The company has launched a large-scale, franchise-like network of ultra low-cost, for-profit private primary schools in Kenya, and will expand across Africa. The schools profitably deliver high-quality education for less than $4 per child per month. Local school managers are able to operate their school businesses profitably, while creating a highly successful business at the central level.
This ensures that the school is not dependent on the vagaries of donor funding, but will rather continue to serve the communities as long as parents value the educational service we provide. To ensure the delivery of high quality education, Bridge International writes its own curriculum using Direct Instruction methodology. They also train and support their own teachers.
Bridge have already launched the first 12 schools in their network in the slums of Nairobi with tremendous success, and plan to rapidly scale the company to serve more than 1 million families in Africa.
Senior Construction Supervisor
The CSC is responsible for the construction work activities for the allocated school site. This begins with appraisal of proposed new sites and includes ensuring that prior arrangements are made for effective project start up, smooth work progress, effective decision making and finalised project close-out.
Planning, implementation and monitoring of the construction site activities including ensuring that work is planned for as they are carried out on each site specifically.
For existing schools, s/he shall be in charge of school Support Officer (SO) communications to receive and detail school facilities conditions concerns, their documentation, possible solutions and timelines, including work approvals and implementation.
S/he is also responsible for the liaison between the school sites and the headquarters in terms of Information flows and record keeping.
Duties & Responsibilities
Site Appraisal
- Carry out initial site visit, document the site characteristics, evaluate the implications of site conditions to construction and prepare a report.
- Manage information flows with the Land Department and site takeover.
Project Start-up
- Carry out all tasks that are necessary for the construction to commence effectively and complete the start-up checklist for approval.
Contract management
- Prepare or modify the standard contract for site specific issues, discuss it with the Site Foreman and manage it throughout the construction period.
Materials management
- Prepare or modify the standard schedule of materials, prepare materials requisitions, confirm orders and deliveries, ensure proper materials acceptance procedures are duly applied, retrieve from site and forward to headquarters the delivery notes and invoices, request payments and file away the payment acknowledgement.
Labour management
- Source qualified Site Foremen, skilled and unskilled labourers, manage labour records, manage labour payments, retrieve from site and forward to headquarters the invoices and time sheets, request payments and file away the payment acknowledgement.
Programme Management
- Carry out day-to-day monitoring of progress of work on site, tracking to ensure programme targets are met, planning and implementing remedial measures in case of programme slippage, including feedback information for programme improvement.
- Carry out early morning daily calls, prepare daily email reports and prepare weekly work programmes.
Workmanship and Quality Control
- Communicate the quality standards, implement procedures to ensure that work meets them, monitor and provide feedback information for improved quality.
Payments
- Compute or modify budget estimates for approval, prepare payment requests for approval, confirm and record payments completed and balances and file away the payment acknowledgement.
Records Management
- Implement the proper entering and updating of site records including the site book, invoices, time sheets and prepare summary reports as required.
Labour Relations
- Ensure the employment of only desirable workers on the school sites, maintain smooth labour relations and provide feedback information for improved quality.
About You
- Minimum of 5 years experience in site supervision on busy sites preferably in labour intensive projects
- Should have good knowledge of basic construction technology and practices.
- Should be a good planner, well organized and able to carry out simple analysis tasks.
- Should be able to source skilled labour locally and handle labour-related issues arising on site from time to time.
- Excellent writing and oral communication skills are required
- Good people management skills that result in timely meeting of deadlines
- Ability and willingness to accept instructions, accept criticism and positive feedback, while being very adaptable and flexible