Nafasi ya kazi :- Learning and Development Lead Job at Jaza – May 2026

Learning and Development Lead at Jaza

Job Overview

Job title: Learning and Development Lead
Organization: Jaza
Job function: People & Culture
Employment type: Full Time
Workplace type: Hybrid
Locations:

• Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
• Lagos, Nigeria
• Nairobi, Kenya

Company Overview

Jaza is working to power Sub-Saharan Africa by building solar-powered shops that charge batteries used by customers to power their homes. Since 2022, Jaza has achieved over 4 million battery swaps, providing approximately 225,000 people with access to clean and affordable energy.

The company employs women from local communities, known as Jaza Stars, to run the service. This model empowers women to become leaders, entrepreneurs, and drivers of economic growth within their communities.

For more information, applicants may visit www.jazaenergy.com and watch the BBC video about Jaza.

Position Overview

As the Learning and Development Lead, you will build Jaza’s learning function from the ground up. The role involves shaping how Jaza’s talent grows and performs, from global leadership teams to frontline Jaza Stars, as the organization rapidly scales across Africa.

This is a strategic leadership role that goes beyond managing a department. The successful candidate will act as a strategic architect of growth by:

• Designing the strategic learning plan
• Hiring and building a high-performing team
• Executing high-impact learning strategies
• Supporting capability building at scale
• Ensuring learning programs directly support business outcomes

Jaza is looking for someone with an entrepreneurial mindset who is eager to build, implement, learn, and iterate by listening to team members and using data strategically to track and grow impact.

A central part of the role will be leading the Jaza Academy, where the candidate will apply human-centered design to create practical and engaging learning experiences for teams in rural and frontier markets. These programs will support Jaza’s mission to scale while sustaining excellent service in established locations.

The Learning and Development Lead will also work closely with the C-suite to strengthen leadership maturity and embed a high-performance, values-driven culture. This will help ensure Jaza’s expansion into new countries is grounded in training excellence and promotes the company’s unique organizational culture.

The role requires a rare blend of:

• Strategic vision
• Empathy
• Implementation rigor
• Ability to work across executive development and frontline empowerment
• Capacity to recruit and build an internal team
• Ability to form strategic partnerships

Roles and Responsibilities

Group Learning Strategy, Integration and Leadership

The Learning and Development Lead will be responsible for defining and driving Jaza’s global L&D agenda. Key responsibilities include:

• Define and drive the global learning and development agenda to ensure all initiatives align with Jaza’s mission and rapid global expansion.
• Architect the L&D department structure by identifying key roles and hiring the talent needed to scale the function.
• Oversee the design and delivery of high-impact programs for the C-suite and senior leaders to drive strategic alignment, executive maturity, and a high-performance culture.
• Establish clear impact measurement strategies focused on long-term behavioral change and business impact, rather than activity outputs only.
• Implement a “Train-the-Trainer” framework that equips managers with coaching skills and confidence to develop their teams with increasing autonomy.
• Partner with the Talent Lead and Business Leads to ensure L&D is integrated into performance management and talent acquisition at the local level.
• Manage the L&D budget, vendor relationships, and global learning technologies, including LMS platforms.
• Ensure learning tools are fit for purpose in diverse and low-bandwidth environments.

Jaza Academy Innovation and Design

The successful candidate will lead innovation and design for the Jaza Academy. Responsibilities include:

• Work with software and business teams to design and build an innovative Academy for Jaza Stars.
• Use EdTech solutions such as WhatsApp-native learning and AI to support accessible learning.
• Lead the creation of technical and foundational business or entrepreneurship programs tailored for rural Africa.
• Ensure all learning content resonates across diverse cultures.
• Account for variations in language, gender dynamics, community trust, and local institutions.
• Oversee capacity-building programs that empower Jaza Stars to become leaders and entrepreneurs within their communities.

Program Implementation, Technical Training and Measurement

The Learning and Development Lead will oversee the implementation and measurement of training programs. Responsibilities include:

• Oversee the delivery of high-quality technical skills training for onboarding technicians, market expansion teams, and operations staff.
• Direct the design and implementation of a certification program to validate critical competencies before team members are deployed to the field.
• Track and report training effectiveness.
• Monitor how learning programs influence business KPIs such as revenue growth and reduced operational errors.
• Provide strategic direction and mentorship to facilitators and program managers.
• Empower training teams to deliver high-impact training autonomously.

Field Commitment

The successful candidate must be willing to spend 20% of their time in the field, working directly with frontline teams to validate program effectiveness and ensure strong adoption of the Jaza model.

Why You Should Apply

This role offers an opportunity to join Jaza during one of its most exciting growth phases. Jaza has proven its model and is now scaling rapidly. The successful candidate’s work will directly shape the company’s teams, culture, and long-term impact.

This position provides a front-row seat to meaningful systems-building and rapid organizational growth.

The candidate will also work with an international team across:

• Canada
• China
• Tanzania
• Nigeria
• Kenya
• Uganda
• United States

This creates exposure to diverse markets, leadership styles, and cross-cultural collaboration, supporting strong professional growth.

Must-Have Skills

Applicants should have strong capability in the following areas:

• Frontier-market program design
• Vendor and budget management
• EdTech building and low-bandwidth delivery
• Executive coaching and people development
• Entrepreneurial and innovative mindset
• Strategic global leadership development
• Data-driven impact measurement

Qualifications and Experience

The ideal candidate should have the following experience and competencies:

• At least 10 years of deep experience in Learning and Development, Talent Strategy, or Functional Enablement.
• Experience gained within a specific business unit or as a business owner, such as entrepreneurship, sales, or operations, is valued if the primary focus involved designing, delivering, and scaling learning ecosystems.
• At least 5 years in a leadership capacity, including experience managing people, owning vision, managing budgets, and developing long-term roadmaps for a learning function.
• At least 3 years of expertise in rural Sub-Saharan Africa or frontier markets.
• Deep cross-cultural humility and ability to adapt programming to regional frontline realities.
• A track record of designing high-impact learning programs, ideally for rural frontline teams.
• Mastery of human-centered design principles.
• Ability to build bespoke and innovative solutions instead of relying only on off-the-shelf programs.
• A data-savvy mindset with experience using metrics to support program effectiveness and connect learning outcomes to business outcomes.
• Strategic ability to partner with the C-suite.
• Experience managing global budgets and vendors.
• Ability to empower and upskill training delivery teams.
• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Business, Entrepreneurship, International Development, Adult Education, Organizational Development, Instructional Design, or a related field.
• A Master’s degree or relevant certification is an added advantage.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with self-motivation, adaptability, and comfort in building systems from the ground up.
• Ability to learn by doing and lead a team successfully in a fast-paced environment.
• Prior work experience in a fast-scaling startup is preferred.

How to Apply:

Job type Full-time Job, To submit your application, please follow the link provided below.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY