Community Experience Lead

Do you excel in fast-paced environments where ambitious goals drive your work? Do you bring an analytical mindset that helps you identify trends, improve systems, and translate insights into action? Are you a natural relationship-builder who can foster trust and collaboration across regions and teams? Are you ready to roll up your sleeves, adapt quickly, and do whatever it takes to ensure the success of our Community?

About ALX Africa

ALX Africa, a non-profit organization 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 programs. Our mission is to bridge the digital divide, upskill and reskill 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 programs 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

Role Summary

As the Community Experience Lead, you will own the long-term vision and strategy for Community across ALX, ensuring it is embedded throughout the entire talent journey, from selection and recruitment through learning, transition, and lifelong alumni engagement. You will lead a small, high-performing team, currently a Community Program Specialist and a Community Operations Associate, setting direction, unblocking execution, and developing their capability. You will represent Community experience at the leadership table: aligning goals with broader organizational priorities, managing relationships with cross-functional stakeholders (Brand, Alumni Relations, Product, Regional teams, and more), and reporting on Community performance and impact to drive continued investment in the function.

Specific Responsibilities

Strategy & Vision

• Define and drive the long-term Community Experience strategy, ensuring it stays member-led, city-driven, and embedded across the full talent lifecycle, from marketing to lifelong engagement.
• Set the roadmap for major strategic initiatives (e.g., unifying the Learner and Alumni community, engagement tracking, ambassador programs, resource and knowledge hubs) and prioritize investment across them.
• Translate organizational goals into a clear Community roadmap, and adjust strategy as the business, budget, and community needs evolve.
• Champion what Community is and isn't: a decentralized, member-led function that advises, curates, and enables rather than dictates, and that lives throughout the talent journey rather than as a stand-alone function.

Team Leadership & People Management

• Manage and develop the Community Program Specialist and Community Operations Associate, setting clear goals, giving regular feedback, and supporting their growth.
• Model and reinforce a high-performance, high-accountability team culture grounded in data and continuous improvement.
• Conduct regular 1:1s and performance reviews, identify development and growth opportunities, and manage performance issues directly and fairly.
• Recruit, onboard, and scale the Community team as the function grows, defining roles and hiring needs in line with the strategy.
• Unblock the team's day-to-day execution: resolving cross-functional dependencies, prioritization conflicts, and resourcing gaps before they stall delivery.
• Extend leadership beyond direct reports by supporting and coaching City-based Community Managers and Ambassadors on standards, tools, and ways of working.

Stakeholder Management

• Act as the primary point of contact and central voice for Community-related initiatives across the organization.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with cross-functional teams, including Loyalty & Rewards, Alumni Relations, Regional/City teams, Brand, Product, and Learning Delivery, aligning on shared goals and initiatives.
• Represent the Community function in leadership and planning conversations, securing buy-in and resourcing for Community priorities.
• Proactively surface and manage risks such as community outreach fatigue, ensuring member-facing communication stays coordinated across teams.
• Negotiate priorities and trade-offs with other functions when their goals compete for member attention, time, or Community team capacity.
• Build a network of relationships with Leads and Regional teams to keep the central strategy grounded in local, on-the-ground realities.

Reporting & Performance

• Own reporting on Community engagement, member satisfaction, and program impact to senior stakeholders, using data to make the case for continued investment.
• Track team and program performance against goals, identifying trends and opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Run regular business reviews on Community performance, translating metrics into a clear narrative of impact, risk, and recommended next steps.
• Own the Community experience function's budget: forecasting costs, tracking spend against plan, and prioritizing investment when resources are constrained.
• Benchmark ALX's Community engagement and practices against comparable organizations, feeding external insight back into strategy.

Skill Requirements - Must Have

• 5+ years of experience in community management, program or operations management, or a related field, with at least 2 years in a people-management or team-lead capacity, ideally in education, tech, or a membership-based organization.
• Proven experience setting strategy and translating it into an executable roadmap across a small team.
• Track record of managing and developing direct reports, including goal-setting, feedback, and coaching.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with experience influencing cross-functional partners and senior leadership without direct authority.
• Comfortable owning, reporting, and KPIs: defining metrics, tracking performance, and communicating impact to non-technical audiences.
• Hands-on understanding of online community platforms (e.g., Discourse, Circle, Slack, Discord, or similar) and member communications (newsletters, email tools such as Mailchimp or HubSpot).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to represent Community's voice and priorities across the organization.
• Ability to operate at both the strategic and operational levels, moving comfortably between long-term planning and day-to-day problem solving.
• Ability to work with cross-functional teams across multiple locations and time zones, including virtually.

Skill Requirements - Nice To Have

• Passion for community growth, collaboration, and creating meaningful connections.
• Experience building or scaling a community-led growth, ambassador, or referral program.
• Experience with data visualization or engagement analytics tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, or similar).
• Background in budget management or making the business case for program investment.
• Knowledge of behavioral psychology or engagement strategies to improve retention and participation.
• Experience operating in a multi-market, distributed organization.