Uganda Portfolio Lead 498 views0 applications

About Segal Family Foundation (SFF)

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 development challenges. We offer our partners grant funding and professional support services aimed at giving them technical expertise and a larger network of peer organizations and like-minded funders to share learnings and new opportunities.

Our vibrant team of 19 works across two continents. 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.

Our team in Africa is spread around four countries and is responsible for finding and nurturing our community of partners. They also lead in implementing our unique Active Partnership model of funding and supporting our grantees. In the US, the team is responsible for supporting our Africa-side operations through executive leadership, data systems, communications, and partnerships work.

About the role

The Uganda Portfolio Lead will drive SFF’s strategy, oversee our grant making in Uganda, and manage a diverse portfolio of around 50 exceptional CBOs, NGOs, and social enterprises working to improve their communities. As you get to know these organizations and their leaders, you will identify their organizational strengths and needs and devise tailored professional support programs. You will also play a critical role in identifying and cultivating partnerships and strategic collaborations with other actors in the Ugandan development and social impact ecosystem in order to leverage capital, connections and opportunities for our partners to have bigger impact and wider influence in their respective fields.

Since 2017, we have been managing our Uganda portfolio from our regional hub in Nairobi. During this time, we have added many exciting, early-stage community organizations and changemakers working across various sectors and issue areas to the Uganda portfolio. Through an in-country presence, we aim to support them in a deeper and closer way.

This is an exciting time to join SFF as we celebrate the vibrant community and solid foundation we’ve laid and set the stage for a bigger, bolder vision that will take our social impact in Uganda to the next level. Reporting to the Director of Programs, you will play a critical role in shaping SFF’s new 10-year vision and bringing it to life in the Ugandan context. You will establish priorities, goals, and strategies and execute them, leveraging support from a range of consultants and SFF colleagues in other countries.

This role is ideal for a Ugandan excited by the opportunity to identify, nurture and support high-potential changemakers while influencing philanthropy practices in the ecosystem – a results-driven achiever who is able to work in a self-directed environment and drive outcomes working individually and as part of a team.

Your responsibilities will include

Leading, informing, and driving SFF strategy in Uganda

• Contribute to the development of a new three-year strategy for Uganda in line with SFF’s global 10-year vision and priorities by collecting market insights and developing a close understanding of needs and opportunities in the social impact space.
• Drive implementation of SFF’s initiatives and targets in Uganda while ensuring effective collaboration with other country teams and departments.

Implementing SFF’s grantmaking activities in Uganda

• Conduct regular due diligence on current grantee partners to evaluate year-to-year progress on their program effectiveness, impact model, and different aspects of their organizational health. Using SFF’s tools, objectively evaluate the organization, its team, potential and systems, and make funding recommendations.
• Present assessment and recommendations for grant decision making.
• Agree on program and organization development milestones with grantees.
• Develop a pipeline of potential grantee partners aligned with SFF’s criteria and country priorities.

Offering professional support and community building through Active Partnership

• Build a creative approach to effectively and efficiently deliver professional support in a portfolio with many diverse organizations and a wide range of needs.
• Develop and maintain a strong network of external consultants and resource persons to provide technical professional support to partners on different aspects of their programming and organizational health.
• Implement initiatives to promote cohort spirit, cross-learning, and sharing of knowledge and good practices among SFF grantee partners in Uganda.

Driving strategic partnerships and ecosystem engagement to champion our agenda of equitable, responsive philanthropy

• Keep a finger on the pulse of social sector trends and developments to identify opportunities to leverage our presence, our networks, and our experiences to impact the Uganda social impact ecosystem.
• Implement strategic activities to amplify our work and share our approaches on equitable grantmaking and locally-driven development, such as convenings, blogs, and speaking opportunities.
• Support the Director of Partnerships in cultivating relationships with INGOs, embassies, foundations and other in-country funders to leverage funding for our partners.

Budgeting

• Create, plan, and track the activity and grants budget for Uganda.
• Work with colleagues across departments and manage consultants to ensure efficient and effective use of the budget to deliver high-quality work and meet overall targets.

Participating in cross-country, regional, and global initiatives

• Cultivate mutually rewarding relationships with colleagues in other countries to share knowledge, resources, and cross-pollinate ideas.

Who we are looking for

A champion of locally-driven development

• You are passionate about locally-driven development and excited about identifying and supporting visionaries who have bold ideas to positively transform their communities.
• You are excited to “change the game.” You want to help turn around existing funder power dynamics and inequalities. You have struggled alongside marginalized communities to elevate their voices and their agency over the choices that affect them.
• You understand the realities of community development and the realities of driving change on the ground. You know the needs of Ugandan social sector organizations including programs, strategy, and leadership.

Strategic and Experienced social sector leader

• You have past experience shaping winning strategies for organizations operating in complex environments.
• You enjoy working across diverse fields and sectors, identifying common trends, threads, gaps, opportunities and designing creative projects and concepts to address them.
• You have a track record of executing on ideas and bringing concepts to life with strong results.
• You have a significant body of relevant experience in development, civil society strengthening or organizational development working with community-based organizations, NGOs, social enterprises in Uganda, or you can demonstrate past success in one or more areas relevant to SFF’s mission and programs.
• You possess a strong understanding of trends and dynamics in the social sector in order to effectively implement a funding and influencing strategy.
• Past interdisciplinary work experience with cross-sector exposure is highly preferred; for example, managing a grant/investment portfolio, consulting across sectors, or executing development programs across sectors/issues.

Community and relationship builder

• You have successfully managed and engaged a large group of diverse stakeholders and relationships in the past
• You are a strong relationship builder with the networks and skills necessary to bring other experts, resource persons, and partners on board.
• You’re a community builder, with a track record of building relationships of trust and empowerment.
• You approach challenges respectfully, working towards creative solutions to ensure the success of grantee partners.
• You are sociable and thrive on interacting with others, organizing events and get-togethers.
• You can synthesize ideas and communicate effectively with diverse audiences, including grantees, colleagues, boards, policymakers, and other donors.
• You possess excellent listening skills, confidence, curiosity, a sense of humor, humility, and energy.

Resourceful self-starter who thrives in an entrepreneurial environment

• You are comfortable performing the strategic (thought-leadership), programmatic (execution), and administrative/operational aspects of the role.
• You are confident operating with broad parameters and exploring opportunities that can lead to bold and unconventional approaches.
• You are committed to ethical leadership and good stewardship in both grantmaking and administrative activities
• You have a track record in juggling multiple projects and meeting deadlines.

You live the values of Segal Family Foundation and can demonstrate a history of your engagement with each.

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 rock stars). 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 18 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.
• Competitive salary and benefit package: We believe in supporting the well-being of our employees, so we offer world class healthcare coverage, professional development opportunities and generous annual leave.

Other information

The role is based in Uganda. Onboarding in your first year will include at least 25% time spent in Kenya and other SFF program countries shadowing other team members, depending on COVID guidelines and travel protocols. After the first year, travel of up to 40% is likely including regular visits to partners based in different regions of Uganda and time on the ground with our staff and partners in East Africa.

We will agree on a six-month probation period with mutually agreed upon performance and learning objectives.

SFF is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and therefore welcome all applications from qualified candidates. Ugandan nationals are especially encouraged to apply.

The job offer will be subject to safeguarding standards including appropriate background checks (carried out in compliance with Ugandan law) and adherence to the SFF safeguarding policy.