Early Childhood Development Programme Director

Early Childhood Development Programme Director

Cape Town, South Africa, or Brazzaville, Republic of Congo

Sabine Plattner African Charities (SPAC) is a Cape Town-based non-profit organisation working in the Republic of Congo and other African countries to improve opportunities and outcomes for children and communities living in and around important conservation areas. Through its programmes, SPAC seeks to contribute to long-term social and environmental sustainability by combining high-quality education with a strong commitment to conservation and community development.

SPAC operates a network of nine Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres in rural areas of the Republic of Congo. The programme provides holistic, play-based and conservation-focused early learning opportunities for children aged 3-6 years, with the aim of supporting their cognitive, social-emotional, physical and language development while fostering an appreciation for the natural environment.

SPAC believes that children learn best through active engagement, exploration, play and positive interactions with skilled and caring teachers. The programme seeks not only to improve child outcomes, but also to develop a high-quality ECD model that can be replicated and potentially influence the broader ECD sector in Congo.

Teachers recruited to the programme are mainly local rural villagers and therefor they do not have teaching qualifications – they are recruited based on apparent affinity, aptitude and attitude.

Education Co-ordinator, Content and Pedagogy Co-ordinator and Logistics Co-ordinator, as well as on the ground Centre Managers, Supervisors and Teachers

The Programme Director is responsible for the overall leadership, management and strategic development of the SPAC ECD Programme. The role reports to the SPAC Managing Director and provides direction to the programme team, ensures the effective delivery of programme activities and oversees the systems, resources and partnerships required to achieve SPAC's objectives.

Working closely with the Managing Director and other senior staff, the Programme Director will help shape the future direction of the programme while ensuring that day-to-day operations are delivered effectively and sustainably, and that the quality of teaching and learning and outcomes improve towards best practice.

The Programme Director will lead programme planning, budgeting, monitoring and reporting, while ensuring that programme activities remain aligned with SPAC's vision, strategy and ECD principles.

The role will be responsible enabling and supporting a high-performing team, strengthening management systems and ensuring that the programme operates efficiently across multiple locations.

While the Programme Director does not need to be the primary technical expert within the programme, a strong understanding of ECD context and modern approaches to early childhood development is important. The successful candidate should appreciate the importance of holistic child development, play-based learning, active learning, positive teacher-child interactions, conservation-focused education and evidence-based programme improvement.

A key responsibility of the role is to ensure that SPAC's ECD model is successfully implemented, strengthened and continuously improved. This includes overseeing programme quality, reviewing performance data, supporting problem-solving, managing programme risks and ensuring that programme resources, personnel and systems enable staff to deliver high-quality services to children and communities.

The Programme Director will be based in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo or Cape Town, South Africa, and will provide leadership and support to teams operating in the Republic of Congo. Regular travel to Congo will be required, including visits to remote rural programme locations at least three times per year. These visits will focus on supporting local teams, engaging with stakeholders, strengthening implementation and ensuring that the programme continues to deliver meaningful outcomes for children, communities and conservation.

Proficiency in both English and French will be very useful.