Academic Programme Support Officer

Job title: Academic Programme Support Officer

Location: This position can be held in-person at our offices in Nairobi (BIEA, Kileleshwa), Kampala, or Kakuma.

Salary: KSh 2,022,728 – 2,220,114, gross yearly + benefits, dependent on experience 

Hours: Full-time (37.5 hours per week)

Contract Type: Fixed-term,12 months. 

Reporting to: RLRH Mentoring and Student Success Manager

Closing Date: Open until filled (applications reviewed on a rolling basis)

Start Date: As soon as possible, latest mid-October

About the Refugee-Led Research Hub 

The Refugee-Led Research Hub (RLRH) supports individuals with lived experience of displacement to become leaders in fields related to human rights, forced migration, humanitarian response and development, politics, and law, among other areas. We do so by delivering academic and professional development programming to a global cohort of students who have been affected by displacement—as refugees, asylum seekers, IDPs, stateless, and beyond—supporting access to graduate degrees and advanced career opportunities. RLRH also creates opportunities for researchers with displacement backgrounds to lead primary and secondary research studies, from start to finish. 

RLRH’s team is comprised of colleagues who are deeply committed to advancing refugee leadership, the majority of whom have lived experience of displacement. Our network of staff, researchers, students, and other affiliates is made up of 1,400+ individuals across 80+ countries. RLRH has six active offices: our first was established in Nairobi in 2020, we have had an office at the University of Oxford since 2021, and we have since developed physical hubs in Kakuma refugee camp (Kenya), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Kampala (Uganda), and in the Oxfordshire community (UK).  

From October 2025 RLRH is funded to serve as a technical partner for the Mastercard Foundations Scholars Program network, advancing an ambitious global agenda to support displacement-affected learners to access 1,000+ graduate-level scholarships at partner universities around the world. RLRH provides expert guidance and implements specialised programmes to help these learners enter university, thrive on course, and pursue meaningful and enduring careers on completion of their degrees. A complementary, refugee-led research agenda designed by RLRH colleagues produces insights to help Scholars Program partner universities and other stakeholders accelerate positive, long-lasting systems change.

The Role

Overview of the Academic Pillar

The Academic Pillar (AP) manages globally accessible education programmes that reach thousands of bachelors degree-holding refugees, asylum seekers, and others affected by displacement to strengthen their academic credentials and preparedness so they can access postgraduate degrees worldwide. A large, though not exclusive, proportion of the Pillar’s efforts are dedicated to recruiting and preparing African displacement-affected students for Mastercard Foundation’s Scholars Program graduate-level courses at 30+ partner universities. The AP team runs three hallmark programmes to support these prospective students: 

Graduate Horizons provides learners with comprehensive postgraduate application and admissions support, from selecting right-fit universities and scholarships to crafting compelling personal statements and research proposals. The programme offers hands-on workshops, intensive writing boot camps, one-to-one application feedback, dedicated office hours, and mentorship designed to maximise each student’s academic potential. RLRH actively advocates for students, working directly with universities to eliminate barriers that impede their progress. 

A complementary bridging programme that can be completed before or during Horizons is Graduate Admissions Essentials, a three-month self-guided programme designed by RLRH to help learners strengthen their academic and professional profiles across the core admissions areas that universities assess for postgraduate study. A wide range of thoughtfully curated resources are available, meeting learners where they are in their tertiary education journeys.

Finally, RLRH Foundations: Refugee and Forced Migration Studies, is an intensive nine-module online course that supports students to develop academic skills in the Social Sciences. The interdisciplinary curriculum exposes learners to International Humanitarian Law, Anthropology, Political Theory, Gender Studies, International Relations, and more, preparing participants for study across a wide range of fields of interest. In the near future, RLRH will be developing new Foundations courses, catering to a wider range of subject areas of interest as members of our community prepare for postgraduate degrees. 

Overview of Position

As we grow the RLRH learner community and academic programme portfolio, we seek an organised, learner-centred Academic Programme Support Officer to support the delivery of high-quality learner support and mentoring activities, contributing to RLRH's 2028 objective of supporting 1,000 refugee and displaced people to enrol in Master's degrees worldwide.

The Academic Programme Support Officer will play a key role in supporting refugee and displaced learners as they prepare for and apply to postgraduate study opportunities worldwide. Working closely with the Mentoring and Student Success Manager, the Senior Academic Programme Support Officer, and the wider Academic Programmes team, the postholder will provide day-to-day academic guidance, support learners in developing high-quality university and scholarship applications, and monitor their engagement and progress throughout the programme. Through timely communication and learner-centred guidance, the postholder will contribute to an inclusive and supportive programme experience that responds to the diverse educational, linguistic, cultural, and displacement-related needs of RLRH learners. 

This is an excellent opportunity for someone with experience in education, programme support, student services, mentoring, refugee support, or higher education access who is looking to develop their career in academic programme support and student advising.  The role is designed to build the skills, confidence, and experience required to progress into a more senior student success, mentoring, or programme management role over time.

