Wave Manager

About Onja

Onja trains underprivileged youth into world-class software developers. Our organisation is unified by a common mission: to give life-changing work through sustainable social enterprise.

We are recognised for our innovative model that finds exceptional talent where opportunity is scarce, invests in its development, and connects it directly to the global tech economy. Through an intensive two-and-a-half-year program, we co-create pathways to long-term social and economic stability that prioritise self-reliance.

We operate as one integrated organisation, where education, hiring, and partner collaboration work together to deliver high-performing tech talent with lasting social impact. Onja developers invest in their own futures and in their nation’s development, while ensuring Onja remains self-funding and scalable, paying forward opportunities to the next generation.

Onja is located in Toamasina, a lively city with beautiful beaches, nice restaurants, and plenty to do and see. Toamasina is Madagascar’s second largest city (population 300,000), yet it is surrounded by plenty of natural beauty and even has a national park nearby. 
 

About the Role

The wave Manager is responsible for the Students of the wave, the tutors and the Community mentors. Responsible for making important decisions for individual students. Responsible for leading, motivating, mentoring (growth mindset) the wave overall. From a student's perspective this person is the boss that will make the calls for anything important. 
 

We believe in hiring based on skills, attitude and cultural fit rather than specific qualifications.
 

Your responsibilities will include:

• 1:1s with students each quarter,  motivate them and know their goals/growth
• Conducting evaluation of students quarterly
• Makes the big calls for individual students.
• Deciding additional support for students in case of hardship (e.g. depression, severe family problems)
• Big circle meetings. (eg: when a student is sent home).
• Leadership of waves. When there are problems they are the ones that are in front of everyone talking where needed. They are the ones who make the final calls.
• Lead the community mentorship program
• Hiring and dismissing tutors and community mentors
• Input on creating timetables (Together with ECD)
• Manage documentation
• Discipline students: take final decision and sign warning letters, send students home
• Manage the student contract
• Provide the necessary training and Continuous Professional Development to tutors and community mentors around mentorship
• Organise performance evaluations of tutors and community mentors
• Organise regular meetings and feedback sessions  with tutors

Requirements
 

• Strict and fair,  assertive and firm. 
• Understands business / real-world realities.
• Able to make tough decisions for the greater success of the students
• Honest and trustworthy.
• Has good management skills 

Candidates can anticipate that reference checks will be conducted as part of our thorough evaluation process. 

Why work with us
 

• Do impactful work:  Working with Onja gives you the ability to make a real tangible difference with your work, and have a deep sense of purpose in your every-day.  Our mission is to nurture talented, underprivileged youth to lead impactful careers in tech, unlock opportunities for others and accelerate Madagascar's development.

• Grow your skills fast: As a young fast-growing startup we are all in “over our head” and this is a great place to grow.  You will be challenged but you’ll also be part of a very supportive team and caring environment. Our social model is innovative with exciting potential to scale, so there is a great opportunity for you to grow your career along with us.

• Work with very talented individuals who are very socially inclined:  At Onja you’ll join a community of talented and passionate people from around Madagascar and the world. 

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/blog
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. 
    

We want our recruitment process to be fair and inclusive, so please do let us know if there are any reasonable adjustments we can make. For example, if you identify as neurodivergent, we can accommodate and discuss modifications to our hiring process with you.