Programme Officer (PO) – Non Traditional Actors (NTA)

 

Job Vacancy 

We are hiring to fill a vacancy for the position of Programme Officer (PO) – Non Traditional Actors (NTA) . To fill this position, we are looking for a highly motivated team member who is innovative, passionate about women’s rights in Africa, excited about African feminisms, and embraces African women’s diversity to join the team. 

➢Programme Officer (PO) – Non Traditional Actors (NTA)

 

Background 

As a pan-African feminist fund, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) resources, strengthens and upholds women’s rights and feminist organisations and movements across Africa, in order to make gender justice a reality for all on our continent and worldwide. 

Over the past 24 years, AWDF has awarded approximately USD 100 million to women’s rights and feminist organisations throughout Africa (and in selected Middle Eastern countries through one of our initiatives). Through its grantmaking, programmatic and advocacy work, AWDF has supported work that led to changes in law and policy, social norms, narrative, and movement-building for gender justice. 

Building on its strong track record, in 2023 AWDF launched Lemlem, a ten-year strategic framework (2023-2033), which guides its efforts to advance gender equality and gender justice for girls, women and gender-diverse people across Africa. At its core, the strategy’s focus is on resourcing, nurturing and strengthening those who are best placed to achieve transformative change: African women’s and feminist groups, organisations and movements. AWDF has recently developed a communications strategy, which focuses on three primary areas: strategic and political communications, programmatic Communications, and institutional communications. 

 

Programme Officer (PO) – Non Traditional Actors (NTA) : 

Are you a dynamic individual with experience in developing and implementing organisational and departmental strategies to ensure our resourcing sub strategies are in alignment with the AWDF Strategic Framework, Lemlem and responsive to the needs of Non-traditional and emerging actors and collectives’ entities?

Are you excited about supporting the convening of small group discussions to collect information that brings awareness to the challenges faced by organisations and partners AWDF works with (social, cultural, and socioeconomic factors)? 

Are you comfortable supporting with donor coordination activities (communications, review meetings, consultations) and translate trends and learnings about resourcing into appropriate donor communications?  If you responded yes to our questions, then we would like you to join our team! 

 

TEAM PURPOSE/ RATIONALE/MANDATE 

The Resourcing Team is primarily responsible for supporting the mission to fund, strengthen and uphold African women’s and feminist organisations and movements who work in pursuit of gender justice and social transformation. 

Key activities are: 

● To provide African women’s and feminist organisations, groups, collectives and movements with the resources that enable them to do transformative work. 

● To resource, in a meaningfully inclusive way, a diverse range of women’s and feminist collectives and movements across Africa, 

● Contribute to strengthening and sustaining healthy, impactful women’s and feminist collectives and movements, and 

● To reflect feminist principles in resourcing and accompaniment processes and approaches. 

How we need to work: 

● Strategic and responsive and collaborative (internal and external) to the needs and aspirations of African  women’s and feminist movements 

● A gender justice approach that is intersectional rather than thematic 

● Feminist funding practices that trust, centre and build the power of feminist movements 

● Shared decision-making, radical inclusion, accountability and flexibility as core principles for action. 

 

Job Summary 

As part of our strategy, AWDF is building on our approach of strengthening partners to a more transformative and de-colonised approach which gives feminist and women’s rights activists, organisations and collectives in Africa the ownership and space to make transformative choices and impact their communities across the African Continent.

The Programme Officer (PO) Non Traditional Actors (NTA) will work closely with the Senior Programme Officer (SPO) – Non-traditional and Emerging actors & collectives to support the non-traditional and emerging actors and collectives’ entities.  The Programme Officer PO - Non Traditional Actors (NTA) will support the implementation of AWDF’s resourcing strategy to strengthen and uphold the voice and agency of African women’s and feminist organisations and movements. 

 

Summary of Duties

Strategy Implementation 

• Support the development and the implementation of the resourcing entities sub-strategies around the Non-traditional and emerging actors and collectives’ entities priorities and approaches in alignment with the AWDF Strategic Framework, Lemlem.
• Support the piloting of resourcing approaches that AWDF advocates for externally and document and share good practice.
• Support the integration of the Resourcing Strategy  in the Programmes Department strategy and collaborate across the organisation to ensure relevant messages are embedded in research, advocacy, movement strengthening, convening and external communications.

Leadership and people development and management

• Support the management of the cluster. 
• Contribute to the development of a team culture that values collaboration and reflects the feminist principles and values of AWDF

Programme Management 

• Support all aspects of the planning and implementation of Non-traditional and emerging actors programming.
• Contribute to the development of planning, learning, monitoring, reporting as it relates to the Non-traditional and emerging actors and collectives’ entities sub -strategies.
• Contribute to collaborative team learning across the Resourcing team and Programmes Department.

