THE FORD FOUNDATION
POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT
REPRESENTATIVE
Southern Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa
The Ford Foundation seeks to hire a dynamic, creative and innovative leader to serve as its Representative in Southern Africa. Building on Ford’s rich legacy in and longstanding commitment to promoting social justice in the region, the Representative will manage the Foundation’s activities and oversee its program development, external relations and administrative operations in Southern Africa—primarily in South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe with some work regionally.
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION
The Representative directs the Foundation’s activities in Southern Africa, providing overall leadership to the Foundation’s grant-making programs, managing the office in Johannesburg, and representing the Foundation to government, business, nonprofit leaders and the donor community. The Representative reports to a supervising Program Vice President based in New York.
The Representative is the Foundation’s leader in the region to many important constituencies. Specifically, the Representative 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 set of global initiatives. The Representative seeks to promote innovative grant-making; enhance the quality and impact of programming; and promote a collaborative working environment in the office and across areas of expertise that maximizes the diverse backgrounds, perspectives and skills of staff to accomplish Foundation goals. In collaboration with the thematic Directors based in New York, the Representative supervises and works closely with program staff in developing, monitoring and evaluating grant programs and projects within the office’s major fields of concern.
Additionally, the Representative prepares and manages the office’s $17 million grant and management budgets, oversees all legal matters, and supervises local administrative staff with responsibilities for accounting, grants administration, and general services functions. The Representative facilitates development of communications strategies; and maintains effective ties and promotes strategic partnerships with local leaders, non-governmental organizations and government agencies, the media and other donors to leverage new resources, scale impact, and advance the goals of the office.
The Representative also manages a modest grants portfolio of his/her own; collaborates with the Foundation’s other representatives in Africa to develop and implement Pan-African grant-making strategies; and works with senior management staff from around the world in helping shape various aspects of the Foundation’s work globally.
The Foundation’s programs in Southern Africa currently strive to:
Ø strengthen transparency and accountability in governance;
Ø advance social and economic rights;
Ø address HIV-related stigma and discrimination;
Ø tackle factors that undermine sexual and reproductive health;
Ø promote postsecondary education among excluded communities; and,
Ø promote economic fairness and opportunity for the poor and disadvantaged.
The Foundation works in South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe as well as providing support for Southern Africa regional efforts.
CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS
Ø Proven record of leadership, planning, and management success
Ø Substantial previous experience in and deep knowledge of the history and culture of
Southern Africa or sub-Saharan Africa
Ø In-depth understanding of development and social changes processes
Ø A proven ability to think analytically, critically with agility to translate ideas and
insights into action through coherent and viable program work
Ø An action oriented, entrepreneurial person who is a self starter that can work
independently, as well as in teams
Ø Ability to effectively lead a local office within a larger global organization with
headquarters in New York
Ø Demonstrated people management skills, including the ability to manage complex
relationships with private and public sector stakeholders in the region
Ø An understanding of the civil society landscape in Southern Africa
Ø Administrative skills, in particular an appreciation for the importance of strong fiscal
management
Ø Strong facilitation skills – the ability to listen and learn from diverse perspectives
Ø Exemplary communication skills, both oral and written
Ø Demonstrated organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple tasks
simultaneously
Ø Strong time management proficiency
Ø Sound, mature judgment and integrity
Ø Personal qualities of humility, capacity for self-reflection, and a sense of humor
Ø Ability to motivate staff through effective leadership, mentoring, coaching,
development, facilitation, evaluation and rewards
Ø Commitment to FF's mission and core values of equity, fairness and diversity
REQUIREMENTS
Ø An advanced graduate degree in public policy, law, business or related fields
Ø Ability to travel extensively on behalf of the Foundation
Ø Creativity, energy and non-traditional thinking capacity
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Target Date: July 2011
Salary: based on experience and on the Foundation’s commitment to internal equity. A generous benefits package is provided.
To apply for the position visit www.fordfoundation.org/employment or send full application materials (consisting of substantive cover letter, c.v., and a 5-20 page sole-authored writing sample in English) to Ms. S. Ashton at 320 E. 43rd St., New York, NY 10017, USA, by January 7, 2011.
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.
