Job Description
ABOUT ALU
ALU provides higher education for a higher purpose. Our students declare missions, not majors.They develop the real-world skills to take on the world’s most pressing challenges. And they take ownership of their learning from day one through our peer and student-led approach – because ALU believes in the power and agency of young people to start shaping the future right now. Together with a world-class faculty and staff, our students are igniting a ripple of positive impact across Africa and the world.
We are dedicated to fostering an open yet secure environment, balancing the safety of students, staff, and visitors with respect for individual rights, and safeguarding responsibilities.
HOW WE WORK
The ALU Team works in starkly different ways to traditional academic bureaucracies. We approach education from first principles, empower individuals to design, test, and implement creative new ideas, and work closely together to craft transformative learning experiences. We are deeply passionate about our students and excited by the challenge of building something entirely new.
The African Leadership University is committed to ensuring the safety and Well-being of all students under our care. As part of this commitment , we have a comprehensive safeguarding policy in place , which outlines our Zero-tolerance approach to any violation of safeguarding.
ROLE OVERVIEW
Connect the people. Own the rhythm. Close the loop.
Department
Performance & Governance – Operational Excellence
Location
Remote (with collaboration across Rwanda, Mauritius and global functions)
Type
Internship – Full-time
Duration
6 months
Role Summary
The Programme Coordination & Stakeholder Intern is the connective tissue of the OPEX function. This role owns the relationships, rhythms, and communications that keep the operational excellence agenda moving: scheduling, follow-up, meeting preparation, stakeholder engagement, and the relentless tracking of who said they would do what by when.
You will be the person who ensures that no action item falls through the cracks. You will prepare pre-session materials for business reviews and grants portfolio reviews. You will run the post-session follow-up cycle. You will draft stakeholder communications, organize meetings across complex calendars, create clear and timely meeting minutes, and maintain the team’s operating rhythm with the precision and consistency of someone who genuinely cares about execution.
This is a role for someone who is deeply organized, calm under pressure, and extraordinarily good with people. If you have ever been the person in a group project who made sure everything actually happened — on time, with the right people informed — this is your role.
Key Responsibilities
Meeting Preparation & Facilitation Support
- Own the preparation for all OPEX-led meetings: Monthly Business Reviews (MBRs), Grants Portfolio Reviews, and team governance forums.
- For every session: update the standard agenda for exceptions (in collaboration with the Director), confirm attendance, send pre-reads and materials at least 48 hours in advance, and set up the meeting logistics (Zoom/Google Meet link, room booking, tech check).
- Maintain a rolling calendar of all recurring governance forums. Flag scheduling conflicts proactively. Propose alternative times before being asked.
- Coordinate across senior stakeholder calendars to find time for ad hoc sessions, workshops, and alignment calls.
Minutes, Action Logs & Asana Updates
- Create clear, structured minutes for every OPEX-led meetings: what was discussed, what was decided, and who owns what by when. Distributed within 24 hours.
- Work in close partnership with the Digital Systems Intern to translate meeting outputs into Asana: new projects, tasks, sub-tasks, owners, and deadlines entered D+2 (latest).
- Maintain the decision log: every ExCo and MBR decision is documented with context, the decision made, and the expected outcome.
- Review AI-generated notes (produced by Intern 1’s notetaker setup) and convert them into the standard minutes format. Add context, clarify ambiguities, and ensure accuracy before distribution.
Post-Session Follow-Up & Stakeholder Accountability
- Own the post-session follow-up cycle for all governance forums: send action item summaries to owners within 48 hours of the meeting.
- Track action item completion in Asana. Send reminders 48 hours before deadlines. Escalate overdue items to the Director with a clear summary of what is outstanding and why.
- Follow up with all functional teams on outstanding MBR report submissions. Maintain the compliance tracker. Flag non-compliance early enough for the Director to intervene before the deadline passes.
