Ashoka East Africa Venture Representative Program 2018

Deadline: July 31, 2018

Applications are invited for the Ashoka East Africa Venture Representative Fellowship 2018. Ashoka envisions a world in which everyone is a changemaker. They identify and support the world’s leading social entrepreneurs, learn from the patterns in their innovations, and mobilizes a global community around those patterns to build an “everyone a changemaker” world. To this end, Ashoka seeks to strengthen its East Africa program by adding to the team a dynamic, self-motivated, entrepreneurial and highly skilled Venture Representative.

Since 1981, Ashoka has identified, brought together and invested in a network of more than 3,500 of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs in 90 countries, whose systems-changing innovations inspire and enable more citizens to be changemakers. Already the largest global network of thought and change leaders across every issue area imaginable, the Ashoka Fellowship strives to grow in numbers and diversity at an even more rapid pace as they strive to create an Everyone a Changemaker world.

Responsibilities

The Fellow’s responsibilities include:

• Build, manage, and grow the pipeline of systems-changing social entrepreneurs in the region by cultivating​ Ashoka’s nominator network, mapping and expanding into new networks, regularly investigating diverse thematic areas based on internal learning questions, local/national/global crises, and partner interests
• Manage the Ashoka Fellow selection process and logistics in the region in close coordination with the country, regional, and global teams;
• Prepare and champion system changing social entrepreneurs through Ashoka’s Fellow selection process, including conducting in-depth interviews and site visits with the social entrepreneurs and people closest to the innovations, synthesizing and documenting the findings, and authoring an “Ashoka Fellow profile” for each Fellow candidate
• Liaise with the Global Venture team and stay abreast of new opportunities for innovation in Fellow search, selection, and engagement
• Coordinate cross-Africa initiatives as needed to align with Ashoka Africa strategy
• Help secure resources and partners to grow the number and diversity of systems-changing social entrepreneurs in East Africa that join Ashoka’s Fellowship with data, budget, marketing materials, prospect identification and engagement etc.
• Identify and communicate the trends, patterns, and insights from the annual Fellow selection process and the newly elected Fellows in the region by creating knowledge infrastructure and reports

Eligibility

• Applicants should have a strong entrepreneurial track record with experience leading innovation inside existing organizations or launching an independent initiative/organization;
• At least 5 years of professional experience, working directly with groups of people from different backgrounds and seniority levels;
• Excellent spoken and written communication with a passion for social impact and public interest;
• Skilled at engaging thought leaders and innovators from various sectors in insightful learning conversations and interpersonal skills;
• Ability to understand, break down, and articulate complex systemic problems and solutions in a concise, powerful way;
• Strong project management skills;
• Computer savvy including strength in use of internet, CRM software, MS word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint (web designing is an added advantage);
• Fluency in English is required, Fluency in French is an added advantage;
• Deep empathy, creativity, commitment to excellence and teamwork

Application

Please submit a CV highlighting your academic, work, and/or volunteer experience where you’ve demonstrated leadership and/or involvement in creatively addressing social issues.

Submit a cover letter which answers these two questions: (1) Have you built and sustained innovative solutions for social change in your school/community/workplace?  (2) How would you describe the systems-changing new idea of an Ashoka Fellow you are most familiar with?

Submit your CV and cover letter via Jobvite and Click here to apply