EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CFK AFRICA
CFK Africa fights extreme poverty in informal settlements with youth leadership development and innovative public health research and service delivery. CFK Africa seeks a dynamic Executive Director who can take CFK Africa to the next level with expansion in informal settlements in East Africa. CFK Africa is registered in Kenya with the NGO Coordination Board, is a U.S. 501c3 non-profit, and a major affiliate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director (ED) will have overall strategic, fundraising and operational responsibility for CFK Africa’s staff, programs, expansion, and execution of its mission.
Balancing internal and external objectives will be key to success in the role. The ED will continue to build CFK Africa’s credibility and influence externally while building trust internally, nurturing a culture of excellence, collaboration, and engagement to sustainably achieve greater impact in collaboration with the informal settlements communities with which we work.
EMPLOYMENT TERMS
- Full time, with full benefits and salary commensurate with experience
- Start-date flexible
- Nairobi-based with travel required; some regional and some international
EXPERIENCE, DESIRED COMPETENCIES AND QUALIFICATIONS
- Uncompromising integrity
- Passion to make a lasting impact in informal settlements with direct service and through research and advocacy
- Bachelor’s degree or higher required, MBA, MPH is a plus
- Proven leadership experience with revenue generation and budget responsibility
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Experience with research, monitoring, and evaluation
- Experience with nonprofit management and/or governance
- Experience working with governmental organisations
- Experience working with U.S. based or affiliated organisations is a plus
- Experience with community-based organisations is a plus
- Experience working and/or living in informal settlements is a plus
KEY TASKS
T1. Strategic Leadership and Management (25%):
- Design and execute expansion and strategic planning processes for CFK Africa’s work
- Oversee the development and implementation of systems and processes that will enable CFK Africa to have a big picture view of community needs, community-driven actions and evidence of impact
- Proactively shape CFK Africa’s long-term strategy and set strong foundations for sustained success
- Balance stakeholder views and take calculated risks to pursue bold opportunities that increase impact
- Refine the role of CFK Africa in the broader nonprofit sector to effectively support, partner and lead in this space
- Be accountable for the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) outlined in the CFK Africa’s 2026 Strategic Plan
- Ensure effective systems to track scaling progress, and regularly evaluate program components, so as to measure successes that can be effectively communicated to the board, funders, and other stakeholders
- Establish processes that ensure operational excellence; constantly work to increase efficiency and impact through adaptive management
- Effectively communicate CFK Africa’s progress and impact while connecting the efforts and contributions of stakeholders to specific outcomes to stimulate additional engagement and support
- Backstop, manage, and guide the CFK Africa team in overcoming challenges, staying on schedule, and delivering quality results
T2: Fundraising and partnerships development (50%):
- Cost the CFK Africa 2026 Strategic Plan, develop cost-effective annual budgets and lead the development of a short and long-term strategy to achieve organizational goals
- Own revenue targets, drive fundraising efforts, identify strategic partnership opportunities, and maintain a robust opportunity pipeline to sustain year over year growth for CFK Africa
- Build trust, credibility, and confidence with stakeholders, both internally and externally; build and leverage a network of relationships and partnerships
- Foster deep, genuine relationships and effective partnerships that promotes collaboration with all key donors and stakeholders
- Deepen and refine all aspects of CFK Africa’s communications to create a stronger brand while using external presence and relationships to garner new opportunities
T3: People, culture and change management (25%):
- Effectively communicate the vision and mission of CFK Africa to inspire leadership and teams to work collaboratively to achieve organizational goals
- Empower all team members, effectively but cautiously delegate authority and accountability to the team to deliver on strategic objectives while fostering genuine open communication and feedback across project teams
- Foster the recruitment, retention and development of exceptional talent, increase diversity while creating an environment and culture of respect, trust, equity, compassion, and belonging
- Strengthen the team’s capacity by establishing best-in-class development planning to support staff at all levels
- Inspire trust and build alignment through effective communication while confidently leading the Board and staff towards informed decision-making
- Ensure organization-wide compliance with all Kenya government regulatory authorities
- Perform regular organization-wide risk assessments and appraise the Board as appropriate
- Support recruitment and onboarding of new Board members
- Utilize Board member capacities to improve organization’s public standing and growth
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
Interested candidates should submit an application that includes a resume and cover letter that addresses why you are interested in this position via this online form.
CFK Africa will review applications on a rolling basis until filled.