- After grants portfolio sessions: track all commitments made by portfolio owners. Follow up systematically until items are closed or escalated.
Team Rhythm & Operating Calendar
- Own and maintain the OPEX team’s operating calendar: all recurring meetings, reporting deadlines, governance forums, and key institutional dates in one view, updated weekly.
- Run the weekly OPEX team check-in: prepare the agenda, facilitate, capture outputs, and distribute follow-up.
- Ensure the team operates to its own standards: deadlines are met, pre-reads are prepared, and no meeting happens without a clear purpose and a clear owner.
- Manage the team’s shared inbox and Slack and action routing: incoming requests are triaged, acknowledged, and routed to the right person within one business day.
Skills Required
Technical Skills
Soft Skills
Google Calendar (complex scheduling, invites, resource booking)
Exceptionally organized — nothing falls through the cracks. Ever.
Google Docs & Slides (drafting, formatting, structuring documents quickly)
Clear, professional communicator — written and verbal
Asana (task creation, project updates, action tracking — not configuration)
Persistence without aggression — you follow up until something is done
Gmail and professional email drafting
Strong interpersonal skills — comfortable engaging with senior stakeholders
Slack (clear, efficient async communication)
High emotional intelligence — you read the room and adjust
AI notetaking tools (reviewing, editing, and structuring AI-generated output)
Discreet and trustworthy — you handle sensitive information with care
Google Sheets (basic trackers, action logs, compliance dashboards)
Proactive and self-managing — you anticipate needs before being asked
Video conferencing tools (Zoom, Google Meet — setup, management, recording)
Calm and reliable — your colleagues know you will deliver
Profile & Mindset
- Currently completing or recently completed a degree in business administration, management, communications, project management, international relations, or a related field.
- Has experience coordinating events, managing schedules, or supporting senior stakeholders in a professional setting — internship, student leadership, or equivalent.
- Writes exceptionally well. Meeting minutes, emails, and follow-up notes from this role will reach ExCo. The standard is high.
- Has experience managing multiple competing priorities without dropping any of them.
Mindset: This role suits someone who is powered by follow-through. You are not satisfied until the loop is closed: the meeting happened, the minutes were sent, the action items are being tracked, and the stakeholders are informed. You care about people feeling respected and heard, which means you communicate promptly, clearly, and warmly — even when the message is a firm deadline reminder. You do not need things to be chaotic to feel useful. You create calm. That is your superpower.
Success Indicators
Success Indicator
What it looks like in practice
Zero missed action items
Every action item from every governance forum is tracked, followed up, and closed or escalated. Nothing is forgotten.
100% pre-read compliance
All meeting materials are circulated 48 hours before every session, without exception.
Minutes within 24 hours
Every meeting the OPEX team leads has structured minutes distributed before the next business day.
MBR submissions tracked
The Director knows by Monday morning of review week exactly which teams have submitted, which have not, and what the follow-up plan is.
Stakeholders feel cared for
Stakeholders respond to OPEX communications because they are clear, timely, and respectful of their time.
Operating calendar trusted
The team’s calendar is the single source of truth. No one is surprised by a deadline or a meeting because the calendar is maintained and shared consistently.
A NOTE ON WORKING TOGETHER
These two roles are designed to be complementary. Intern 1 builds and maintains the systems. Intern 2 runs the processes within those systems. They will collaborate daily — Asana updates flow from Intern 2’s meeting outputs to Intern 1’s portfolio management. AI notes are configured by Intern 1 and curated by Intern 2.
The OPEX team does not operate with rigid silos. Both interns will be exposed to the full breadth of the function and will be expected to cover for each other during absences. But the primary ownership split is clear, and each person is accountable for their domain.
This is an environment where interns do real work with real impact. You will interact with senior leadership, work on live institutional challenges, and see your contributions reflected in how the organization operates. The team’s Director is invested in your development. You will leave this experience with a portfolio of tangible work and a significantly sharper set of professional skills.
