Senior Associate Early Years, Human Development

THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT PRACTICE — EARLY YEARS TEAM

The Human Development (HD) Practice at Genesis works for a world where everyone can develop to their full potential. We are particularly committed to children, women, and young people in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia.

The early years are the most important – and often the most underinvested - phase of human development. In the countries where we work - many with large and growing young populations - investing in early childhood represents a major opportunity to build human capital, realise children’s rights, and advance gender equality. Yet, too often, early childhood systems are fragmented, underfunded, and difficult to deliver at scale. Governments face complex challenges: coordinating across sectors, mobilising sustainable financing and translating ambition into real outcomes for children.

At Genesis, we support governments and partners to move from ambition to impact - designing, financing and delivering integrated early childhood systems that improve outcomes at scale. Across our portfolio, we draw on global evidence and practical experience to promote holistic, inclusive, and multi-sectoral ECD interventions, with a particular focus on parenting, childcare, and early learning. We have worked on early years systems in more than 25 countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe, partnering with governments, donors and stakeholders to drive measurable improvements in children’s development and wellbeing.

Our unique value is 'development from within': leveraging our Young World identity, tacit knowledge, and trusted networks to deliver technically excellent diagnostics and solutions grounded in deep contextual understanding. We are recruiting now the people we intend to invest in, mentor, and grow into the future leaders of this practice.

SENIOR ASSOCIATE EARLY YEARS

The early childhood challenges facing countries in the Young World are vast and urgent - expanding access to quality preschool, strengthening workforce and financing systems, improving governance and quality assurance, and building integrated services that can deliver at scale. Our Early Years team exists to help governments and partners tackle these challenges with rigour and ambition.

This is a role for someone who has already done substantive analytical work and is ready to take real ownership. You will lead workstreams on live client engagements, manage analytical processes end-to-end, and engage directly with senior government and donor counterparts. You will live and benefit from the Genesis values, and you will use technology effectively and responsibly.

Your work will include:

• Leading analytical workstreams within client projects - designing the approach, managing the data and evidence, and owning outputs from start to finish

• Managing small to medium sized client projects - responsible for developing workplans, overseeing project finances, managing internal and external teams, and maintaining project administration
• Conducting and directing rigorous quantitative and qualitative analysis across early years projects: system diagnostics, financing and costing studies, public-private partnership feasibility, workforce analyses, and policy benchmarking
• Developing core client deliverables - technical reports, investment cases, policy notes, slide decks - and presenting findings with clarity and authority to senior audiences
• Engaging directly with clients in working sessions, technical reviews, and in-country engagements
• Mentoring and supporting junior colleagues - contributing to a culture of siyakhana (growing together)
• Contributing to proposal development and business development, including methodology sections, workplans, and commercials

At Senior Associate level, this work further extends to leading client relationships and business development processes, reviewing work and outputs of more junior colleagues, and owning workstreams within the team. You will be supported by experienced Principal and Partner-level colleagues and given the space to develop. But you will be trusted with responsibility early because that is how excellent consultants are made, and because we are investing in you as a future leader of this practice.

Requirements

Genesis consultants carry a balanced combination of powerful intellect, strong technical skills, and a consulting character to match.

Successful candidates for roles at Genesis:

• Are passionate, self-motivated problem-solvers

• Value integrity and exhibit ethical behaviour

• Are analytical thinkers and fast learners with an excellent academic record

The successful candidate will thrive in a fast-paced environment, enjoy the flexible nature of the job, and like to hit the ground running. You are pro-active and hands-on, with the ability to work effectively as part of a team, contribute to a culture of mutual mentorship, and take the initiative to drive excellence.

You are likely to have:

• Experience: At least 3+ years of substantive professional experience in early years (or related field) consulting, research, government, or international development. Demonstrated ability to own analytical workstreams independently.
• Education: An outstanding degree (top 10% of cohort) in Education, Early Childhood Development, Development Studies, Public Policy, Economics, Statistics, or a related field. A Master's degree or PhD is strongly preferred
• Technical skills: Strong proficiency in Excel and possibly at least one of Stata, R, or Python for quantitative analysis, with the ability to run and interpret analyses without close supervision. Experience with relevant datasets (learning assessments, EMIS, DHS, MICS household surveys, administrative data) is highly valued.
• Consulting craft: Prior experience in strategy, economics, or development consulting - with demonstrated ability to structure problems, develop hypotheses, and produce high-quality, client-ready outputs under pressure.
• Project management: Ideally, prior experience in managing projects or workstreams, including overseeing budgets, workplans, and teams.
• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication in English, with the ability to present complex findings to non-technical audiences, including ministers, donors, and senior officials. Fluency in French, Arabic, or Portuguese would be a valued asset.
• AI literacy: Demonstrated ability to use AI tools effectively and responsibly to enhance analytical and written work.

What we are really looking for:

We are recruiting people with the potential to become practice leaders in 10–15 years. Beyond technical qualifications, we want people who:

• Demonstrate clear intellectual excellence - in the top 10% of their peer group, evident in their academic record, professional track record, or both
• Are from and based in Africa or India, with deep roots in the Young World and a genuine commitment to its development
• Have the versatility to work across countries, methods, and Early Years sub-sectors, and the drive to develop depth
• Go plus ultra - always pushing beyond the expected to deliver something # exceptional
• Embody siyakhana - investing in the growth of their colleagues and the team as a whole
• Are Glass Box thinkers - intellectual honesty, transparency, and rigour in everything they produce
• Show signs of leadership - the ability to bring others along, navigate ambiguity, and take initiative without needing to be asked

Please follow the online application process on the career portal of the Genesis website. We are unable to accept any e-mailed CVs or applications. Your application will primarily be considered for this role. If there are multiple roles that you are interested in, please submit your application for each position. Once you have applied via our career portal, you will receive a system-generated confirmation e-mail that your application was received.  NOTE: Please be advised that uploaded documents / attachments cannot be bigger than 4MB in total, as the system will not accept your application if the uploaded documents exceed 4MB.  Communication will be with short-listed candidates only — if you do not receive any feedback on your application within 3 weeks, please consider your application unsuccessful. Genesis Analytics reserves the right not to proceed with an appointment of any advertised role. All appointments will be made in line with Genesis Analytics' Employment Equity Plan and Transformation Policies. At Genesis, we prioritise your privacy by collecting essential personal information for job applications, which is reviewed confidentially by authorised hiring personnel to assess your suitability and communicate with you about your application status.