Role title: Learning Centre Officer

Location: Elmina

Reporting to: Head of Operations 

Hours: Full-time 

Salary: Competitive, in line with experience 

About Us

EduSpots is an innovative, dynamic, and community-driven UK and Ghanaian registered charity which connects, trains, and equips voluntary community educators to drive community-led change through education spaces named ‘Spots’. Our vision is of a world where communities unite to create the futures they want to see, through education.  

Since 2016, through collaborating extensively with over 250 local volunteers, who take a central leadership role in the development of the network, we have supported 50 communities in creating and running community-led and owned education spaces named ‘Spots’, with a strategy to support them in moving towards our ‘Dream Spot Model’. Together, we are developing a model for a community-led education space with accompanying network engagement that could have applications across the world. 

Our Ghanaian-based team creates collaborative learning opportunities through three leadership programmes for volunteers: the Ignite, Catalyse and Peer Mentoring Programmes. These enable them to lead EduLit, EduSTEM, EduKidz and Ignite Equity clubs, alongside locally designed education projects, reaching over 10,000 students of all ages annually. Read our 2022 Impact Report here. 

We are in an exciting period of our development, having more than doubled our income, programme breadth and reach in the last year. In 2024, we are launching our new Catalyse Leadership Programme, alongside developing an EduSpots app to enhance data management and programme management at the community level, alongside a wider digitalisation process through the distribution of tablets across the network. 

We won the Tes International Award in 2018 and the Big Give Supporters’ Choice Award in 2022, and we were recently selected as a finalist for the Their World Scale-Up Innovation Prize. In 2021, our Founder was a Finalist in UNESCO-backed The Varkey Foundation’s $1 million Global Teacher Prize. 

We are excited by our future. Do visit www.eduspots.org for further information. 

About this role

This year, we opened our new EduSpots Training and Learning Centre in Elmina in Dwira Akyinim community. The centre is opened as a Spot to the community, with activities and EduSpots clubs run by a team of local volunteers. The project is also a key space for training EduSpots staff and volunteers, with the organisation also aiming to use the space to showcase our educational model to potential partners and supporters. We have plans to further expand the space in the future, dependent on funds raised through local tourism. 

As such, we are looking to find a committed and dynamic individual to oversee the operations of the centre. In this role, you would also support EduSpots with hospitality during key training events and support the wider running of the project. In time, and depending on your skill-set, you may also build relationships with local hotels and tourism sites, facilitating tours of the project and selling items at the centre. 

In this role we are looking for a self-starter with strong interpersonal, task management and enterprise abilities, able to work in line with EduSpots agreed ways of working with minimal supervision to ensure the space is effectively managed. Crucially, they will have a strong desire to contribute to the work of EduSpots in Elmina and beyond and be an outstanding ambassador for the organisation. 

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Open and oversee the centre at prescribed hours (to be discussed) from Monday – Saturday.
• Planning and supporting in the organisation of regional, national, and Spot-based events or training programmes. 
• Support volunteer-driven activities at the Spot
• Guide learners to find age-appropriate library resources and help them to observe proper library etiquette including signing in and out of the Spot. 
• Work with volunteers to assist learners to read, and to support the digitisation drive by helping learning to use digital tools such as computers, tablets, etc.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of systems, tools and processes that enhance local Spot operations in Elmina and support the establishment of a local NGO and library committee. 
• Ability to keep proper records, including stamping of books, keeping a fixed assets register, and updating these records regularly. 
• Promoting the work of EduSpots to the wider community, and in time, to tourists and wider EduSpots stakeholders. 
• Supporting the sales of EduSpots items to raise funds for EduSpots 
• Depending on the individual’s skill-set, running a local social media feed to promote the centre’s work. 
• Supporting the roll-out of our safeguarding strategy, ensuring full compliance at the centre with the strategy and wider policy, reporting any safeguarding concerns to the safeguarding leads.

Person Specification

Knowledge & Experience

• At least 1 year experience in project management, event management, community development or related field
• Ability to create systems, manage resources, produce periodic reports, and related duties
• Basic finance skills, including bookkeeping, and budgeting skills
• Ability to multitask and prioritise 
• Experience of working with volunteers
• Experience of hybrid working 
• Experience in public-facing roles
• Strong IT knowledge and skills with experience of online working 

Personal Qualities & Skills

• Impeccable personal standards including punctuality and commitment to tasks assigned. 
• An ability to take direction quickly, and respond positively to feedback. 
• A genuine commitment to educational equity and community-driven change.
• Strong operations skills, alongside excellent organisational and time management skills.
• Proactive and able to work to maintain a high standard of performance with minimum supervision in an impact-driven environment.
• Strong communication skills, with an ability to build strong working relationships with people from diverse backgrounds, with an openness to new ways of working.
• A team player with a belief in the value of collaborative approaches to learning.
• Self-motivated, proactive, and able to work to maintain a high standard of performance with minimum supervision.
• A strong personal affinity with EduSpots’ mission, vision and values.

Desirable 

•     Experience of working with children
•     Experience of working in a multicultural team
•     Experience of working with an education NGO
•     Bachelor’s degree in a related field
•     Volunteer experience and commitment. 

How to apply:

Please send a tailored covering letter and updated CV by email addressed to the Head of Staff and Professional Development, Kennedy Apanyin, at recruitment@eduspots.org by Monday 25th March with a hope to meet shortlisted candidates for a first-round interview shortly afterwards, for a start date by the end of March. 

For further information please see www.eduspots.org  or contact us at recruitment@eduspots.org

Also follow us on social media – @eduspots on Twitter and Facebook 

This job description will be reviewed annually and may be subject to amendment or modification at any time in consultation with the post holder.  It is not a comprehensive statement of procedures and tasks but sets out the main expectations of the role.EduSpots is committed to the safeguarding of children. Appointment will be subject to child protection screening appropriate to the post.