Content System Developer

The context:

Across the developing world, more children than ever are in school – but they are not learning. A recent study estimated that less than 1% of school children in Sub-Saharan Africa attend a school where the teaching meets basic standards of quality. At Rising Academies, we’re changing that, and we want your help. Our mission is to create the best schools and the most powerful teaching and learning tools for the people that need it most. We’re one of the fastest-growing quality-focused education companies in Africa, and a Certified B Corp®.

About us:

We own and operate our own great value private schools, partner with governments to improve the quality of public school systems, and use our content and technology to help other education providers. Founded in Sierra Leone in 2014, we provided emergency education to children kept out of school by the Ebola Epidemic before opening our first school in April 2015. Today, we serve more than 250,000 students across more than 900 schools in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and now Rwanda.

Through great curriculum, intensive teacher coaching and actionable data, we help teachers and school leaders bring quality to every classroom. And we get results: independent studies show Rising students make more than twice the progress of their peers in comparable schools.

We have recently closed our Series A funding round and won a multi-year, multi-million dollar grant to accelerate the development of our digital ed-tech solutions for low-income students across the globe. Our ‘Bambai’ suite of digital tools already includes a school information system, school observation tool, chatbot tutor, accelerated learning program and teacher coaching app. This is just the start. We want to expand our range of digital products to help improve the quality of education for millions of students around the world. If you want to make a difference to the lives of teachers, students and parents, then we are the right place for you.

About the role:

We are looking for a mid-level engineer who is interested in building the next generation of AI enabled edtech products, focused on the developing world where the education gap still looms large.

One of Rising’s main goals is to create great educational content. We have recently built a new content system that supplies maths curriculum content to our Maths chatbot, Rori. We want to extend its functionality both for Rori and also to allow other teams to create and maintain content for different use cases, both in-school as well as for our digital products. You will have a chance to get deeply involved in new and experimental products that are just getting off the ground, where you can build software using best practices.

The Content System Developer will:

Build and extend the content system as a software developer, in step with the product’s overall directionDeliver a quality content service to Rori (the first use case)Implement features to expand the use of content system to other internal teamsBuild a new UI for the content systemEnsure the content system is able to integrate with all future Rori systemsAssist the Rori Engineering manager in keeping the CMS systems on our cloud provider healthy and functioning wellActs as technical support for the system

Location and reporting:

This is a full-time remote position. Candidates can be based in any country. The Content System Developer will report to the Product Manager for the Content System and to the Rori Senior Engineering Manager.

Application deadline:

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The plan start date for this role is July 2024.

Requirements

Qualifications and Experience:

At least 4 years experience in databases, application hosting, software engineering, system securityAt least 1 year experience with Python-based development and deployment (preferably using FastAPI and Django)At least 1 year experience with Javascript and current frontend development frameworksAt least 3 years experience in modern software practices like kanban, agile methodologies or similarProven ability to understand organisational and product requirements and to be able to translate these into technical system plans

About You:

You have excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skillsYou can communicate with technical teams and business stakeholders in a multicultural environment, as well as clearly document software for these audiencesYou demonstrate people skills, must be able to collaborate effectively with diverse personalities and skill sets, and enjoy constructive conflictYou have a strong track record of professionalism and trustworthinessYou possess effective communication, relationship building, and teamwork skillsYou have a strong track record of working within technical teams, with technical leads, product owners and fellow developersYou can take initiative and problem-solve when challenges ariseYou have a strong ability to keep on taskYou are willing to take risks, fail, learn, give and receive feedback, and try new approachesYou are passionate about improving the quality of education across Africa

Benefits

Compensation and Benefits:

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package. We regularly benchmark our compensation against comparable businesses, social ventures and non-profits.

Rising’s goal is to be transparent about salaries at all levels of the organisation and have a standard, global pay scale for all positions that is non-negotiable.

The benefits we offer are built to have a strong added value on our staff’s well-being and we are excited to discuss this further with you in the process.

Rising is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to providing a work environment that is inclusive and free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions are based on individual qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, national origin, family or parental status, veteran or disability status.

Rising is committed to creating a culture within the organisation, and its schools, that recognises the importance of safeguarding children and prioritising their rights and needs. We strive to uphold international safeguarding standards, and keep the safety and well-being of our students at the heart of what we do. All Rising employees are expected to abide by the Child Protection Policy, and to have the same level of commitment to protect children from harm. Safeguarding questions are part of every interview process and all Rising employees undergo reference checks before joining the organisation.

Key Skills

• Frontend
• JavaScript