Product Director - SIFA

About Educate!

Educate! is dedicated to empowering Africa's rapidly growing young population by transforming youth employment through innovative programs. Operating across Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania, Educate! delivers employment-focused education and livelihood boot camps designed especially for marginalized rural girls and out-of-school young women. With over 500,000 youths impacted and a dedicated team of over 300 staff and volunteers, Educate! is the leading youth employment and skills provider in East Africa. Endorsed by prominent foundations and recognized globally, the organization is committed to designing scalable solutions that unlock youth potential continent-wide.

Role Summary

The Product Director for SIFA will lead the strategic vision and execution for SIFA, an AI-driven digital business coaching product aimed at out-of-school youth micro-entrepreneurs. This role is pivotal in transitioning SIFA from its MVP phase to becoming the digital core of Educate!'s youth employment portfolio, expanding its reach from thousands to millions. The Director will oversee product strategy, team leadership, and cross-functional collaboration, ensuring decisions are evidence-based and aligned with organizational goals.

Key Responsibilities

• Direct SIFA's comprehensive strategy from MVP to portfolio backbone, including investment planning, evidence generation for large-scale trials, and cost-efficiency modeling aligned with a sixfold ROI target.
• Collaborate closely with business unit leadership to align product and organizational priorities, proactively addressing strategic trade-offs and risks.
• Lead quarterly planning and stage retreats that integrate product evidence and organizational objectives through clear OKRs.
• Maintain and enhance essential strategy documents such as the value proposition, theory of change, user personas, and risk registers.
• Oversee SIFA's learning experience design, ensuring coaching routines are intentional and lead to measurable behavioral changes.
• Champion gender equity and safeguarding protocols consistent with organizational standards.
• Manage and interpret complex data architectures, integrating evaluation findings and user feedback to make critical strategic decisions.
• Supervise the development and quality assurance of all product components, including digital journeys, coaching content, and supporting materials.
• Establish and document robust evidence standards for product progression, coordinating external research and internal evaluations to inform go/no-go decisions.
• Cultivate and maintain vital partnerships with technology providers, evaluators, community networks, and potential funders to support product scaling and sustainability.
• Engage key stakeholders continuously to ensure alignment and ownership of product direction and outcomes.
• Support senior leadership initiatives while bearing full accountability for SIFA's success and integration within the broader portfolio.

Qualifications and Requirements

• Proven expertise in leading complex digital products, preferably in education, coaching, or youth development sectors, with a strategic and evidence-driven approach.
• Strong capability in managing cross-functional teams encompassing designers, engineers, content experts, and evaluators.
• Experience in developing and implementing rigorous learning agendas and evaluation methodologies including randomized control trials.
• Ability to synthesize diverse data sources and guide high-impact decisions under uncertainty.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the adaptability to work collaboratively across organizational levels and external partners.
• Commitment to equity, inclusion, and safeguarding within product development and delivery.
• Motivation to contribute to high-growth, mission-driven environments and drive change at scale in youth employment.

Additional Information

This role emphasizes ownership and accountability at a critical growth juncture for SIFA, involving complex decision-making affecting long-term digital strategy. Candidates are encouraged to apply even if they do not meet every criterion, reinforcing Educate!'s commitment to diversity and inclusion, especially encouraging applications from women and underrepresented groups.