Internship | Job Vacancies at Code for Africa (CfA)

Code for Africa (CfA) is the continent’s largest network of civic technology and data journalism labs, with teams in 21 countries. CfA builds digital democracy solutions that give citizens unfettered access to actionable information that empowers them to make informed decisions, and that strengthens civic engagement for improved public governance and accountability. This includes building infrastructure like the continent’s largest open data portals at openAFRICA and sourceAFRICA, as well as incubating initiatives as diverse as the africanDRONE network, the PesaCheck fact-checking initiative and the sensors.AFRICA air quality sensor network.

CfA also manages the African Network of Centres for Investigative Reporting (ANCIR), which gives the continent’s best muckraking newsrooms the best possible forensic data tools, digital security and whistleblower encryption to help improve their ability to tackle crooked politicians, organised crime and predatory big business. CfA also runs one of Africa’s largest skills development initiatives for digital journalists, and seed funds cross-border collaboration

CfA is a non-profit organisation, registered as a public benefit organisation in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.

AI Solutions Architect, AI Sandbox (TechLab) at Code for Africa (CfA)

Job Description

The Plus Alliance is a non-profit partnership working across Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the US. We are looking for a full-time AI Solutions Architect to be the first dedicated hire for a new AI solutions hub within the AI Sandbox, part of Code for Africa’s TechLab. The role reports to the Chief Technology Officer.

Position Summary

You’ll design, ship and maintain AI-enabled tools and workflows for teams across the alliance, and set the patterns others build on. This is a hands-on role: you’ll write and review code, configure integrations, test with users and support what you ship, not just produce designs or recommendations.

Your first priority will initially be Business Development (proposal and partner-intelligence workflows). From there, the work expands to research, editorial, investigative and programme operations. You’ll build on tools teams already use (Google Workspace, Slack, Airtable, CRMs) and on in-house capacity: DataLab for data engineering and scraping, the iLAB for AI-driven forensics, CivicSignal for NLP, and the wider AI Sandbox team for shared model access and infrastructure. You won’t be building the whole stack alone.

Why Join

Be the founding hire: shape how the alliance uses AI, from the first build to the standards other teams adopt.
Real users from day one: starting with the Business Development team, then forensic researchers, journalists, and programme staff across Africa and beyond.
Real ownership, real support: you’ll own design decisions within agreed architecture and security boundaries, backed by in-house data and AI teams, so you’re not starting from zero.

What You Will Do

Ship tools, workflows and lightweight interfaces end to end: take them from discovery and design through build, evaluation, rollout, training, monitoring and handoff.
Pick the simplest thing that works: use models or agents where interpreting language or handling ambiguity adds value, and plain deterministic code or rules for anything that runs often, must give the same answer every time, or needs an audit trail. Often that means using an AI coding agent to build the automation, not to be it.
Treat AI output as unverified until checked: build evaluations, source traceability and automated checks, and put a person where the decision matters. Assume outside content may be wrong or may try to steer the model.
Build the function, not just the tools: set up an intake and prioritisation process, a reusable library of templates, connectors and review components, and clear rules for what stays central and what programmes own.
Keep it maintainable: use version control and code review, write documentation others can run from, and build on shared Plus and AI Sandbox platforms and security standards, so everything works with the rest of Plus’s systems.
Keep costs visible: estimate running costs, compare managed, open-source and in-house options on cost, security, portability and maintenance, and replace expensive SaaS where there’s a clear case.

What This Role Is Not

This is not primarily a chatbot, dashboard or research role, and it’s not an on-demand automation desk: you’ll prioritise work with the CTO and programme leads based on value, risk and potential for reuse. You won’t own data engineering, model infrastructure or organisation-wide AI policy, but you’ll work closely with the teams that do.

What You Will Build in Year One

Four to five substantive production tools or workflows in regular operational use, starting with Business Development, each with monitoring and a named owner.
An intake and prioritisation process open to all programmes, with a clear way to select, defer and decline requests.
A Plus-wide pattern and guardrail library adopted by at least two teams.
A recommendation, based on real demand, for how the hub should grow, including the shape of a team you could eventually lead.

