Segal Family Foundation recrute 01 Program Officer

We are hiring a Program Officer, based in Benin, Senegal, or Togo.

About Segal Family Foundation (SFF)

Segal Family Foundation is a social impact funder and advisor. We back local African leaders with huge potential to transform society and help progressive donors do the same.
We know it’s possible to build a stronger, more resilient civil society in Africa, and we know only local leaders can create such community-driven change. Equity is our founding principle, and we’ve spent years developing a more just, localized approach. We believe philanthropy should promote self-determination within African communities, not work against it. Proximate leaders, with their intimate understanding of local problems and solutions, are central to everything we do. We support 250+ incredible organizations that 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 20 works across two continents. We move fast and adapt quickly as we find new and exciting ways to advance our mission. We have a lot of ambition, and we are looking for team members who will continue to help us punch above our weight.

Our team in Africa is spread across five countries and is responsible for finding and nurturing our community of partners. They also lead the implementation of our unique Active Partnership model of funding and support for our grantees. In the US, the team is responsible for supporting our Africa-side operations through executive leadership, data systems, communications, and partnerships work. We are seeking a Program Officer to join our Programs team for a three-year fixed-term position.

About the role

Over the years, SFF has supported over 50 partners working in Francophone Africa – a region that has been largely underinvested in by Western philanthropy. SFF aims to expand its presence in the Francophone region through the Social Impact Incubator (SII) program launched in Francophone West Africa (Benin, Senegal, and Togo) and the Great Lakes (Burundi and DRC).

Our Social Impact Incubator (SII) accelerates change at the leadership, organizational, and ecosystem levels, building upon existing social infrastructure and supercharging it into a thriving movement of local changemakers. Each year, SII provides a new cohort of participants with tailored support through practical in-class and virtual learning modules called Think
Pods, coaching sessions, competition challenges, and networking events. Upon graduating at the end of Year 1, participants are vetted for a long-term partnership as grantees of the SII funders and other funder friends. All alumni continue to benefit from inclusion in the SFF community through ongoing events, training, and promotion of their work. To date, 32 exceptional NGOs and social enterprises have been supported through the SII program in Francophone West Africa.

Together with our Great Lakes Program Officer, you will co-manage our SII Programs and support our current grantees in the region. In year 1, you will oversee a portfolio of 11-15 SFF grantees in designated countries, 32 SII West Africa Alumni, and a new cohort of 30 organizations. You will be responsible for program coordination and leading community-building activities in the region. Additionally, you will play a vital role in identifying and cultivating partnerships and strategic collaborations with other actors in the social impact ecosystem. In that way, we can leverage capital, connections, and opportunities for our partners to have a bigger impact and wider influence in their respective fields.

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 this new region to the next level. Reporting to the Director of Programs, you will play a critical role in contributing to the final year of SFF’s 2024 – 2026 Strategic Plan and shaping our next strategy.

You will establish priorities, goals, and strategies and execute them, leveraging support from various consultants and SFF colleagues in other countries.

This role is ideal for a Beninese, Senegalese, or Togolese national who is excited about the opportunity to identify, nurture, and support high-potential changemakers while influencing philanthropic practices within the ecosystem. The ideal candidate is a results-driven achiever who can work in a self-directed environment and drive outcomes both individually and as part of a team.

Your responsibilities will include

SII West Africa Program Coordination (50%)

• Be the focal point of contact for the SII program in West Africa
• Coordinate the recruitment process, research, and development for the SII approach and implementation of all activities in line with the program implementation plan
• Oversee the capacity building of the SII cohort(s), including participating in the SII training to ensure quality control, and providing occasional one-on-one on-site coaching and technical support when required.
• Lead community-building activities by activating networks and connecting with ecosystem builders, including linking SII champions to previous cohorts based in Malawi, Rwanda, Burundi, and Kenya for peer learning, linkages, and expansion of the SFF network database.
• Lead and conduct baseline, mid-term, and end-of-program surveys of the SII champions
• Participate in high-level budget and program design and reiteration meetings with SFF and program funders.
• Organize all on-the-ground logistics for SII Events, including the launch, graduation, and regional community-building activities.
• Ensuring smooth overall running of the program and fulfilling administrative tasks (including coordinating SII West Africa meetings and events as well as donor reporting).
  SII Great Lakes Program Support (20%)
• Support with the SII Great Lakes recruitment process and baseline/mid-term and end-of-program monitoring process.
• Support the SII Great Lakes team’s community-building activities when required.
• Participate in high-level budget and program design and reiteration meetings with SFF and program funders.
• Support with on-the-ground logistics for SII Events, including the launch, graduation, and regional community-building activities as and when required.

Implementing SFF’s grantmaking and Active Partnership activities (20%)

• Conduct regular due diligence on current grantee partners to evaluate year-to-year progress on their program effectiveness, impact model, and organizational health. Using SFF’s tools, objectively evaluate the organization, its team, potential, and systems, and make funding recommendations.
• Manage a portfolio of 11 – 15 grantee partners in Senegal, Togo, Benin, Guinea, and DRC. This may include partners in other SFF countries.
• Present assessments 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.
• Implement initiatives to promote cohort spirit, cross-learning, and sharing knowledge and good practices among SFF grantee partners in the region.
• Driving strategic partnerships and ecosystem engagement to champion our agenda of equitable, responsive philanthropy (5%)
• Keep a finger on the pulse of social sector trends and developments to identify opportunities to leverage our presence, networks, and experiences to impact the West African social impact ecosystem.
• Implement strategic activities, such as convenings, blogs, and speaking opportunities, to amplify our work and share our approaches to equitable grantmaking and locally driven development.
• You are passionate about locally-driven development and excited about identifying and supporting visionaries with bold ideas for positively transforming 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 driving change on the ground. You know the needs of social sector organizations, including programs, strategy, and leadership.

