiopia team liaison and sponsor communication (70%)

• Work closely with the Sponsorship Manager and Coordinators in Ethiopia to ensure the timely and effective delivery of sponsorship activities and reporting.
• Maintain good relationships with sponsors by responding to sponsor enquiries in a prompt and friendly manner and encourage continued support for the sponsorship programme through the provision of engaging, informative and culturally aware/sensitive student updates and newsletters.
• Manage a small pool of student volunteers to produce quality reports for sponsors.
• Facilitate additional monetary gifts from sponsors to their sponsored student including individual gifts, private school support and home improvement.
• Monitor sponsorship finances, including use of Salesforce, checking sponsorship payments are received and seeking to resolve any finance problems.
• Safeguard the data relating to sponsors and beneficiaries in line with the organisation’s policies.
• Assist in the promotion of the programme to recruit new sponsors and promote the sponsorship programme on occasion, through online initiatives or attending events.

Monitoring and evaluation (20%)

• Support monitoring and evaluation of the programme by ensuring the timely collection of data by the team in Ethiopia, collating, analysing and formatting data for review, leading discussions on impact review and supporting discussions for continuous programme development. Including managing office volunteers to support our work in these areas.
• Support the Ethiopian team to track and understand markers of good quality, sustainable programming and to continuously improve upon these.

Other (10%)

• Support with building the capacity of the Ethiopian team through working practices and training in relevant areas.
• Support the Ethiopia sponsorship team to develop, include and adhere to programme policies and procedures, with special attention to safeguarding.
• Communicate about our work with stakeholders via writing blogs, newsletter and Annual Report chapters.

This job description is not to be regarded as exclusive or exhaustive. It is intended as an outline indication of the areas of activity and may be amended in the light of the changing needs of the organisation. 

Person Specification

The lists below specify qualities and experience that we feel would be essential or desirable for this role. However, we would like candidates to apply regardless, if you can provide an explanation for why another skill, experience, or characteristic makes you a good fit for this role.

Essential

• Understand and share the organisation’s vision and mission
• Ability to work remotely within an international team, working sensitively across cultures, respecting differences and collaborating for a shared goal
• Motivated, with a friendly, helpful attitude
• Excellent organisational and time management skills
• Good written and verbal communication skills
• Proactive approach to addressing problems and identifying solutions
• Good attention to detail, producing work of a high quality
• Proficient with Microsoft packages, including Word, Excel and Publisher

Desirable

• Experience of working across cultures
• Experience in admin, NGO work, or in an education setting
• Understanding of global poverty issues, pedagogy, work to support children, or international development
• Experience of working or living in Ethiopia, or other developing countries, or a connection to habesha or other African culture
• Relevant degree

How to Apply
To apply for the role please read the job description above and send your CV and a cover letter. The cover letter should include the reason for your interest in the role, how you meet the person specification, or what skills you could bring to the role, and how the part-time role fits with your situation.

Applications will be reviewed after June 30th and interviews will be scheduled for the week commencing 6th August.

(We are also seeking a part-time Project Coordinator (40%) and would consider applications to work in both roles. If you wish to apply for both, please only apply once and state this in your cover letter)