Required

A degree in computer science, software engineering, information systems, data science or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
3+ years building and shipping internal tools, automation or AI-enabled workflows that people rely on regularly (not just prototypes or demos), and that you maintained after launch. You’re comfortable going from ambiguity to a working system.
Hands-on experience building with hosted model APIs and open-weight models, including structured outputs, tool use, agents, and MCP or similar integration protocols. You’re also comfortable with AI coding and workflow tools such as Claude Cowork, Claude Code or Codex, and know when not to use them.
Integration experience with several business systems, such as Google Workspace, Slack, Airtable, CRMs or email, including APIs, webhooks, OAuth, scoped credentials and rate limits. You default to live connections, and know how to stop any cached or synced copy from being mistaken for current data.
Practical AI and data risk awareness: catching outputs that are confident but wrong, handling prompt injection, protecting PII and confidential data, and matching human review to the cost of an error.
The ability to map how work actually happens, design around it with non-technical colleagues, and get them to adopt what you build, including writing guides they can actually follow.
Engineering discipline: Git, code review, tests where they matter, and clear documentation.

Preferred

A postgraduate qualification in artificial intelligence, machine learning or a related field.
Experience in non-profit, media, civic tech or international development, including proposal or partner-management workflows.
Document-heavy pipelines: parsing PDFs and DOCX files, structured extraction, and retrieval over knowledge bases that change often.
Formal evaluation practice: test sets, regression evals, red-teaming and output validation.
Experience with managed model services and gateways, such as Amazon Bedrock, OpenRouter or equivalents.
Cost modelling for LLM workloads, and security basics such as secrets management and vendor security review.

Apply: AI Solutions Architect, AI Sandbox (TechLab) | Opportunities at Code for Africa

Senior Project Manager at Code for Africa (CfA)

Job Description

About the Role:

You will join CfA as the central orchestrator for a portfolio of investment-stage projects and grantee support initiatives. You will provide end-to-end project management coordination and support, harmonising development timelines, overseeing tracking mechanisms, and leading management of workplans to ensure all activities, tasks, and deliverables are completed on time, within scope, and to required quality standards.

Your core responsibilities will span project oversight (developing and managing workplans, coordinating cross-team delivery, flagging conflicts and risks), stakeholder engagement (serving as the primary point of contact for partners and internal teams), and reporting (producing programmatic reports that meet donor and internal governance requirements). You will act as the central nervous system of the programme; sequencing work, directing traffic between teams, and proactively solving problems as they arise.

Responsibilities: Your daily responsibilities will include:

Project Oversight:

Develop, track, and manage work plans for your team/projects.
Coordinate cross-team delivery with counterparts to ensure delivery on projects under your management.
Liaise and work with counterparts across teams to ensure the team you work with adheres to timelines and delivers on projects not under your management.
Ensure all activities, tasks, and deliverables are completed on time, within scope, and to the required quality standards.
Proactively identify and find solutions for issues as they arise.
Escalate issues to the StratCo for input and guidance when required.
Work with the finance team to ensure that budget allocations, particularly for fellowships, grants and events, are managed and spent within CfA and partner guidelines.
Act as the central point of coordination across teams, directing traffic, sequencing work, and flagging conflicts, where multiple projects carry overlapping deadlines and timelines.
Coordinate closely with the Portfolio Manager to align workplans, priorities, and reporting timelines across shared initiatives.

Stakeholder Management:

Act as the main point of contact for partners and stakeholders, providing regular updates.
Actively engage with stakeholders, including external partners and internal staff, keeping them updated with project progress and managing expectations.
Assess any stakeholder concerns, raising them with relevant teams to find solutions.

Reporting:

Manage the preparation of stakeholder reports necessary for compliance with partner obligations and for internal management tracking of strategic goals.
In conjunction with your team, ensure that monitoring metrics defined in the project documentation are recorded.
Ensure reports produced meet CfA and partner quality standards.
Ensure timely internal reviews of reports to meet compliance protocols ahead of submissions.

Knowledge Growth:

Stay up-to-date with developing project management techniques and methodologies.
Ensure a continued, baseline understanding of the methods, tools and techniques of the team(s) you support.

Admin Duties:

Maintain a document archival system and adhere to record-keeping protocols for all communiques, project management, editorial production, engagement campaigns, and events.
Manage the preparation of stakeholder reports necessary for compliance with partner obligations, as well as for internal management tracking of strategic goals.
Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

What We Offer:

A competitive salary, subject to experience, with opportunities for performance-based growth, both in terms of career path and public stature.
Medical insurance cover, underwritten by a remote-first provider to ensure cover wherever you are
A dynamic workplace, with a transnational team, occasional international travel, and generous vacation benefits.
Ongoing opportunities to learn new cutting-edge skills and techniques/technologies to future-proof yourself in a rapidly evolving industry.
A chance to shine on a global stage, writing for international audiences and interacting with colleagues around the world.

