Teaching Center Director, Cape Town

Ef Education First; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 400 000 - 500 000; Full time

Job summary

A global education organization in Cape Town is seeking a dynamic leader to oversee its online teaching center. This role involves strategic planning, team development, and operational management across diverse teams. Candidates should have a strong background in managing service organizations and experience in a 24/7 operational environment. An appreciation for educators and a commitment to excellent service are crucial for success in this role.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience with workflow design in a 24/7 environment.
• Experience managing employees and large scale recruitment.
• Effective communication skills with the ability to influence teams.

Responsibilities

• Manage the largest online teaching centre.
• Oversight of Contracts, Academics, and Operations teams.
• Service optimization, budget oversight, and conflict resolution.

Skills

Operational Leadership

Team Building

Cross-Time Zone Collaboration

Quantitative Orientation

Strong Leadership Skills

Education

University graduate, preferably with a Business degree or MBA

Tools

Salesforce

Oracle

Tableau

Sharepoint

Job description

We are seeking a dynamic and service-oriented leader to oversee the ongoing management of EF Teach Online's owned online teaching centre.

This pivotal role involves strategic decision-making in collaboration with our central team, building and leading high-performing operational teams, and ensuring the smooth delivery of our real-time teaching services. The ideal candidate will bring a strong entrepreneurial spirit, a passion for quality, and a proven track record in managing service organizations.

They will be responsible for a wide range of operational tasks, from strategic planning and government reporting to day-to-day logistics and team support.

A deep respect for educators and a commitment to service excellence are essential. This role requires:

• Operational Leadership: Managing daily centre operations with a process-driven mindset.
• Team Building: Recruiting, training, and developing local teams to support professional growth.
• Cross-Time Zone Collaboration: Engaging with global colleagues in weekly meetings.
• Business Development: Identifying and driving new opportunities to improve quality of the environment, and services provided.
• Cultural Sensitivity & Professional Presence: Navigating diverse teams and stakeholders with maturity and respect.

Candidates must be highly organized, analytically strong, and comfortable juggling a wide range of responsibilities. A visible appreciation for teachers and a collaborative approach are key to success in this role.

This role will be in-office and based in Cape Town CBD, South Africa.

Responsibilities

Working with Central Teams to manage our largest online teaching centre; Oversight of three broad teams—Contracts, Academics and Operations teams; Service Optimization and Scaling; Teacher Management and Engagement; a commitment to Teacher satisfaction; Budget Oversight; Large Scale Recruitment; Data Analytics; Conflict Resolution; Risk and Crisis Management; Implementation of company policy; Implementation and oversight of legally mandated reporting e.g. EE and OHSM; Maintenance of multiple reporting lines across multiple countries and business functions (operations, finance, etc.); Ensuring a high level of output quality inter alia by setting and maintaining staff quality; Essential Requirements: C1-level English.

Essential Requirements

• University graduate, preferably with a Business degree / coursework (or equivalent experience) or MBA / relevant graduate degree.
• 5+ years of experience with workflow design / large scale people operations.
• 5+ years of experience with management of employees in a 24/7 environment.
• Well-developed staff management skills, ideally including managing supervisors.
• Experience in drafting contracts and handling compliance issues in multiple jurisdictions.
• Proven track record in staff recruitment, preferably with teachers.
• Quantitative orientation with experience in controlling costs / budget, improving process efficiencies, scaling operations, and improving customer satisfaction with verifiable results.
• Experience in liaising with multiple international teams regarding recruitment, finance, academics, and operations.
• A calm, but responsive demeanor.
• Preferred but not required: EdTech industry experience.
• Experience with contract issues and / or Customer Service responsibilities.
• Experience with market expansion.
• Familiarity with Salesforce, Oracle, Tableau and Sharepoint.

Personal Traits

• Entrepreneurial Tenacity and persistence.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to convey complex analytical ideas.
• Strong Leadership skills.
• Constant over-achiever, highly competitive, creative and solutions oriented.
• Must be self-motivated and passionate about quality.
• Enjoys challenge and a fast-paced international corporate culture.
• Strong presence with solid influencing skills.
• Ability to develop and retain staff.

About EF Education First: At EF we believe that the world is better when people try to understand one another. Our culturally immersive education programs—focused on language, travel, cultural exchange, and academics—turn dreams into international opportunities. When you join EF, you join a multicultural and diverse community working across more than schools and offices in 50 countries, all with one shared mission of opening the world through education. Whoever you are, whatever you are passionate about—we welcome you and want you to bring that to work every day.

EF is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and we are committed to inclusion and belonging across race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, parental status, identity, experience, and everything else that makes you unique. Founded in Sweden, EF has schools and offices around the world.

Learn more at Apply Now.