Budget management 

• Provide support for the development and oversight of the resourcing (non-traditional and emerging actors and collectives’ entities) budget, ensuring deliverables are within the allocated budget 

• Follow organisational financial policies

Relationship management

• Support with donor coordination activities (communications, review meetings, consultations) and translate trends and learning about resourcing into appropriate donor communications.
• Coordinate and participate in relevant initiatives, working groups and collaborations to exchange knowledge and advance shared goals to influence the donor community.

 

Programme monitoring and applying learning

• Provide programme and portfolio level monitoring, impact and learning and evaluation support to the Non-traditional and emerging actors and collectives’ entities, ensuring diversity and voice and representation.

Other

• The role holder will from time to time be required to carry out any other duties that are within the scope of the job

 

Essential Knowledge and Experience 

• Ability to apply feminist and social and gender justice principles in development and organising within the African context
• Expertise using frameworks like intersectionality, social exclusion analysis
• A team player who is proactive and can take initiative
• Excellent track record in delivering against targets
• Strong knowledge of channels, trends and practices relevant to resourcing work and fundraising
• Ability to develop strong, long-term external relationships with diverse stakeholders
• Strong interpersonal skills, high levels of personal integrity and professional credibility and experience in building strong and credible relationships with diverse stakeholders including colleagues, donors, non traditional and emerging actors and collectives
• Confidence in communicating the impact of programme results to a wide and expert audience     
• Strong creative and analytical skills
• Good links working with the movements and with some non-traditional entities
• Organisation, planning and management skills and the ability to work to tight deadlines
• Strong research, advocacy, capacity building and movement-building skills
• Ability to exercise professional judgement and discernment     
• Time management, and ability to meet deadlines.
• Ability to set clear priorities, objectives and work allocations, tracking progress against plans and taking appropriate action to ensure targets are met.
• Ability to facilitate dialogues with different stakeholders
• A high level of proficiency in MS Office and experience working with information management systems/databases, online apps and tools
• Budget planning and monitoring skills
• Work cooperatively with others to overcome conflict and build towards a common goal     
• Excellent IT skills and numeric skills
• Excellent written and spoken Portuguese language skills.  With a good written and spoken knowledge of English        
• Mature and effective conflict management     

Qualifications 

• Preference will be given to applicants with a bachelor’s degree qualification in gender studies or relevant field or related discipline and at least 3 years of professional experience in a similar role. 
• The post requires at least 3 years working experience in participatory and more transformative approaches to feminist philanthropy. 

• Experience of working in or with different types of entities (i.e. emergent and non-traditional collectives, CBOs, NGOs and/or strategic implementing partners) and/or feminist or women’s rights movements 
• Professional experience around feminist organising, experience of working with African women’s and feminist organisations, an in-depth knowledge of African feminist and women’s rights priorities, approaches, issues and concerns , and strong analytical, writing and editing skills. 
• AWDF will consider applicants who can demonstrate the necessary competencies through experience. 
• Excellent Portuguese language skills.  With a good written and spoken knowledge of English.

Job Location 

AWDF House, Accra – Ghana or work remotely from any African country where you have the legal right to work from. 

Organisational Competencies: 

All staff members must demonstrate AWDF Core values in all their professional relationships and any interactions that may reflect on AWDF: 

Accountability & Integrity 

Solidarity & Collective care 

Intersectionality & Meaningful Inclusion 

Learning & Adaptability 

Courage & Joy 

Creativity & Curiosity 

AWDF has a Zero Tolerance Approach to all forms of corruption which is an offence for which immediate dismissal without benefits will result.

 

The full details of the job description can be found here

 

Salary Details

Salary range: USD  26,065 - USD  45,615 (annually) 

● Midpoint: USD 35,840.07  (annually) 

● In practice, we only make offers between the entry point and the midpoint of our salary scale (i.e. between  USD  26,065 - USD  45,615 (annually) 

 

How to Apply: 

Qualified and interested persons should send: 

A cover letter of not more than 2 pages to the Human Resources Manager explaining their interest and excitement in applying for the position to work for AWDF; and highlighting their experience and competencies as they relate to the specific areas of duties indicated in the vacancy to demonstrate a good fit for the role. 

A CV of not more than 3 pages outlining their educational qualifications and employment records with key achievements on relevant positions held. 

Applications for the vacancy should reach AWDF no later than Tuesday, 8th April 2025. Due to our limited capacity, only short-listed candidates will be contacted for additional information and interviews.

 

In line with AWDF’s Mission, qualified African women are encouraged to apply.