At Segal, we believe in a world where development is steered by grassroots leaders and power is shifted into the hands of communities. We work across Sub-Saharan Africa and strive to be true partners to our grantees. We want to change the power dynamics inherent in traditional philanthropy and prove that a new, more equitable, and responsive approach is not only more fair, but more effective.
We support 200+ incredible organizations who are finding local and scalable solutions to Sub-Saharan Africa’s most pressing challenges, with a focus on reproductive health and youth empowerment. We offer our grantee partners financial and capacity building support, aimed at giving them a larger network of peer organizations and like-minded funders to share learnings and new opportunities as well as provide technical expertise.
Our vibrant team of 11 passionate changemakers is spread across the globe. We work virtually across continents, and our Africa team is spread across five countries. We move fast and adapt quickly as we find new and exciting ways to push our mission forward. We’ve got a lot of ambition, and we are looking for team members that will continue to help us punch above our weight.
African Visionaries Fellowship Coordinator
About the role
Often, locally-led innovations face more challenges in growing and scaling their impact. We are passionate about changing this and have created the African Visionary Fellowship (AVF) to address the various underlying issues.
You will drive the implementation of our African Visionary Fellowship including co-designing and planning 2-3 AVF summits each year for ~30 fellows, connecting fellows to capacity-building resources and conference attending opportunities as they arise, and managing all administrative aspects of the program.
Your responsibilities will include
African Visionary Fellowship Program Management: (70%)
- Work with Director of Partnerships & Director of Special Projects to co-design African Visionary Fellowship content, convenings, and capacity-building support.
- Co-create agendas for each Fellowship convening (3 summits of 2-3 days per year) and source appropriate consultants and service providers to deliver content.
- Manage planning and logistics for all AVF convenings including identifying venues, planning excursions and activities, organizing local transport, tracking RSVPs and travel details, liaising with the venue, and all on-site logistics during events.
- Serve as the primary SFF staff liaison for all first and second year fellows and all consultants providing support to fellows.
- Work with Director of Partnerships to facilitate organizational capacity assessments of all fellows and follow-up evaluations.
- Create monthly AVF newsletters to advertise key opportunities for fellows, highlight AVF accomplishments and activities, and reminders about upcoming events.
- Manage AVF Steering Committee calls to inform and guide fellowship content and serve as coordinator (schedules, agenda coordination, actional output from meetings).
- Budget planning and expenditure tracking of the fellowship and associated resources/stipends awarded to fellows for attendance at outside events.
- Work with annual meeting team to curate particular content and trainings to ensure all fellows have a successful annual meeting experience.
- Give input and ideas towards the Fellowship concept and structure.
Active Partnership Support: (30%)
- Spearhead the logistics and planning of SFF’s 2018 Annual Meeting in East Africa for over 350 delegates. Contribute ideas to the meeting agenda.
- Become familiar with SFF’s community of partners, African Visionary Fellows in particular, and their individual and collective needs.
- Play an active role in SFF’s community building initiatives, including but not limited to in-country partner meetings, training workshops, networking events and office hours based on the candidate’s expertise.
- Contribute to shaping SFF’s Active Partnership initiatives, resources, and overall direction.
- Assist with site visits and due diligence of current SFF partners, as needed.
- Support implementation of SFF’s Targeted Capacity Support program involving in depth capacity assessments of select partners (depending on the skill-set of the candidate).
Who we are looking for
- You have at least 4-5 years of experience, some of which working with nonprofit organizations or social enterprises in East Africa.
- You have extensive experience planning and managing large events such as multi-day conferences/summits with an audience of senior managers and leaders.
- You have coordinated a program or community before, prior experience managing a fellowship or accelerator program is a plus.
- You believe that local solutions are the best solutions and you are passionate about promoting local visionaries.
- You have a strong understanding of the challenges locally-led, early stage organizations face and a passion to help our fellows overcome these challenges.
- You believe in community building and learning/development in innovative, and consultative ways. You believe in the power of mentorship and peer-to-peer learning over formal classroom-style learning.
- You have at least basic agenda design skills
- You demonstrate personal integrity and have the ability to interact, develop, and sustain dynamic relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
- You are an East African Community citizen and preferably have experience working in multiple East African countries.
- You are fluent in spoken and written English and may also speak French, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, or another local language.
- You are bold and confident to share your opinions with a multicultural team and can tailor your approach to working with various colleagues.
- You thrive in an unstructured environment, are at peace with ambiguity, and solve problems creatively and efficiently.
- You have learned how to talk about your weaknesses and mistakes in the workplace and value honesty.
- You know how to collaborate in a fluid environment. You also naturally motivate yourself to deliver when working alone.
- Any other skill that would benefit our fellows will be welcome, such as: grant writing, public speaking, pitching, marketing/communications, organizational design, HR etc.
- You easily navigate Microsoft Word, Excel, Google Drive, Slack, etc. Salesforce experience preferred.
- You are a clear communicator and strong writer.
Why work with us
- Mission and Impact: We want to change the face of philanthropy while uplifting incredible local leaders (who we like to call rockstars). Every day we support local leaders changing the lives of communities and youth.
- Career Development: We hire ambitious young people and support them to develop their skills and leadership potential. We support each other to grow and propel even further in their career trajectory.
- Autonomy: We hire smart and talented people and let them lead the way. You will get a team of 11 behind you for support but will be given the autonomy (and responsibility!) to take control of your role and participate in strategic decisions in your department.
- Work Hard, Play Hard: We put in the extra time and go the extra mile to support our partners. But we also love to laugh, have fun, and enjoy the camaraderie we’ve built amongst our team. We can find some levity even in tough situations.
- Variety and Adventure: We support 200+ partners across 20+ African countries. Even if travel isn’t a large part of your role, you will get to experience new cultures, places, and exciting organizations across the continent.
- Benefits: We believe in supporting the well-being of our employees, so we offer healthcare cover, generous annual leave, and flexible hours.
Other information
We are looking for an East African Community Citizen. The role is based out of our Nairobi office with around 30% travel across East Africa. We will agree on a three-month probation period with learning and performance goals.
We would consider the candidate being based in Dar es Salaam or Kigali if they strongly prefer.
More Information
- Job City Nairobi
