The Pharo foundation

SIS Project Manager Nairobi, Kenya Apply SIS Project Manager Job Function Education Designation SIS Project Manager Level L5 - Manager / Lead Employment Type Contract Experience level 5 Years Workplace Type Onsite Location Nairobi, Kenya - 00 Job roleSIS Project ManagerReporting to: Managing Director – Pharo SchoolsContract: 12-month fixed-term contractLocation: Nairobi, Kenya, with travel across Pharo Schools campuses as requiredRole Type: Full-timeProject: Pharo Schools Student Information System (SIS) ImplementationOverviewPharo Foundation is a mission-driven, impact-oriented organisation that designs, funds, and operates economic development programmes to achieve its vision of a vibrant, productive, and self-reliant Africa.The Foundation drives its impact through two key approaches:1. Pharo Ventures is a for-profit, patient-capital investment vehicle focused on making high-impact investments in critical value chains to drive sustainable economic growth.2. Pharo Development is our non-profit arm, investing in public goods and development projects with the aim of making an impact on our three mission areas: Education, Water and Economic Productivity.With over 700 employees across Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Somaliland, we are a diverse, multicultural, and passionate organization. Our headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya, with a liaison office in London, UK.About Pharo SchoolsPharo Schools is an African network of schools that exists to expand opportunities through access to high quality affordable and equitable education[NM1]. We are an active investor, building and operating a network of high-impact, future-focused schools that deliver excellent learning outcomes, nurture character and wellbeing and empower young people to shape prosperous futures for themselves and their communities. Rooted in the Foundation’s vision of a productive, vibrant and self-reliant Africa, Pharo Schools operate with a deep commitment to equity, dignity, and access. Our schools prioritise strong teaching, enriched learning environments, and holistic development, ensuring that every child regardless of background can succeed at school, thrive in life, and become productive members of their communities. Pharo Schools currently serves over 6000 students across Kenya, Somaliland, Ethiopia and Rwanda.Role SummaryThe SIS Project Manager will lead the end-to-end implementation, adoption and evaluation of the Pharo Schools Student Information System across the network. The role will be responsible for translating Pharo Schools’ operational, academic and data requirements into a functioning, standardised SIS, working closely with EdAdmin, Central IT, school leadership and SIS Champions across Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Somaliland. The first nine months of the role will focus on implementation, including system configuration, data migration, testing, training, change management and phased go-live. The final three months will focus on monitoring and evaluation, stabilisation, measuring adoption and impact, documenting lessons learned and establishing the foundations for continuous improvement. The Project Manager will ensure that the SIS is not simply implemented as a technology platform, but becomes a reliable network-wide operating system for student information, academic reporting, enrolment, communications and decision-making.Key Responsibilities 1. Project Management &amp; Implementation Leadership Review an existing SIS implementation plan and establish project milestones, dependencies, deliverables and critical path activities. Coordinate all internal and external stakeholders involved in the implementation. Manage the relationship with EdAdmin and ensure vendor deliverables are completed to agreed standards. Establish regular project governance meetings, progress reporting and escalation mechanisms. Track project risks, issues, dependencies and decisions. Maintain the project RAID log and ensure timely mitigation of risks. Monitor implementation against scope, budget, quality and timelines. Escalate significant risks and decisions to the Managing Director and relevant governance forums. Ensure that project documentation, decisions and configuration changes are properly recorded. 2. Requirements &amp; Process Design Lead the documentation of current student information systems and processes across all Pharo Schools. Work with school teams to identify pain points, duplication, manual processes and data gaps. Translate business and education requirements into clear SIS functional requirements. Lead the standardisation of core network processes where appropriate. Ensure that system design reflects Pharo Schools' operating model while accommodating legitimate country-specific requirements. Develop and maintain the SIS requirements and configuration matrix. 3. EdAdmin Configuration &amp; ImplementationWorking with EdAdmin and the internal implementation team, the Project Manager will oversee:School, campus, grade and class configuration. Academic calendars and terms. User roles and permissions. Enrolment workflows. Attendance configuration. Gradebook and assessment structures. Grading and reporting requirements, including Cambridge and applicable local requirements. Report card configuration. Parent/student portal configuration. Communication workflows. Management reporting and dashboards. Required integrations with other systems. System testing and user acceptance testing.The Project Manager will ensure that configuration decisions are documented, approved and aligned to agreed Pharo Schools standards.4. Data Migration &amp; Data QualityThe Project Manager will lead the data migration workstream in partnership with IT, EdAdmin and school teams.Responsibilities include:Establishing the data migration plan and timetable. Identifying all existing student data sources. Coordinating data extraction from current systems. Supporting data cleaning, deduplication and standardisation. Developing data mapping requirements. Coordinating test migrations. Establishing data validation and reconciliation processes. Coordinating school-level validation and sign-off. Ensuring historical data required for reporting is appropriately migrated. Monitoring data quality after go-live. Establishing clear ownership of student data across the network.A key outcome will be confidence that student information in EdAdmin is accurate, complete, consistent and fit for