Required: minimum requirements include:

4+ years of project management experience, preferably in development, civic tech, or social impact sectors
Demonstrated experience managing complex multi-stakeholder initiatives with competing priorities and timelines
Strong workplan development, tracking, and management skills
Experience managing budgets and financial allocations across grants, fellowships, and organisational spend
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Proficiency with project management tools (Asana, Trello, Google Suite, or equivalent)
Strong organisational skills and attention to detail
Ability to remain calm and solution-focused under pressure

Preferred: candidates who are able to demonstrate the following will have an advantage:

Experience building and managing relationships with media institutions, governments, international organisations, educational institutions, relevant technology players, and other private and not-for-profit relevant stakeholders in the civic technology and media ecosystem.
Experience managing multiple projects, partners and team members across multiple time zones and cultures
Experience working with a variety of teams, such as software engineering teams, journalists, trainers and data analysts
Deep understanding of and experience in the technology, media ecosystem and/or digital innovation space in Africa.

Language and Location Requirements:

Location: Exceptional candidates from anywhere in Africa are encouraged to apply. Remote work is supported.
Languages: English (fluency)
Preferred but not required: French, Arabic and any other African languages.

Apply: https://opportunities.codeforafrica.org/2026/09/03/senior-project-manager/?

News Editor at Code for Africa (CfA)

The ideal candidate combines strong investigative instincts with exceptional newsdesk management experience and has a proven ability to turn messy, complex research into clean, compelling editorial products. You should be comfortable working with structured data, digital verification techniques, and tight deadlines — all while juggling multiple formats, from longform exposés to donor updates and briefing memos. Experience in African media, OSINT workflows, and collaborative newsroom tools is essential.

Responsibilities: Your daily responsibilities will include:

You will manage the iLAB diary and deadlines for investigative reports, insights, and online content for our online platforms and partners, ensuring that it is delivered on time, is well-written and meets rigorous editorial standards.
Managing the editorial production process and content diaries for the iLAB, producing analytic and investigative reports.
Scheduling and running the weekly ‘insights diary’ used to shape iLAB reports and investigative outputs.
Ensuring that analytical and investigative outputs are aligned with organisational goals and lead to meaningful outcomes.
You will select and prioritise editorial leads for iLAB journalists based on the trends and insights of analysts and forensic investigators, as well as algorithmic ‘listening’ or media monitoring tools, to help ensure we focus our attention on the most harmful misinformation/conspiracies.
You will facilitate editorial planning meetings at which editorial leads/assignments are brainstormed and allocated to in-country journalists/researchers, with clear editorial briefs and submission deadlines.

Required: minimum requirements include

Minimum 10 years of editorial management experience, ideally in high-pressure, investigative, or data-intensive newsrooms (business, finance, or politics are a plus).
Investigative reporting or editing background, with clear experience handling sensitive topics, disinformation, organised crime, or illicit financial flows.
OSINT or disinformation monitoring experience — familiarity with foreign information manipulation tactics and narrative tracking is a major advantage.
Strong editorial judgment, with the ability to turn messy research into sharp, structured stories.
Excellent editing and writing skills, especially for fast-paced, high-clarity content.
Proficiency in collaborative editorial tools like Google Docs, Trello, Slack, etc.
Confidence managing remote, multilingual teams and multiple story formats.
Meticulous attention to detail, with the ability to work collaboratively in a deadline-driven environment. This includes being an organisational whiz who can prioritise multiple simultaneous tasks while at the same time having the people skills needed to engage diplomatically and collaborate effectively with colleagues under tight deadlines.
Demonstrable ability to self-manage, creating your own and wider team timelines and milestones with clear systems/processes.

Environmental Investigative Analyst at Code for Africa (CfA)

The investigative analyst will play a central role in surfacing and analysing large datasets drawn from media platforms, lobbying disclosures, environmental records, and OSINT sources. The analyst will help identify and classify bad actors, map coordinated disinformation campaigns, and produce evidence-backed insights for public-facing investigations and advocacy. Duties include developing data methodologies, scraping and cleaning datasets and creating visual comparisons (such as region-vs-region and year-on-year indices).