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The Ford Foundation seeks a dynamic, creative and innovative leader to serve as its Regional Director for West Africa. Building on Ford’s rich legacy in and longstanding commitment to promoting social justice and reducing inequality in the region, the Director will oversee and lead the Foundation’s program development and implementation and manage the Foundation’s team, external relations and administrative operations in West Africa.
Summary Description
The Ford Foundation, created in 1936, is a US-based philanthropic organization and private international donor focusing on social justice. It has ten offices across the world in Africa, Asia and Latin America, as well as in the US. The Director oversees the Foundation’s activities in West Africa – providing overall leadership to the Foundation’s strategy and grant making programs, managing the office and team in Lagos, and representing the Foundation to government, business, nonprofit leaders, the media and the donor community. The Director reports to the Vice President for International Programs.
The Director is the Foundation’s ambassador in the region to many important constituencies. Specifically, the Director assesses local political, social, cultural and economic developments and helps shape the Foundation’s strategy in the region and guides its programming and grant-making priorities in alignment with the Foundation’s mission, values and goals. The Director facilitates development of an integrated office vision and innovative grant-making strategy; synthesizes learning and enhances the quality and impact of programming; and promotes a collaborative working environment in the office and across areas of expertise that maximize the diverse backgrounds, perspectives and skills of staff to accomplish Foundation goals. The Director manages, coaches, galvanizes and works closely with a small team of program staff in developing, monitoring and evaluating integrated grant programs and projects in support of regional goals.
The Foundation’s programs in West Africa strive to confront exclusion and expand justice to ensure all people are able to participate in a democracy in which underrepresented groups see their rights protected, and the advantages of progress are available to all. The work of the West Africa office specifically focuses on Gender Racial and Ethnic Justice (GREJ), in particular addressing gender based violence, and Natural Resources and Climate Change (NRCC) focusing on the governance of natural resources and ensuring the benefits of its extraction are extended to the poor and marginalized. The Director will ensure the grants and activities supported under its GREJ and NRCC programs in West Africa contribute to this goal. The Director also partners with Ford’s International Program Directors for GREJ and NRCC to ensure the grant making in West Africa is aligned with the larger global vision for these two areas.
The Director maintains effective ties and promotes strategic partnerships with local leaders, governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations, the media and other donors to leverage new resources, scale impact, and advance the goals of the office. The Director also collaborates with staff in the Foundation’s New York headquarters to oversee all workforce needs and legal matters, ensures that the Foundation complies with all relevant local laws and statutory obligations in a timely manner, maintains constructive working relations with government.
Additionally, the Director manages the office’s $10 million annual grant budget and an additional $4 million in funding to strengthen institutions and networks. They also prepare and manage an administrative budget and staff with responsibilities for accounting, grants administration and general services functions. The Director also works closely with senior management staff from around the world, including Regional and Program Directors from Ford’s offices in 11 countries in helping shape and integrate various aspects of the Foundation’s work regionally and globally.
Specifically, The Director Will
Primary Duties and Responsibilities
Criteria For Success
Required Qualifications
The successful candidate will have the following minimum qualifications and experience:
LOCATION:Â Lagos, Nigeria
Physical Requirements/Travel
This position is primarily a sedentary role. However, the person in this position may need to occasionally move about inside the office to liaise with internal staff, access files, office machinery and a copy machine/printer. Additionally, domestic/international travel will be expected, approximately 25%; some travel is directly related to grantmaking, but also to attend team conferences, retreats and meetings— and may occasionally include travel to rural or remote places with difficult conditions.
The Ford Foundation is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its programs, and operations. As part of this commitment, the Foundation will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application process, please contact talentacquisitionhr@fordfoundation.org or call (212) 573-4627.
Start Date: First Quarter 2021 (preferred).
Alignment to Culture and Values
Benefits
Salary: Salary is based on experience and on the Foundation’s commitment to internal equity. A generous benefits package is provided.
Equal employment opportunity and having a diverse staff are fundamental principles at The Ford Foundation, where employment and promotional opportunities are based upon individual capabilities and qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation/affectional preference, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic as established under law.
Tagged as: Ford Foundation, West Africa
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