Partnerships Specialist

About ALX Africa ALX Africa, a non-profit organisation under the ALX Foundation, is dedicated to unlocking the potential of Africa's digital future. Formerly part of Sand Tech Holdings, we've embarked on an independent journey to provide world-class tech skills training and career acceleration programmes. Our mission is to bridge the digital divide, upskill and re-skill talent, and create a generation of innovative leaders. By 2030, we aim to empower 2 million Africans to secure sustainable tech careers. With hubs in 8 cities across Africa and counting, we provide safe access to quality learning and a dedicated network of expert instructors. Our innovative programmes equip learners with the practical skills and knowledge needed to succeed in today's rapidly evolving tech industry. Through a combination of rigorous coursework, industry partnerships, and hands-on projects, we prepare our students for in-demand roles in software engineering, data science, and cybersecurity. We achieve this by: Providing young professionals with access to the most in-demand tech skills that will power the future. Empowering the next generation of technology innovators, entrepreneurs, and business leaders through challenging, real-world coursework. Building a lifelong, impactful community of tech professionals that support them at all stages of their career journey.  Our impact thus far: 347k+ graduates since 2020 257k youth in work 31k  youth starting own ventures 60k youth in jobs created by entrepreneurs  Visit our website www.alxafrica.com to learn more about our digital revolution. Role Summary The Partnerships Specialist will be responsible for leading our external partnership initiatives and serving as the critical bridge between ALX and our ecosystem of institutional partners. This role requires a dynamic professional who can balance strategic relationship management with operational excellence, ensuring that partnerships deliver maximum value for learners, partners, and the organization. The Partnerships Specialist will also own the end-to-end partnerships lifecycle, from proposal evaluation to implementation coordination and ongoing assessment. The position reports to the VP of Learning. The individual will work closely with cross-functional teams, including Fundraising, Operations, Learning, Regional Teams/Cities, Product, Engineering, Data, Brand, Finance, SAMA, and Impact. Specific Responsibilities Strategic Relationship Management Build and nurture relationships with key partners to deepen engagement, unlock new opportunities, and position ALX as a strategic partner of choice. Conduct regular business reviews with existing partners to assess partnership health, measure impact against agreed KPIs, identify optimization opportunities, and explore expansion possibilities. Manage partner expectations proactively , providing transparent communication about timelines, capabilities, constraints, and outcomes. Develop partner success plans that outline mutual objectives, success metrics, communication cadence, escalation protocols, and value realization milestones. Partnership Business Development Develop compelling partnership proposals for pilot programs and for Reward opportunities with high-potential partners (e.g. Google, IBM, Meta, Canva, and other strategic technology companies). Craft customised value propositions that articulate mutual benefits, learner impact, brand positioning, and business outcomes tailored to each partner's strategic objectives. Lead partnership negotiation discussions on scope, terms, deliverables, timelines, and success metrics, ensuring win-win outcomes that protect ALX's interests and capabilities. Design innovative partnership models (e.g., content licensing, co-branded programs, certification pathways, talent pipelines, sponsored learning, technology access, etc) that create differentiated value. Prepare executive-level presentation materials , including partnership decks, business cases, ROI analyses, and impact projections for senior leadership and partner review. Coordinate due diligence processes including legal review, technical feasibility assessment, financial modeling, and operational capacity validation. Create pilot program frameworks with clear success metrics, evaluation criteria, learning capture mechanisms, and scale-up pathways. Partnership Pipeline Development & Strategy Build and maintain a robust long-term partnership pipeline spanning at least 6-12 months, working collaboratively with partnership owners, including the CEO’s office, the Fundraising team, GMs, the Brand team, and program leads. Conduct market research and ecosystem mapping to identify high-potential partnership opportunities aligned with ALX's strategic priorities, emerging technology trends, and learner needs. Develop partnership opportunity briefs (in coordination with partnership owners) for each pipeline prospect, including company background, strategic rationale, potential partnership models, estimated value, resource requirements, and recommended approach. Create comprehensive dashboards that provide all stakeholders (Fundraising, Learning, Product, Tech, Finance, Operations, Cities, etc) with clear visibility into upcoming partnerships, anticipated resource needs, and timeline dependencies. Facilitate cross-functional pipeline review sessions to gather input, build alignment, prioritize opportunities, and ensure organizational readiness for upcoming partnerships. Track partnership conversion metrics from pipeline to activation, analyzing success patterns and barriers to inform targeting and engagement strategies. Establish partnership forecasting models that help leadership anticipate resource allocation needs, revenue opportunities, and strategic positioning requirements. Partnership Reporting  Create executive-level partnership reports that showcase impact, learne