East Africa Fellows Program, Acumen Fund, East Africa
Building off of the success of the Global Fellows Program, we are expanding our investment in leadership with the East Africa Fellows Program. This program is made up of individuals who are driving groundbreaking projects with large social impact both as employees with businesses, public sector organizations, and leading NGOs – and as entrepreneurs. The East Africa Fellows Program offers Fellows the opportunity to receive world-class leadership training along with the tools to accelerate the progress of their social projects.
The East Africa Fellows Program is designed to develop the Fellows’ leadership skills and strengthen the project that they are driving. The year long program is comprised of five multiday seminars – including one regional trip – and culminates in an innovation conference. The seminars will give Fellows access to world-class speakers, trainers, and mentors who allow Fellows to deepen their skills in leadership, social change, and innovation. The regional trip gives Fellows the opportunity to learn about social change models in other countries. The innovation conference is meant to be a chance for Fellows to put into practice the skills they’ve learned over the course of the year, as well as provide a platform to showcase their projects to a larger community of leaders.
Acumen Fund seeks to identify and train these next generation leaders united by a common mission of harnessing the power of social innovation to create solutions to East Africa’s most pressing problems. Hundreds of NGOs exist in East Africa, and millions of dollars in foreign assistance reach the region each year, yet people are still living in poverty. For real development to happen in East Africa, it must take a drastically different direction. This new direction must be defined by a bold set of East African business, nonprofit, and government leaders.
We launched the East Africa Fellows Program in July 2011 to train these leaders. Click here to meet inaugural class of East Africa Fellows, and learn about the unique social change projects that each Fellow is driving! If you’re interested in applying for next year’s class, sign up here to receive updates from Acumen Fund, including an announcement about the application launch for the East Africa Fellows Program. In the meantime, you can find out how this program can help you bring about positive change in East Africa.
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The project is a multi-donor partnership initiative to advance international criminal justice in Africa, with three main objectives, namely to:
Develop and implement collaborative and strategic grantmaking to advance international criminal justice through focused and effective advocacy; foster civil society networking and capacity strengthening for concerted regional advocacy against impunity; and serve as a resource to donors for informed programming on the subject (starting with comprehensive scoping studies of key issues and actors on the landscape of international criminal justice in Africa).
The project’s strategies include grantmaking, peer learning, convenings and knowledge building which can help to consolidate the advances already made in international criminal justice in Africa, and improve relations among international players in international criminal justice.
DEADLINE: August 20, 2012
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Policy Advisor, Liaison Office with the African Union, Oxfam, Ethiopia
SALARY: From GBP 24,245 (take home pay) per annum; Oxfam will meet the tax and social security liabilities of the post holder in addition to the net salary. A competitive benefits package will be offered to the successful candidate including housing, pension, medical, education among others
Background
Oxfam seeks to recruit dynamic men and women to support our work to hold global multi- lateral institutions and African States accountable to the claims of people living in poverty , suffering and injustice in countries we work in. Established in 2009, the Liaison Office with the AU is part of the Pan Africa Programme, a continental public policy advocacy programme with staff based in Nairobi, Addis Ababa and Dakar.
The role
You will act as the policy and advocacy Pan Africa focal point for Oxfam International on the African Union organs. Write/commission with input from advocacy staff and approval from the Head of Office policy-briefing papers for external use focusing on Peace and Security and Governance. Provide advice and support in developing advocacy strategies. Undertake lobbying and advocacy on behalf of Oxfam, maintaining a network of contacts and allies in Africa amongst Think Tanks, Governments, CSOs and the African Union. Undertake lobbying of African Governments and institutions as required. Support coalitions, Oxfam partners and alliances on advocacy and campaigns targeting the African Union Undertake generic advocacy training and mentoring for staff, partners and alliances in Africa. Support and mentor policy and advocacy staff and senior managers in lobbying activities.
Competencies
At least a master’s degree in a relevant field.
Demonstrated experience of public policy advocacy
Proven record of media, advocacy and communication experience in Africa.
