The Head of Program and Operational Design will lead the strategic design, development, and continuous improvement of TCF’s Alumni Pathways journey, enabling students to navigate meaningful opportunities beyond Grade 10. The role will translate TCF’s strategy into integrated programs, frameworks, and operating models across intermediate and tertiary education, counselling, parallel career pathways, livelihoods, alumni community engagement, and school engagement. It will ensure that these pathways are supported by effective student guidance, strong institutional partnerships, practical implementation frameworks, and robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning mechanisms, enabling alumni to make informed decisions, access relevant opportunities, and progress towards further education, meaningful employment, and sustainable livelihoods.

Program Strategy and Design

• Translate the Alumni Pathways strategy into an integrated program architecture and multi-year roadmap covering the student journey beyond Grade 10.
• Design and periodically refine program models, standards, and interventions for intermediate education, tertiary education, parallel career pathways, livelihoods, and alumni development.
• Ensure that academic pathways and career options are complemented by age-appropriate guidance on life planning, education choices, career exploration, and transition to adulthood.

Counselling and Student Journey

• Develop counselling approaches and tools that help students assess their interests, aptitudes, readiness, and options, and make informed pathway decisions.
• Design a coherent student journey spanning counselling, applications, admissions, scholarships, transition, and post-admission support, in collaboration with delivery teams.
• Define appropriate support models for students pursuing intermediate and tertiary education, as well as vocational, technology-enabled, freelancing, and other livelihood-oriented pathways.

Institutional Partnerships and Pathway Development

• Map relevant institutions and partners, and develop partnership strategies and relationship frameworks to strengthen access to intermediate, tertiary, vocational, technology, and livelihood opportunities.
• Design partnership models that facilitate student access, preparation, placement, and continued progression across education and career pathways.
• Work with relevant internal teams to translate partner opportunities into clear student pathways and sustainable program arrangements.

Implementation Support, MEL and Continuous Improvement

• Develop implementation guidance, tools and quality standards for programs delivered by the Alumni Pathways team and relevant partners.
• Define outcome measures and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) frameworks for the relevant portfolio areas, including College and HSU, alumni community engagement, counselling, parallel career pathways, intermediate education, digital engagement, livelihoods, alumni development, and school engagement.
• Review program performance and student outcomes, identify implementation gaps, and recommend evidence-based improvements.
• Coordinate with Data Systems and Insights team to ensure program requirements, outcome indicators, and reporting needs are translated into appropriate data definitions, dashboards, and reporting mechanisms.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Work closely with College Delivery, Data Systems and Insights, and other relevant functions to align program design, implementation, measurement, and operational support.
• Provide clear program guidance, priorities, and implementation expectations to relevant teams and regional stakeholders.
• Contribute to annual planning, resource allocation and prioritization, and periodic strategy reviews for Alumni Pathways.

Skills

• Strong program design and implementation skills, including the ability to translate strategic goals into program frameworks, operating models, standards, and workplans.
• Sound understanding of secondary and intermediate education, tertiary admissions and scholarships, student counselling, and vocational, technology-enabled, and other parallel career pathways.
• Experience designing monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) frameworks and using evidence to assess effectiveness and drive continuous program improvement.
• Strong partnership development skills, including institutional mapping, partnership strategy, relationship management, and collaboration with education and livelihood partners.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, facilitation, stakeholder management, and presentation skills.

Attributes

• Student-centred, with a strong commitment to expanding opportunities and supporting informed education and career choices for TCF alumni.
• Strategic and systems-oriented, with the ability to connect long-term objectives with practical implementation requirements and operational detail.
• Collaborative and influential, able to build relationships, align diverse stakeholders, and drive cross-functional initiatives.
• Comfortable working in an evolving environment, demonstrating adaptability, sound judgement, and a willingness to use evidence and feedback to refine programs and approaches.

Master’s degree from a reputable university

Minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience, including at least 5 years in a team leadership or management role, with functional expertise aligned with the responsibilities of the position.