Responsibilities

Learner Support and Academic Guidance (70%)

• Provide day-to-day support to learners participating in RLRH academic programmes, responding to queries and signposting learners to relevant resources, opportunities, and programme staff.
• Support learners to understand university and scholarship application processes, including key requirements, timelines, documentation, and submission deadlines.
• Support learners in preparing high-quality application materials, including CVs, personal statements, research proposals, references, and supporting documentation within agreed programme guidance.
• Monitor learner engagement and progress, identifying learners who may need additional support and escalating more complex cases to the Senior Academic Support Officer and Mentoring and Student Success Manager.
• Help ensure that learners receive clear, timely, and consistent communication throughout their programme journey.
• Contribute to a supportive and inclusive learning environment that recognises the diverse educational, linguistic, cultural, and displacement-related experiences of RLRH learners.

Mentors Support and Guidance (20%)

• Support mentoring activities, including mentor onboarding, learner–mentor matching, meeting tracking, and follow-up communication.
• Act as a first point of contact for assigned mentors and learners, helping to ensure that mentoring relationships are purposeful, respectful, and productive.
• Assist with preparing mentoring materials, guidance notes, templates, and training resources.
• Track mentoring engagement, including meeting frequency, learner needs, mentor feedback, and any issues arising.
• Identify and escalate challenges in mentoring relationships, including non-engagement, mismatched expectations, safeguarding concerns, or learners requiring additional support.
• Support group mentoring arrangements, peer-learning activities, and other forms of academic accompaniment.
• Contribute feedback and observations to help improve RLRH’s mentoring model over time.

Data Management, Monitoring, and Reporting Support (10%)

• Maintain accurate learner records, mentoring trackers, application progress databases, and engagement monitoring tools.
• Support the collection, cleaning, and validation of data related to learner participation, mentoring engagement, application submissions, offers, scholarships, and programme outcomes.
• Assist with preparing internal updates, progress summaries, and data snapshots for the Academic Programmes team.
• Gather and organise feedback from learners and mentors through surveys, forms, focus groups, and informal check-ins.
• Help identify trends, challenges, and learner support needs emerging from programme data.

Selection Criteria

Essential Selection Criteria

• Experience supporting education, mentoring, student success, youth development, refugee support, higher education access, or related programmes.
• Experience providing direct support, guidance, or advice to students, learners, volunteers, or programme participants.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks, deadlines, records, and communication channels.
• Confidence using digital tools such as Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, Zoom, WhatsApp, spreadsheets, online forms, or learning platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively as part of a team while also taking responsibility for assigned tasks and follow-up.
• Demonstrated commitment to inclusive education, refugee-led work, and supporting displaced learners to access postgraduate opportunities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate confidently with learners, mentors, university partners, and colleagues.
• Excellent cultural competency, cultural humility, and the strong interpersonal skills needed to build trust with people from diverse linguistic, educational, and displacement backgrounds.
• Excellent cultural competency, cultural humility, and the ability to work effectively with people from diverse linguistic, educational, and displacement backgrounds.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build trust with people from diverse cultural, linguistic, educational, and displacement backgrounds.

Desirable Selection Criteria

• Familiarity with the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program or holding a Master's degree from one of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Partner universities. 
• Fluency in additional languages spoken by RLRH learners and affiliates, such as Kiswahili, Arabic, or French.

Applicants are expected to have or obtain the right to work in the country where they will be based. For candidates affected by displacement who do not currently have this, RLRH can provide support for acquiring a gratis Refugee Class M work permit. 

We believe that lived experience of displacement is a strength, and we give active, positive consideration to those with intersecting identities and backgrounds as part of our commitment to equitable hiring practices. As such, RLRH encourages applications from individuals who have been affected by displacement and others who may belong to historically under-represented groups, including but not limited to those who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQI+, women, and differently-abled candidates. 

How to apply 

Please complete the online application form for this role. You will be asked to:

• Upload your CV (no longer than three pages).
• Answer three short-answer questions related to this role, up to 250 words each.
• Provide details of two references (name, email, organisation, and relationship to candidate).
• Complete a short set of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) questions. Your answers to the following questions are entirely optional. This information will not be used as selection criteria. If you'd rather not share this information, feel free to select "Prefer not to say". 

We are committed to ensuring that everyone has an equal opportunity to apply and be considered for any role, and our recruitment process is accessible to all candidates. If you would like to request an adjustment (including requests for alternative formats) to our process, please contact our team at [email protected]

Use of AI

In line with RLRH’s AI Use policy, we kindly ask that you do not use generative AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT) to draft or edit your responses. Applicants may use limited AI to improve grammar or formatting, however, the use of AI to generate complete cover letters, answer specific application questions, or create other responses/presentations is prohibited.