Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage is recruiting a Head of Africa Engagement to lead both our Africa Team and the development and implementation of Girls Not Brides’ strategy in Africa.  The person will play a critical role in managing collaboration with our  National Partnerships, Members, Coalitions and relevant African institutions to spearhead the end Child Marriage agenda across Africa.

They will contribute to the secretariat’s broader strategic, programmatic and communications work with the African regional perspective (e.g. advocacy, communications, learning, member engagement, operations, etc.), as required. They will also be a member of Girls Not Brides’ Advisory Management Team, contributing to the wider management and technical development of the organisation.

The successful candidate will line manage the Africa Team, including consultants.

Reporting directly to the Director of Learning and Impact, the successful candidate must have the right to work in Kenya.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential experience

• Significant professional experience in a similar senior-level role in the not-for-profit sector, an international/intergovernmental organisation or a social enterprise.
• Extensive senior-level experience in a field such as public policy, development studies, international relations, human rights or gender issues plus extensive relevant professional training.
• Experience of mobilising and promoting national level change and advocacy.
• Experience of developing country strategies.
• Experience of successfully managing teams, including geographically dispersed staff.

Essential skills and knowledge

• Confident networker and influencer with the ability to represent Girls Not Brides at high-level events.
• Advanced ability to work across disciplines, building successful relationships with partners, academics, policy-makers, programme implementers and advocates.
• A sound understanding of the policy and advocacy dynamics around gender and/or youth/child rights in an international context, including an understanding of some of the key players in these fields.
• Excellent written and spoken English language skills.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to work with a diverse range of actors from different cultural contexts.
• Highly skilled people manager who can effectively line-manage, support and promote staff development.
• Ability to deal with competing demands, multiple priorities, time constraints and unanticipated events.

Essential values and attributes

• Strong commitment to the mission and values of Girls Not Brides and our vision in relation to addressing child marriage and the empowerment of girls and women.
• Proactive and able to confidently take initiative and make appropriate decisions.
• Willingness to work flexibly and regularly travel internationally, as necessary.

Desirable

• Post-graduate qualification in an area such as public policy, development studies, international relations, human rights or gender issues.
• Proficiency in key languages of Girls Not Brides, such as Arabic, French, Portuguese or Spanish.

For more information and job description visit our website.