NextBillion - A WDI Publication

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (www.dell.org) builds pathways that change lives for families around the world. With offices in Austin, TX; New Delhi, India; Cape Town, South Africa; and Tel Aviv, Israel, the foundation supports programs that advance quality public education, promote children’s health, strengthen family economic stability, and support the Jewish community. Since its inception, the foundation has committed over $2.8 billion to initiatives that expand opportunities and improve outcomes for families globally.

Current Opportunity: Head of East Africa – Nairobi, Kenya

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation currently has a new Head of East Africa position open, reporting to the Head of Africa. This role requires that the person be based in Nairobi, Kenya. We are seeking an individual with a strong business mindset who can see opportunities and work collaboratively with non-profit and private agencies, businesses, social entrepreneurs, government entities, and other implementation partners to design, lead and sustain projects and programs that achieve results for disadvantaged children, youth, and families. The ideal candidate will be well connected within East Africa, possessing extensive contacts and connections across the non-profit and for-profit sectors. They should be both an influencer and an implementer, adept at building and leveraging networks to drive impactful initiatives and foster collaboration among a variety of stakeholders.Our commitment is to drive measurable, outsized outcomes for our target communities through innovation, collaboration, and partnership, all of which are key to enabling our mission. The Head of East Africa should be purpose-driven and passionate about tangibly accelerating opportunities for individuals. and communities striving to overcome barriers and achieve their full potential. This position requires a natural leader with a wide range of skills from strategy formulation, operations consulting, and investment management. This role is cross-functional in nature and requires a highly collaborative candidate with a “get things done” attitude. This role entails working hand-in-hand with internal and external partners, bringing the strategic ability to see across organizations and systems, making connections where others cannot.What you will do:
Portfolio Development & Strategy:
• Define portfolio investment and giving strategy to drive outsized impact in the Foundation’s work.
• Proactively lead projects with existing and new grantees, as well as mission-aligned entities and related stakeholders, to continue to ensure the success of MSDF grants and investments.
• Make recommendations to the relevant portfolio peers and leadership about the design, development, and scale of new models and practices that deepen impact and create
opportunities to ensure more effective allocation of public and private resources.
• Act as a decision-making member of the Africa Programs Management Committee in determining funding strategy, setting aggressive impact targets, and getting projects ready
for board review and approval.

Actively Manage Programs and Program Outcomes:
• Lead project management activities that deliver measurable (and sustainable) positive impact on children, youth, and families through various interventions.
• Work closely with investees and grantees to unlock value and support the growth of these organizations in key operational areas.
• Facilitate the overall program implementation with a fanatical eye for detail.

Strategic Partnership Management:
• Lead idea generation and collaboration with partners to develop new innovations that further the Foundation’s strategies.
• Manage relationships with grantees and partners to ensure timely and regular engagement by setting clear agendas for partner meetings, documenting progress and lessons learned, and providing analytical assessments to elevate opportunities for adaptive management and course correction.

Portfolio Assessment and Knowledge Management:
• Lead rigorous appraisals of foundation-supported projects, drive active projects for maximum success, and make hard choices to move away from ineffective initiatives, as appropriate.
• Make active use of funded project results and external third-party evaluation data to drive internal decision-making.
• Synthesize key findings and drive adoption of lessons learned within the Foundation and beyond.

Education / Experience you will need to be successful in this role:
• A mission-aligned individual with a Bachelor’s degree, minimum of 10+ years of experience leading/managing complex, integrated projects with clear, demonstrated outcomes & impact measures. Master’s degree preferred. Management experience required.
• Must have experience in strategy, management consulting, investment management, operations management, or project management. An ideal candidate will bring a track record of delivering measurable outcomes in ambiguous and challenging contexts.
• The ability to think strategically and conceptually using strong analytical skills to identify and implement solutions to address complex business or societal problems, and then to effectively influence a wide cross-section of people.
• A willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done and be impact-focused. Highly developed organizational and prioritization skills will underline the ability to work in a fast-paced environment.

The successful candidate will possess the following skills and traits:
• A true curiosity and commitment to finding more effective ways to offer underserved children and families pathways out of poverty; a willingness and desire to engage fully in the challenges of this work and to communicate its lessons, successes, and conclusions.
• Exceptional leadership/management (team building) skills, including experience as an effective people manager.
• Strong business mindset and rigorous approach to the work.
• Drive to create/initiate new initiatives.
• Strong “end-product” and results orientation.
• Outstanding mastery of the details of projects and initiatives.
• Ability to conceptualize and put our mission into practice via an analytical, fact-based approach to problem solving and implementation.
• An ability to dive into the details of a project when needed yet synthesize learnings to shape the overall strategy of our work.
• Skilled in using data and technology applications to improve outcomes for children and families.
Ability to project manage external partners and vendors, as well as foster internal and external stakeholder relationships.
• A demonstrated ability to influence from the outside and achieve results regardless of whether you are the direct leader of the work.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills with an emphasis on netting out complex situations to meet the understanding of a wide range of stakeholders, especially Foundation’s senior leadership.
• Embody the highest levels of stewardship and ethical leadership in administering the foundation’s resources.
• Agile and thoughtful while adapting to shifting priorities potentially at a rapid pace – comfortable dealing with the ambiguity inherent in the work.
• Humility and an ability to empathize with partners and stakeholders.
• Mastery of Microsoft Office suite, including the ability to perform advanced analytics in Excel and create articulate presentations in PowerPoint.
• Travel requirements: 30% domestic and regional travel (focused within East and Southern Africa).