Jobs at SmartStart

Execute SmartStart’s digital marketing strategy across web, social, email, CRM, SMS, and WhatsApp. Manage digital campaigns, community engagement, website content, audience segmentation, analytics, dashboards, A/B testing, advertising budgets, and brand monitoring. The role supports digital communications, online reputation management, stakeholder coordination, and optimization of campaign performance through data-informed insights.

Leads the Office of the CEO as a strategic extension of the CEO, improving executive leverage, decision-making, governance, and follow-through. Oversees legal and governance, enterprise operations, board enablement, and global expansion readiness. The role coordinates cross-functional leaders, strengthens institutional accountability, manages sensitive matters, supports strategic initiatives, and ensures decisions are translated into clear ownership and execution without becoming a proxy CEO or centralizing authority.

Leads enterprise execution, organisational performance and cross-functional integration for SmartStart. Translates board-approved strategy into operating plans, priorities, accountabilities and performance rhythms. Oversees operating-model evolution, resource prioritisation, delivery quality, governance, decision rights and organisational effectiveness. Leads senior executives through delegated accountability, resolves enterprise dependencies, balances current delivery with ecosystem scale, and provides the CEO with clear insight into execution risks, capacity and performance.

Leads SmartStart’s institutional funding pipeline, donor engagement, partnership development, proposal strategy, and opportunity progression. The role identifies and advances high-value funding opportunities, strengthens existing donor relationships, develops new partnerships, interprets market intelligence, coordinates cross-functional proposal inputs, and manages a research intern. Success requires securing significant institutional funding, improving pipeline conversion, and aligning donor engagement with organizational growth objectives.

Provides hands-on support for digital tool adoption across SmartStart’s frontline network. Monitors submission flows and data quality, assists with data cleaning, creates user guidance, supports recognition and incentive initiatives, and coordinates issue logging and escalation with IT and Digital Transformation teams. The role helps programme leads, coaches, and franchisees use platforms consistently while improving data visibility, trust, and operational performance.

Provides strategic financial leadership, organisational stewardship, governance, risk management and financial controls. Partners with the CEO, Board and executive team on strategy, sustainability and resource allocation. Leads financial systems modernisation, planning, forecasting, reporting and organisational performance improvement while strengthening funder confidence. Develops high-performing teams and enables innovation, growth and disciplined decision-making across SmartStart.

Leads the design, refinement, and quality assurance of SmartStart’s programme value chain across registration, subsidies, incentives, coaching, and frontline support. The role develops scalable processes, standards, guardrails, moderation systems, feedback loops, and improvement initiatives that protect programme integrity and child safety. It collaborates across digital transformation and network support teams, supports frontline training, manages the Frontline QA Manager, and drives consistent early learning quality across South Africa.