Executive Director

Target Salary: $130,000 (commensurate with experience)

Amref Health Africa is Africa’s leading health non-profit organization. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, we partner with communities in over 35 countries to sustainably strengthen fragile health systems so that improvements in access to life-saving health care can last for generations to come.

We know that lasting health change is only possible when it’s community-led and our Canadian office supports the work by raising funds, advocating for, and engaging Canadians on Africa and African health issues.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Executive Director (ED) is the most senior staff person of Amref Health Africa in Canada, a national charity registered in Canada, and is responsible to advance the vision, mission, and values of the organization under the strategic oversight of the Board of Directors. The ED is the operational leader, guiding day-to-day management decisions and developing and implementing the strategic direction of the organization in Canada, in alignment with Amref Health Africa’s global vision, mission, and values. The ED supports the governance mandate of the Board and ensures that appropriate accountability, transparency, and risk management practices are in place. The ED has overall responsibility for the quality of programs and for the allocation of both financial and human resources. Ensuring effective communication of the organization’s mission and strategy with all stakeholders, the ED builds successful relationships with staff, funders, the broader community, and with partners in the wider nonprofit sector.

The Executive Director is also a member of the Amref Global Senior Leadership Team (includes the Senior Executives of Amref offices and meets virtually quarterly, and in-person annually).

RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic leadership, culture, and management:

• Lead the organization’s strategy development and planning processes.
• Lead operational planning and implementation, ensuring annual and long-term plans are developed and integrated across the key functions.
• Nurture a high-performance organizational culture and personally demonstrating the organization’s values.

Mission Delivery:

• In consultation with Amref HQ and the Program Development Director, support the development, planning and implementation of mission and strategy-aligned programs and initiatives.
• Oversee the development and implementation of measurement and evaluation approaches for Amref Canada funded programs.

Partnership and stakeholder development:

• Develop and steward relationships, alliances, and service-delivery partnerships with external stakeholders in support of Amref’s mission and strategies.
• In partnership with the lead Communications staff, create strategies to increase the organization’s visibility among target audiences in Canada.
• Liaise regularly with Amref’s offices in Africa, Europe, and United States, contributing to joint initiatives, sharing best practices, and ensuring the Canada office is an effective partner.
• Steward and build relationships with Global Affairs Canada, foundations, and corporate partners.

Revenue Generation: Developing and stewarding increased and sustainable revenues to fulfil Amref’s mission through sources including philanthropy and institutional funding.

• Working with the Director of Development, oversee the development, implementation and accomplishment of multi-year revenue strategies.
• Working with the Program Director, participate in strategy and processes to guide institutional/government funding and proposal development.
• Provide executive leadership support to the fundraising efforts of Amref Canada, including serving on the Fundraising Committee of the board of directors, personally engaging with donors and prospects.

Financial and operational oversight: Overseeing operations, including oversight of the development and implementation of management policies, operating plans, and budgets.

• Working with the Director of Finance, take responsibility for the fiscal integrity of the organization and ensure submission to the Board of annual and quarterly financial statements.
• Responsible for effective fiscal and operational management that generally anticipates operating within the approved budget and ensures maximum resource utilization.
• Guide the Director of Finance in ensuring formal business processes and financial controls are utilized (as informed by GAAP, CRA, and applicable best practices).

Human Resources oversight: Ensure Human Resources (employee, contractor, and volunteer) programs, protocols and practices are in place appropriate to the size of the team and organization.

• Lead in fulfilling the organization’s equity, diversity, inclusion, and access strategy.
• Create a culture of collaboration and teamwork, recognizing staff skills and competencies.

Board Governance support and implementation: Support the Board of Directors to steward and discharge its legal and fiduciary duties.

• Serve as an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors and its Committees (Governance and Human Resources Committee; Fundraising Committee; Audit and Finance Committee / Investment Subcommittee), providing coordination and strategy development and decision-making support to the Board and its Committee members in the fulfilment of their responsibilities and Terms of Reference.
• Build open, respectful, and trust-based relationships with the board of directors.
• Provide strategic input to Board meeting agendas; ensure relevant reports and materials are provided in a timely and accurate manner.
• Keep the Board abreast of Amref Health Africa Global information and facilitate engagement of Board members at the International Board/Board committees.

External Relations

• Serve as a champion, ambassador and lead spokesperson as required at internal and external settings (e.g., Speaking at Amref events; serving on external panels involving sector partners; speaking to media), by invitation and as a proactive member of the sector, representing Amref Canada’s vision, mission and values.

Travel

• Minimum 2 trips per year expected – 1 to Europe and 1 to Africa, for meetings of the SLT (locations vary)

QUALIFICATIONS

• University education and demonstrated work experience in related discipline (or equivalent blend of applicable education and experience).
• 8 years experience at a Senior Director level (or higher) preferred.
• Experience in the NGO sector and a solid understanding of international development issues, with a focus on Africa preferred.
• Demonstrated leadership in equity, diversity and inclusion policy and practice; culturally competent.
• Exceptional leadership skills- managed teams of staff through direct and indirect reports, able to ensure the competencies of employees to meet organizational challenges and to perform well and productively.
• Proven fundraising experience with government, foundations, corporations, individual and major donors.
• Extensive experience cultivating productive relationships with multiple stakeholders, nationally and internationally, including government officials, donors at all levels, global partners, NGOs, corporate executives, and corporate leaders.
• Partnership development and facilitation skills.
• Strong understanding of strategic planning within the nonprofit sector.
• Knowledge of board governance processes and board reporting in the non-profit sector.
• Experience overseeing all key functional areas including program development, HR, communications, marketing and fundraising, technology and Board management.
• Excellent communications skills, including demonstrated ability to effectively communicate ideas and actions to people across an organization, as well as competence with media work and public speaking.
• Strong problem-solving skills with demonstrated creative, innovative and strategic thinking.
• Ability to develop a structure and process to oversee the integration and interdependence of multiple organizational functions (including policies and programs)
• Capacity for resourcefulness and experience managing within budget restrictions.
• Demonstrated competencies to support internal reviews of organizational management, structures, resources, processes, policies, procedures, and systems.
• Demonstrated competencies for identifying and mitigating risks for AMREF. 
• Demonstrated competencies for enabling board directors to be influencers, especially in fundraising capabilities. 

OTHER

• Eligible to work in Canada. Hybrid work (office located in Toronto).
• Ability to travel internationally, at least once annually, for executive leadership and/or program oversight responsibilities.
• Proficiency with MS Office, and other enterprise systems and efficiency tools.
• Senior volunteer experience in the nonprofit sector an asset (example: serving on a NFP board of directors

This search is being conducted on behalf of Amref Canada by crawfordconnect, a search firm specializing in recruiting non-profit and charitable professionals for Canada’s non-profit sector. If someone you know may be interested in this position, feel free to forward this information – we would be pleased to connect with them.

If you have questions about this position, please reach out to Helmut Hager at [email protected].

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How to Apply:

APPLICATION DETAILS

We request all applications be submitted online through the crawfordconnect website application portal. Qualified applicants are invited to submit their resume and cover letter online in confidence.

To submit your application by Friday, September 22nd 2023, please click on APPLY to upload your cover letter and resume in two separate documents. Issues with applying? Please email [email protected].

We thank all applicants for applying, however, only qualified candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.