Rockefeller Foundation Managing Director, Africa Regional Office

The Rockefeller Foundation has several Managing Director positions, each with project management, strategic capability and team leadership responsibility. Managing Directors play a key leadership role in managing teams working on program development and execution of initiatives.  Each Managing Director works with other MDs, Associate Directors, and research and support professionals to identify and understand global trends, issues, challenges and opportunities to underpin our interventions, innovations and influence.

This Managing Director position has a dual role – managing all day to day activities of the work and office in Africa, based in Nairobi, Kenya and being involved in Initiative development and management and oversight of grants in the region.

The Managing Director must be able to lead work that ranges across multiple sectors, topics and fields, using the assets of The Rockefeller Foundation to have impact on the lives of poor or vulnerable people across the world.  To be effective in this role, the Managing Director should be flexible in interests and passions, and looking for a way to contribute to the emerging work of the Foundation—regardless of the particular population, issue or geography.

The Managing Director has overall responsibility for the productivity and morale of the Nairobi regional office and the staff assigned to it, including:

• Developing the regional strategy for initiative implementation, as appropriate, partnering with other MDs, as needed, and managing staff and other resources;
• Providing leadership and serving as the Foundation’s leading representative for Africa; ensuring effective communication; and serving as a representative of the Foundation to multiple constituencies. 
• Developing and leading Foundation one or more Initiatives at the nexus of health, nutrition and agriculture, falling under the Foundation’s goal of Advance Health.

The successful candidate will be comfortable working within a team structure, sharing information and insights, and engaging in ongoing intellectual exchange.  The candidate must be comfortable building bridges between academia, non-profit, government and private sectors.  As a manager, the successful candidate would be expected to support the Foundation’s strategic goals and ways of working, to be strategic and positive regarding the Foundation’s overall work and ambitions, and keep that focus and perspective in addition to themes specific to the projects s/he is leading.

This position is based in Nairobi, Kenya and reports jointly to the Vice-President, Foundation Initiatives and the Chief Operating Officer, both of whom are based in New York.  The MD manages the professional and support staff in the Nairobi office.  The professional staff may also have dotted line reporting to team leaders in New York or other RF locations.

Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Leadership and Management

• Serve as the Foundation’s key leader in managing its work with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), an organization the Foundation founded in 2007 and remains an important Grantee.  
• Partnering with the MD, Health, in NY and MD, Research in developing new initiatives in the health-nutrition and agricultural space that will lead to impactful improvements in the lives of poor or vulnerable people.  Oversee and manage all related work in the Africa region.
• Serve as the top regional representative for all the foundation’s work in the Africa region.
• Participate in and is accountable for key deliverables to the organization as part of the global Senior Leadership Team.
• Participate on the Initiative Management Team in programmatic strategy development and provide a regional perspective in portfolio strategy discussions.
• Serve as an interface between program and administration to ensure that the Foundation works as a cohesive whole.
• Represent the Foundation in diverse communities, including speaking engagements, attending conferences and participating in other key internal and external meetings.
• Lead initiative teams to develop and execute outstanding work within, and guided by, the strategic framework of the Foundation.
• Serve as internal leadership voice – represents the Foundation’s decisions in a positive, encouraging, and motivating manner.
• Oversee and manage all of the operational requirements of running the regional office, including budgets, financials, payroll, benefits etc., working closely with the global heads of operations areas such as the Chief Financial Office and Chief Human Resources Officer in New York.

Initiative Management

• Develop and execute work in the stages of Search, Development and Execution
• As a senior grant-maker, ensure grant-making advances the strategy of the Initiatives and supports the strategic framework of the Foundation.
• Responsible for and help develop the Associate Directors and Research Associates on the team(s).
• Promote and model excellent external relations with grantees and partners.

Competencies

• Leadership: Vision, innovation, thought leadership, collaboration, integrity, accountability and emotional intelligence
• Partnership and relationship Building:  Strong professional representation of the Foundation, interpersonal abilities, intercultural knowledge and appreciation, strategic partnership building
• Communication: Superb interpersonal abilities; exceptional listening skills, writing and verbal skills
• Decision-Making: Ability to evaluate risks and opportunities, using analytical and strong problem-solving skills
• Execution: Strong project management skills, deadline management, sense of responsibility and accountability and the ability to effectively multi-task
• Integration: Demonstrate inclusiveness, collaboration, respect and broad organizational interests
• Strategic Ability: To see opportunities, design innovative approaches backed by strong analysis and planning
• People Management: Superb skills in team building, coaching, mentoring, delegating, inspiring and motivating.
• Nimbleness: Demonstrated ability to work comfortably in an environment with some ambiguity, being flexible to change course as needed to ensure relevancy of work, and remaining calm and considered under pressure.

CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS

Successful applicants will demonstrate:

• Meeting facilitation skills – the ability to lead effective meetings with diverse constituencies
• Exemplary communication skills – competence in a second UN language highly desirable
• Sound, mature judgment and integrity
• Personal qualities of humility and capacity for self-reflection
• Commitment to the Rockefeller Foundation’s mission and core values – effectiveness, equity, integrity, innovation and leadership

Education, Training and Experience

• Advanced degree in any of the following areas: Public Health, Nutrition, Agricultural Science
• A minimum of 15 years related working experience.
• Experience leading teams and mentoring staff development
• Experienced at external representation
• Experience in setting priorities in dynamic environments
• Demonstrated expertise in developing, managing and implementing multi-party projects, often global, with defined objectives, deliverables, monitoring and evaluation of results
• Experience with evaluative research methods helpful
• Excellent proficiency in English
• The ability to travel (30-40%) both domestically and internationally

Compensation

The Rockefeller Foundation offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience.  The Foundation provides a very generous package of benefits.

The Rockefeller Foundation has retained Russell Reynolds Associates to assist with this appointment. For further information on the position and additional details on qualifications, requirements and how to apply, please visit:www.rraresponses.com.  The Rockefeller Foundation is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity and to compliance with all federal, state, and local laws concerning employment discrimination, including the Americans with Disabilities Act.  To this end, the Foundation ensures equal opportunity to all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, lawful alien status, physical, mental, and medical disability, veteran status or liability for service in the United States Armed Forces.