Mid-Career Resident, Policy and Expansion
Expansion team
Remote, 6 Months
Applications for this position are now closed.
Global School Leaders’ Mid-Career Resident Program:
Global School Leaders’ Mid-Career Resident Program is intentionally designed to be an engaging and relevant work experience for our residents and to provide needed capacity and contributions for our teams. This experience is designed particularly for individuals who have been out of work for an extended period and are looking for an opportunity to transition back into the workforce or those looking to enter the nonprofit sector.
Key elements of the GSL Mid-Career Resident Program:
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Our teams choose or design projects that the residents can fully own or contribute to significantly and that will deepen the residents’ skills, knowledge, and practical experience.
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We provide professional learning experiences for our residents, separate from their regular work. These experiences include exposure to other teams or aspects of typical non-profit work in the education sector.
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A dedicated mentor to meet with periodically throughout the residency.
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Please note that this is a short-term position. We cannot guarantee that this position will lead to full-time employment. Mid-career residents will become part of our network and be notified when other positions are available.
Mid-Career Resident, Policy and Expansion
This role will be a critical member of the Expansion Team. This team is responsible for finding new partnerships across the Global South as well as GSL’s gender work. They work closely with other non-profit organizations, funders, and community members to determine opportunities for us to partner with others to advance our mission of driving educational improvement across the Global South through a focus on school leadership.
Candidate Qualifications
Required Qualifications
(we will use these in our screening process; if you do not meet each of these, you will be denied)
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Located in Africa or Asia with significant experience and background knowledge of these regions.
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6+ years of experience in public policy work (this can include time spent completing relevant education).
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Experience conducting desk research and writing clear reports to present findings.
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Understanding of policy change in the Global South.
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Experience of program implementation in the Global South.
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Fluent in English.
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Ability to commit to part-time work from around January 2025–June 2025 (exact beginning and end dates are flexible).
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Ability to devote 10–15 hours per week to GSL projects with some early morning or late evening calls (some weeks might be heavier or lighter).
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Preferred Qualifications
(these will not be used for screening purposes; if you feel you have some but not all of these, you are still encouraged to apply)
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Experience in building successful networks.
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Demonstrated ability to make connections across diverse contexts.
Key Projects and Workstreams
The project involves supporting three initiatives within the expansion work.
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Conducting country-specific data research for Africa and Asia: Gather country-specific data for the broader trends we discuss with potential partners. For instance, we know that learning loss and women's representation in school leadership are both important issues generally in education and the Global South, but we’d like to know more about the context and data for a specific country. The resident would fully own this project.
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Conceptualizing the implementation of a pilot idea(s) to establish a network in Africa and Asia: We have existing ideas for creating networks in these regions and need to bring the ideas to fruition. The resident would contribute to this project along with other team members.
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Linking the research with a policy plan and approach: This is a new line of work that we are developing. The resident would contribute to this project along with other team members.
The resident will gain skills and experience with organizing and conceptualizing projects, writing memos, synthesizing information, and making sense of diverse data points and information through these projects.
Working Remotely
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You will work around 10–15 hours each week, with some weeks requiring more time than others.
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You must have internet access and access to a computer. These will not be provided for you.
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You will have little supervision and will be expected to own your work independently.
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Because there is little supervision, you will need to be proactive about reaching out for help, asking questions, and scheduling time to talk to others on the team as needed.
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Your working times can be flexible, but you will need to work with your manager to align your schedules. For example, you will not be able to work exclusively on weekends and you may need to have calls outside of typical working hours to account for the different time zones across our team.
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You will be paid hourly and are expected to keep track of your time and submit timesheets and invoices. Your manager will review your time to ensure it is in line with the tasks you have completed.
Work Location and Remuneration
The Mid-Career Resident can be based in any country. They must have work authorization in their place of residence as GSL is not able to sponsor employment visas. A modest hourly rate is paid to all residents based on the cost of living and purchasing power in their country/city. Residents will be paid an hourly wage determined using the same calculation that project/product managers within the organization are paid.
Commitment to Diversity
GSL is an equal-opportunity employer. We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive work environment for all employees - across nationalities, races, ethnicity, religions, economic backgrounds, sexual orientations, disabilities, languages, ages, genders, and prior experiences. In our hiring, we seek those with an inclusive mindset and who notice and correct inequities when they arise.
Child Safeguarding
GSL is committed to safeguarding children. Background checks may be conducted as part of the hiring process. All team members are asked to agree to a safeguarding policy.
What we look for
Passion
You believe passionately that students can achieve at high levels, that education systems can be designed to ensure that achievement, and that developing school leaders is a key element in doing so.
Learning
You love to learn - from others, from research, from your work - and you are open to saying that you do not know the answer to a question, but that you will go and find the answers. You are also willing to help others on the team learn and are generous with your knowledge.
Leadership
You welcome opportunities to lead. Because we are a small team, everyone has a voice and has opportunities to lead meetings and projects.
Relationships
You set a high bar for yourself and for others both in the work you produce and in the way you form relationships. You demonstrate care for others, and you think about the impact you have on those around you. You seek out, listen to and value the voices of those closest to children - students, teachers, school leaders, and our partners.
Self-Starter
You are a self-starter and great at managing your time. Because of our remote work, you will have a very flexible schedule but high expectations for what you accomplish during your work time. (Please note, though, that due to our team being spread across the globe, meetings may need to be scheduled at very early morning hours (5 or 6am) or very late evening/night hours (10 or 11pm).

About GSL
School leaders have the potential to make incredible changes in the lives of students by building a strong school culture and helping teachers provide great instruction. Yet, school leadership has not been prioritized in low and middle-income countries. GSL works to change that through the following workstreams:
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We catalyze and support local partner organizations to deliver and scale high-quality training to school leaders.
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We generate insights from our partners and the broader research community to inform education policymakers, researchers, and practitioners on the best ways to support and develop strong school leadership.
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We connect our partner organizations with each other for deep learning between themselves and amongst the broader school leadership community - governments, funders, and policymakers.
In five years, we have:
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Partnered with organizations in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Kenya, and Brazil that work with over 3,500 school leaders, impacting approximately 920,000 students.
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Published an evidence review on what is known about school leadership globally, as well as two surveys that help the policy community hear from teacher and school leader voices.
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Become one of the leading voices in conversations about school leadership in the global south, being asked to speak at conferences and webinars throughout the world, and being recognized for our work. In 2021, HundrED, in partnership with the World Bank, recognized GSL as one of the top ten impactful and scalable solutions that support teachers’ professional development.
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Established the School Leadership Network with the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 hosted by UNESCO and the Varkey Foundation to convene online meetings with 100+ experts and 400+ school leaders from 50+ countries to foster peer learning, share innovative practices, and strengthen school leaders’ voice in policy circles.
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Expanded our work to support needs during COVID in the Philippines, Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, and Peru.