Help us build the future of African language learning.

Afrilang is building a mobile-first language learning platform designed to make African languages easier to learn, use, and pass on to the next generation.

We believe African languages deserve more than preservation, they deserve to be taught, spoken, experienced and normalised in everyday life.

We are looking for a Founding Curriculum Lead to join our early team and help us turn this vision into a meaningful, structured and engaging language learning experience.

This is an opportunity to join Afrilang at an early stage and help shape how African languages are taught digitally from the ground up.

About the Role

As the Founding Curriculum Lead, you will be responsible for leading the development of Afrilang's curriculum strategy and learning framework.

You will work closely with the Founder & CEO, Product Lead, language experts, native speakers and other contributors to design curricula that are pedagogically sound, culturally relevant and engaging for modern learners.

You will help answer questions such as:

• What should a learner know after completing their first lesson, first week and first level?
• How should an African language be broken down into teachable learning units?
• How do we teach vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, conversation and cultural context effectively?
• How should lessons progress from beginner to more advanced levels?
• How do we make language learning feel practical rather than academic?
• How do we adapt established language-learning principles to African languages and contexts?
• How do we ensure that our curriculum respects the linguistic and cultural integrity of each language?

You will not simply review curriculum produced by others, you will help establish the curriculum philosophy, structure and standards that Afrilang can scale across languages.

What You'll Do

Curriculum Strategy & Design

• Develop Afrilang's overall curriculum framework and learning philosophy.
• Design learning pathways for beginner, intermediate and future advanced learners.
• Establish curriculum structures, lesson progression and learning objectives.
• Define appropriate learning outcomes for each stage of the learner journey.
• Develop curriculum templates and standards that can be replicated across languages.
• Create frameworks for vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, listening, speaking, reading and cultural learning.

Language & Cultural Learning

• Work with native speakers and language specialists to ensure linguistic accuracy.
• Help identify what learners genuinely need to communicate effectively in each language.
• Ensure cultural context is incorporated meaningfully into lessons.
• Help establish guidelines for handling dialects, variations and language-specific structures.
• Advocate for authentic language use rather than simply translating existing Western language-learning models.

Product Collaboration

• Work closely with the Product Lead to translate curriculum requirements into product features.
• Contribute to lesson architecture and learning experiences within the Afrilang app.
• Help determine how exercises, assessments, repetition, practice and progression should work digitally.
• Collaborate with the product and technology team to ensure the curriculum can be implemented effectively.

Quality & Research

• Research language-learning methodologies and best practices.
• Stay informed about developments in digital language learning, educational technology and AI-assisted learning.
• Develop quality standards for curriculum content.
• Review and improve learning materials based on learner feedback and data.
• Help establish a curriculum review and iteration process as Afrilang grows.

Team & Scale

• Help build the systems and processes required for curriculum development at scale.
• Contribute to recruiting and coordinating future curriculum contributors and language experts.
• Help establish documentation and standards that allow Afrilang to expand into additional African languages.
• Represent curriculum and learning considerations in strategic product discussions.

Must Have

We are looking for someone who can genuinely own this function.

You should have:

• Strong understanding of language learning and language acquisition.
• Experience designing, developing or managing language learning curricula.
• A solid understanding of curriculum design principles and instructional design.
• Experience creating structured learning objectives, lesson plans and learning pathways.
• Understanding of how learners progress from beginner to conversational proficiency.
• Ability to break complex linguistic concepts into clear, accessible learning experiences.
• Strong written and communication skills.
• Ability to collaborate with language experts, native speakers, product teams and other stakeholders.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to work independently.
• An appreciation for the importance of cultural context and linguistic authenticity in language education.
• Ability to think beyond individual lessons and build systems that can scale across multiple languages.
• Genuine interest in Afrilang's mission and the future of African language learning.
• Commitment to working in an early-stage environment where things will evolve, be tested and improved.

Nice to Have

You don't need to have everything on this list, but these would be valuable:

• Experience working with African languages, particularly Nigerian languages.
• Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Education, Language Education, TESOL, ELT or a related academic background.
• Experience developing curricula for digital or mobile learning platforms.
• Experience with language learning apps or EdTech products.
• Experience with CEFR, ACTFL or other recognised language proficiency frameworks.
• Experience developing assessment frameworks or language proficiency tests.
• Familiarity with spaced repetition, active recall, communicative language teaching or other evidence-based learning approaches.
• Experience working with native-speaker communities or distributed language teams.
• Understanding of how technology and AI can support language learning.
• Experience managing or mentoring curriculum writers, educators or subject-matter experts.
• Knowledge of Nigerian language structures or multilingual learning environments.

Compensation & Opportunity

This is an equity only founding opportunity.

Afrilang is currently an early stage venture and does not offer cash compensation for this role at this stage. This is not a conventional employment position, It is an opportunity to join the team at an early stage and participate in building the company and its long-term value.

Your commitment

At this early stage, we require roughly 12 hours per week, with a focus on being available for syncs with the founder, language experts, native speakers and other contributors. We value ownership, reliability and outcomes over simply counting hours.

Apply here.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.