Program Officer

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 350+ 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 19 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 in implementing our unique Active Partnership model of funding and supporting our grantees. In the US, the team is responsible for

supporting our Africa-side operations through executive leadership, data systems, communications, and partnerships work.

About the role

Segal Family Foundation’s Southern Africa portfolio comprises 63 grantee partners across Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. This role will initially manage a portfolio of 42 exceptional NGOs and social enterprises working to improve their communities across Malawi. Together with our Program Officer based in Zambia, the Program Officer based in Malawi will manage an annual budget of $2.6 million USD and drive SFF’s strategy in Southern Africa. As you get to know these organizations and their leaders, you will identify their organizational strengths and needs and devise tailored professional support programs. You will also play a critical role in identifying and cultivating partnerships and strategic collaborations with other actors in the Southern African development and 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 Southern Africa to the next level. Reporting to the Director of Programs, you will play a critical role in contributing to SFF’s 2024 – 2026 Strategic Plan and bringing it to life in the Southern African context. 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 SADC national based in Malawi who is excited by the opportunity to identify, nurture, and support high-potential changemakers while influencing philanthropy 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:

Implementing SFF’s grantmaking activities in Malawi (50%)

• 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.
• 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.

Offering professional support and community building through Active Partnership (30%)

• Build a creative approach to effectively and efficiently deliver professional support in a portfolio with many diverse organizations and a wide range of needs. This may include coordinating regional programs such as SFF’s Social Impact Incubator.
• Develop and maintain a strong network of external consultants and resource persons to provide technical professional support to partners on different aspects of their programming and organizational health.
• Implement initiatives to promote cohort spirit, cross-learning, and sharing knowledge and good practices among SFF grantee partners in Southern Africa.

Driving strategic partnerships and ecosystem engagement to champion our agenda of

equitable, responsive philanthropy (10%)

• 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 Southern 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.
• 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 (10%)

• Contribute to developing and implementing Southern Africa strategy, work plans, and budgets.
• As needed, support and coordinate the logistics of program-related events, such as site visits, workshops, training seminars, meetings, and conferences.
• 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
• Strategic and experienced social sector leader
• Community and relationship builder
• Resourceful self-starter who thrives in an entrepreneurial environment
• You live the values of Segal Family Foundation and can demonstrate a history of your engagement with each.

See the full job description here: https://shorturl.at/nj90I

The selection process consists of case studies, interviews, and reference checks. It will be carried out in collaboration with Resani, our HR partner based in Malawi.

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 or resaniconsulting.com domains. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.