Sound understanding of poverty, human security and human rights within Africa, and the work of non-governmental organisations and other players in the sector.
Demonstrated understanding of the possibilities and tactics for influencing multi-lateral institutions and African Governments
Excellent conceptual and analytical skills and demonstrable ability to think strategically, innovatively and practically to improve programme quality.
Excellent communication and facilitation skills including speaking and writing fluently in English and French. Capacity to write appropriately for different external audiences.
Well developed interpersonal and team skills and proven ability to be flexible and sensitive in demanding situations. Passion for working with others. Diplomacy, tact and negotiation skills, coupled with a drive to achieve results.
This is a highly challenging opportunity for a dedicated and highly motivated professional, with a strong commitment to Oxfam’s values and beliefs. If you believe you are the candidate we are looking for, please submit your application and CV including a day time contact by applying online at www.oxfam.org.uk/jobs using INT5570.
DEADLINE: August 4, 2012 (UK time)
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Job Opportunity: AfriLabs seeks Director (focused on tech innovation across the continent)
AfriLabs is pleased to announce the opening of its director position. This is the next step in our effort to build a strong association and to support the continued growth and development of innovation hubs across the continent. This position is made possible via funding made available through our partners at Hivos, the Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation.
AfriLabs is a network organization that supports innovation hubs in Africa: Non-profit registered; Consortium of independent African innovation hubs, co-working spaces, accelerators and incubators; Individually, each hub serves as a nexus point for innovators, entrepreneurs and investors; Goal is to support the growth of the hubs, their respective members and surrounding communities.
Our Objective:
Establish AfriLabs as a catalyst for African borne innovation in areas such as mobile/web, design, fabrication, architecture and renewable resources/energy to name but a few. The aim of this effort is to create success stories and decent work for young Africans by focusing on technology and innovation as platforms for entrepreneurship, both as a means of self-employment and as job creation for others.
» Understand the market for innovation and enterprise development in Sub-Saharan Africa;
» Generate, share and promote success stories;
» Discover synergies between innovation hubs;
» Document and share best practices;
» Help new organizations emerge;
» Enhance visibility of the network and her actors;
» Organize networking events and facilitate other exchanges, both online and offline;
» Secure resources for the network, participating hubs and their respective members;
» Generally promote developments in this space and explore other common interests.
Responsibilities:
The director is asked to lead the continued development of AfriLabs as a network-based organization. The key deliverable is to establish strategic partnerships needed to grow the organization and allow for the implementation of programs.
Additionally, the director has the following responsibilities:
» Preserve the founding principles of the AfriLabs charter;
» Establish a work plan for 2012 – 2014;
» Manage programs and engage AfriLab members in their deployment;
» Facilitate outreach and applications of new labs;
» Manage relations with strategic partners and establish new partnerships;
» Lead fundraising efforts for AfriLabs and its members;
» Responsible for any and all reporting to stakeholders;
» Coordinate the annual AfriLabs meeting, host quarterly meetings with the board of directors and facilitate monthly calls with member labs;
» Manage the AfriLabs website and related social media channels;
» Generate, share and promote success stories;
» Support the continued development of the AfriLabs network in any way possible.
Desired Skills:
The desired candidate is an evangelist of the AfriLabs vision and ideally has a wealth of experience in the space, leverages an impressive network of contacts, has experience fundraising and speaks both French and English. We are looking for the following skills:
» Proven track record fundraising for organizations similar to AfriLabs;
» Has a background in African technology and innovation related sectors;
» Is a networker and leverages an extensive network of contacts;
» Has a track record building partnerships with public and private sector organizations;
» Has a background in finance and relevant work experience investing/facilitating investments in early stage innovation related companies;
» Shows strong management skills, controlling operational budgets and reporting;
» Has lived and worked in Southern, Eastern and/or Western Africa;
» Speaks French and English fluently.
Send your CV and motivation letter to info@afrilabs.com.
DEADLINE: September 1, 2012.