Strategic and experienced social sector leader

• You have experience shaping winning strategies for organizations operating in complex environments.
• You enjoy working across diverse fields and sectors, identifying common trends, threads, gaps, and opportunities, and designing creative projects and concepts to address them.
• You have a track record of executing ideas and bringing concepts to life with strong results.
• You have significant experience in development, civil society strengthening, or organizational development working with NGOs and social enterprises in West Africa, 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 strategy around funding and influence. Past interdisciplinary work experience with cross-sector exposure is highly preferred, such as 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.
• You are a strong relationship builder with the networks and skills necessary to attract other experts, resource persons, and partners.
• 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, as well as organizing events and get-togethers.
• You can communicate confidently and effectively (in English and French) with diverse audiences, including grantees, colleagues, board members, policymakers, and other donors.
• You can navigate challenging conversations with empathy, clarity, and firmness. You possess excellent listening skills, confidence, curiosity, a sense of humor, humility, and energy.
• Resourceful self-starter who thrives in an entrepreneurial environment You have strong written and analytical skills. You can analyze and synthesize observations from various sources into well-written reports.
• 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 grantmaking and administrative activities.
• You have a track record in juggling multiple projects, have strong time-management skills, and can meet deadlines.
• You are adaptable. You love to travel and are excited about the world around you, meeting new people, and experiencing new cultures.
• You are tech-savvy and can pick up systems quickly. Experience with Salesforce, Slack, and Google Suite is highly preferred.
• You live the values of Segal Family Foundation and can demonstrate a history of your engagement with each.

• Support the Equitable Giving team in cultivating relationships with INGOs, embassies, foundations, and other in-country funders to leverage funding for our partners.

Administration & Learning (5%)

• Contribute to developing and implementing strategy, work plans, and budgets. 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. Cultivate mutually rewarding relationships with colleagues in other countries to share knowledge resources and cross-pollinate ideas.

Who we are looking for:

A multi-cultural champion of locally-driven development

• You are passionate about locally-driven development and excited about identifying and supporting visionaries with bold ideas for positively transforming 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 driving change on the ground. You know the needs of social sector organizations, including programs, strategy, and leadership.

Strategic and experienced social sector leader

• You have experience shaping winning strategies for organizations operating in complex environments.
• You enjoy working across diverse fields and sectors, identifying common trends, threads, gaps, and opportunities, and designing creative projects and concepts to address them.
• You have a track record of executing ideas and bringing concepts to life with strong results.
• You have significant experience in development, civil society strengthening, or organizational development working with NGOs and social enterprises in West Africa, 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 strategy around funding and influence. Past interdisciplinary work experience with cross-sector exposure is highly preferred, such as 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.
• You are a strong relationship builder with the networks and skills necessary to attract other experts, resource persons, and partners.
• 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, as well as organizing events and get-togethers.
• You can communicate confidently and effectively (in English and French) with diverse audiences, including grantees, colleagues, board members, policymakers, and other donors.
• You can navigate challenging conversations with empathy, clarity, and firmness. You possess excellent listening skills, confidence, curiosity, a sense of humor, humility, and energy.
• Resourceful self-starter who thrives in an entrepreneurial environment You have strong written and analytical skills. You can analyze and synthesize observations from various sources into well-written reports.
• 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 grantmaking and administrative activities.
• You have a track record in juggling multiple projects, have strong time-management skills, and can meet deadlines.
• You are adaptable. You love to travel and are excited about the world around you, meeting new people, and experiencing new cultures.
• You are tech-savvy and can pick up systems quickly. Experience with Salesforce, Slack, and Google Suite is highly preferred.
• 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 rockstars). Every day, we support proximate leaders changing the lives of communities and youth.
• Career Development: We hire ambitious people and support them to develop their skills and leadership potential. We want to see you grow and will support your career trajectory.
• Autonomy: We hire smart and talented people and let them lead the way. You will get a team of 20 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.
• Benefits Package: We believe in supporting the well-being of our employees, so we offer world-class healthcare coverage, generous annual leave, and professional development opportunities.

Other Information

Expected start date: March 2026.

This is a full-time position for a fixed term of three (3) years.

Candidates must be fluent in English and French with strong oral and written communication skills.

The starting gross salary for this position is $45,000 to $55,000.

Onboarding in your first year will include at least 25% of the time shadowing other team members in other SFF program countries. After the first year, travel of up to 30% is likely, including regular visits to partners, SII champions, or SII alumni based in your designated countries, as well as time on the ground with our staff and partners in East and Southern Africa.

There will be 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.

Candidates must have work authorization in Benin, Togo, or Senegal. We are not able to cover the cost of relocation.

The job offer will be subject to safeguarding standards, including appropriate background checks and adherence to the SFF safeguarding policy.

Want to apply?

Interested applicants should complete this google form:
https://forms.gle/qj4AB8LpLVGe3ssw7 and upload their CVs.

The selection process consists of case studies, interviews, and reference checks.

Segal Family Foundation provides reasonable accommodations in the application process for applicants with disabilities. Please let us know if you require any physical or cognitive accommodations during the interview process.

All official communication regarding the role will come from email addresses in the segalfamilyfoundation.org domain.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.