Overview

About Onja

Onja is a social enterprise training underprivileged youth into world-class software developers.

When our first cohort began in January 2019, students could barely speak English nor use a computer. After three years they are advanced English speakers and working remotely as software developers in European and US tech teams. 

Rather than low paid menial work, students have begun exciting careers and are thrilled to support their families, pay-forward the opportunity to more students, and accelerate the development of their nation (see ‘How Onja Works’ below). 

Onja is located in Mahanoro, a quiet beach town on Madagascar’s East Coast. The campus has the feel of a nature retreat: on the outskirts of town, on the beach, and surrounded by nature, while the town has several nice restaurants and everything you need to be comfortable.

Our small team is very united, committed to the mission and hardworking but we also maintain a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere that you’ll find everywhere in Madagascar :). 

About the Fundraising Coordinator Role

Our first cohort contains 19 developers and we plan to train hundreds of students in the coming years. In order to do this, we must attract financial support. We need your help to secure some of this support.

Your responsibilities include:

  • Studying and understanding Onja’s model
  • Collaborating on the development of a fundraising strategy, helping to develop the acquisition and retention plans for funders and then own the implementation, analysis, testing, and iteration.
  • Developing metrics for weekly / monthly / annual performance. Report on findings, implications, and make recommendations improve strategy and performance
  • Create post-funding information systems that show funders and other partners the impact and efficiency that their funding unlocks.

The following are likely but will depend on the fundraising strategy developed:

  • Identifying potential funding entities. This may be a combination of Foundations, Companies, and Major donors and could involve grants, loans or other funding mechanisms. 
  • Forging relationships with foundations and other organisations or individuals
  • Developing proposals and supporting documents
  • Providing reports to stakeholders with respect to the organisation’s progress. 
  • Maintain positive relationships with funding entities and other stakeholders
  • Creating and trialling a programme where companies fund the training of developers in return for a promised future placement.
  • Collaborating on Public Relations and Marketing

You will be a part of our fundraising team consisting of you, two grant writers and a fundraising lead. 

This is a pivotal role for Onja at this exciting time. We are poised to grow fast and our dream is to train thousands of new students each year. You will be setting the foundations not just for this first cohort but the waves of youth that will follow in future years.

Requirements

  • A twelve-month commitment is preferred
  • Strong writing ability
  • Experience or interest in social enterprise will be beneficial
  • Fundraising or other relevant experience is preferred however a willingness to learn and grow in the role is most important to us

Start date

We are ready for you now, but generally allow for two to three months from the time the contract is signed. 

How Onja Works

Onja is a social enterprise with a sustainable model:

  1. Search for brilliant minds who would otherwise be limited to low-paid, unfulfilling careers.
  2. Students receive two years of English and software development instruction. Meet a developer here: https://onja.org/student/manjaka/
  3. Graduates earn (and continue learning) at our outsourcing enterprise. 
  4. All profits are used to train the next wave of students and the cycle begins again.  

If you like what we are doing, but don’t think you are suitable for this position, please reach out to us nonetheless – we may just have something for you.

We hope this statement, from Kirsten who worked with us as an English Teacher, gives you an idea of what it may be like to join our team: “Working at Onja was an experience of a lifetime. Teaching such talented and highly motivated students was a pleasure and very rewarding. I felt very much at home at Onja and it was an honour to be part of such a beautiful initiative, which I am sure will create life-changing opportunities for new Malagasy students in the years to come”.