reporting and decision-making.5. Testing &amp; Quality AssuranceThe Project Manager will establish and manage the SIS testing framework.This will include:Functional testing. Configuration testing. Data migration testing. Integration testing. Security and access testing. User Acceptance Testing (UAT). End-to-end process testing. School readiness testing. Go-live readiness assessments.The Project Manager will coordinate the resolution of defects and ensure that critical issues are addressed before go-live.6. Training, Change Management &amp; AdoptionThe Project Manager will lead the change management component of the implementation.This will include:Developing the SIS training strategy. Identifying and supporting SIS Champions in each school. Coordinating training for school leaders, administrators, teachers and relevant central teams. Developing user guides, SOPs and quick-reference materials. Establishing clear expectations for system usage. Supporting school leaders through the transition from existing/manual processes. Monitoring adoption and identifying schools or user groups requiring additional support. Establishing a post-go-live support model. Building internal capability so that schools become increasingly self-sufficient. 7. Data Protection, Governance &amp; SecurityWorking closely with IT and the relevant Data Protection Officer, the Project Manager will ensure that implementation aligns with Pharo Schools' data governance requirements.Responsibilities include:Supporting implementation of agreed data protection requirements. Ensuring appropriate access controls and user permissions. Supporting consent and data governance processes. Ensuring appropriate data retention and access protocols are incorporated into implementation. Supporting audit trails and data security controls. Ensuring country-specific requirements are incorporated where necessary. Escalating data protection or security risks promptly. 8. Go-Live &amp; StabilisationThe Project Manager will coordinate phased implementation and go-live across Pharo Schools.Responsibilities include:Developing school-specific readiness checklists. Coordinating go-live preparation. Ensuring users, data and processes are ready. Coordinating cutover activities. Establishing hypercare support following go-live. Tracking post-go-live issues and resolution. Monitoring data quality and user adoption. Supporting schools to transition fully from legacy/manual processes. Ensuring lessons from each implementation wave are incorporated into subsequent waves. 9. Months 10–12: Monitoring, Evaluation &amp; LearningThe final three months will move the role from implementation into evaluation and optimisation.The Project Manager will establish a structured SIS performance review covering:Adoption Percentage of targeted users actively using EdAdmin. Usage by school and user group. Completion of core SIS workflows. Continued use of legacy/manual systems. Data Quality Completeness of student records. Accuracy of enrolment data. Data duplication and inconsistencies. Timeliness of data updates. Quality of academic and attendance data. Operational Efficiency Reduction in manual processes. Reduction in spreadsheet-based reporting. Time required to produce key reports. Efficiency of enrolment and admissions processes. Reduction in duplicate data entry. Academic &amp; Leadership Reporting Availability and reliability of academic data. Quality of gradebook and assessment reporting. Availability of network-level dashboards. Leadership confidence in SIS-generated information. User Experience Staff feedback. School leadership feedback. Parent/student experience where relevant. Support requests and recurring system issues. System Performance System reliability and availability. Integration performance. Critical defects. Vendor responsiveness. Outstanding enhancements. Must have skills Demonstrated experience managing end-to-end system implementation, including requirements, configuration, data migration, testing, training, go-live, and post-go-live support. Strong experience in project planning, risk management, stakeholder coordination, reporting, and delivery tracking. Experience managing data migration, data cleansing, mapping, validation, and data quality. Experience leading UAT, testing, defect resolution, and go-live readiness. Proven experience in change management, user training, and system adoption. Experience managing external technology vendors and holding vendors accountable for deliverables. Experience working across multiple locations, teams, or organisational units. Strong analytical, problem-solving, organisational, and decision-making skills. Excellent written and verbal communication and stakeholder management skills. Working knowledge of data protection, access controls, and information governance. Good to have skills Experience implementing a Student Information System (SIS), School Management System, EMIS, ERP, CRM, or similar education/enterprise platform. Experience with EdAdmin or similar school management platforms. Experience working in the African education sector or with schools. Experience managing multi-country implementations, particularly across Africa. Knowledge of Cambridge, Pearson, or other international curricula and academic reporting requirements. Experience with student data governance and protection. Experience with system integrations, APIs, databases, or data migration tools. Experience with Power BI, Tableau, SQL, or similar data/reporting tools. PMP, PRINCE2, Agile, or other relevant project/change management certification. Experience developing SIS Champion, train-the-trainer, or super-user models. QualificationsBachelor’s degree in Project Management, Information Systems, Education, Business, Operations, or a related field.5+ years of professional project management experience, preferably in technology, enterprise systems, SIS, EMIS, ERP, CRM, or education technology implementations.Proven experience managing end-to-end system implementation projects from requirements gathering through go-live and post-implementation support.Professional project management certification such as PMP, PRINCE2, Agile, or equivalent is an added advantage.Experience working in the education sector, particularly with Student Information Systems or school management platforms, is an added advantage.Experience working across multiple locations or countries, particularly within Africa, is desirable.Let's take the first step towards joining our team Apply