Vice President for Africa Programs

Vice President for Africa Programs

Location: Ibis office in Johannesburg, South Africa (currently hybrid with 2 days/week expected in-office) or other Africa region location (remote)

Ibis Reproductive Health seeks a dynamic, collaborative, bold, and experienced leader to join our Senior Management Team as the Vice President for Africa Programs. Ibis is a global nonprofit driving change through bold, rigorous research and principled partnerships that advance sexual and reproductive autonomy, choices, and health worldwide. We believe that research can catalyze change when the entire research process is viewed as an opportunity to shift power, is undertaken in partnership with the communities most affected, and includes a focus on how data can be most effectively used to make change. We focus on increasing access to quality abortion care, transforming access to abortion and contraception through technology and service innovations, and expanding comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information and services. Ibis’s staff of approximately 40 people works with partners in more than 30 countries on six continents. We are extremely proud of our accomplishments since we were founded in 2002, believe our approaches to research and evidence-based advocacy fill an important gap in the reproductive health and rights field, and are committed to doing research and running our organization in ways that are inclusive and advance equity. Please see our description of our commitment to justice and equity here and our statement on what it means to approach research with a human rights and reproductive justice lens here. A summary of our 2018-2025 strategic plan is here.

Through a collaborative process with research partners, stakeholders, and colleague organizations, Ibis built a dedicated three-year Africa Region Strategy. Over the last few years, we have grown our profile and partnerships with government and colleague organizations in South Africa, where we have an office, and have expanded and deepened our work across the region. Recent and current projects in the region include a national study in South Africa of sexual and reproductive health, including awareness of the right to access to abortion, and service access and experiences; partnerships with accompaniment and hotline providers documenting the safety and effectiveness of medication abortion outside of the formal health care system and identification and evaluation of strategies to expand awareness and access to these unique services; partnerships with young people in South Africa and across the region to provide accurate, high-quality, engaging information about sexual and reproductive health through our South Africa mmoho campaign and our AMAZE regional partnership; and implementation of novel research approaches to understand experience with and access to sexual and reproductive health, including abortion services, in humanitarian settings; to name just a few. We are seeking a new leader for our Africa region work who can continue to expand our partnerships and impact, who has strong and successful relationships with funders, and is excited to grow Ibis’s funder base in the region. The new leader will provide effective oversight for our regional team and projects-- supporting a high-performing and engaged team, and ensuring all team members are able to thrive at Ibis. The new leader will work with the Ibis Senior Management Team to refresh our Africa region and organizational strategies in 2025 and will play a key role in global leadership of the organization.

Responsibilities

- Provide strategic leadership for Ibis’s Africa region work

- Lead regional fundraising in collaboration with Ibis’s development staff; identify new funding sources and successfully manage current donor relationships, ensuring Ibis has the resources it needs to undertake its key strategic priority activities

- Serve as a member of Ibis’s Senior Management Team, responsible for overall organizational management, health, and impact

- Build and manage a high-performing, effective team who work across the Africa region, including in Ibis’s Johannesburg office; support a work environment that fosters participation and a sense of belonging, where all staff can thrive

- Serve as key external spokesperson for Ibis’s Africa region work

- Identify and nurture partnerships with key stakeholders and collaborators, ensuring Ibis’s work reflects engagement with organizations and communities who have the expertise and wisdom to identify the research needed and implement effective solutions identified

- Build and nurture collaborations with local, national, and regional governments and policymakers, multilateral and bilateral agencies, and civil society actors to inform Ibis’s work, implement our research and projects, and grow our impact

- In collaboration with Ibis staff and our partners, ensure Ibis’s research and projects meet the highest ethical standards and reflect best practices for rigorous research and principled partnerships and compliance with study protocols; oversee research and project development, start-up, implementation, evaluation, reporting, and dissemination; ensure Ibis programming delivers transformative changes for the intended beneficiaries

- Manage regional project budgets; ensure efficient and effective use of resources in compliance with donor agreements and Ibis policies

- Be a thought leader in the region on sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice

Qualifications

We recognize that strong candidates may not have every qualification listed here, and encourage applications from individuals who bring passion, skills and experience in many or most of these areas.

- Passion for work to advance sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice in Africa

- Experience being part of an executive or leadership team; at least 7-10 years of leadership experience required; leadership experience in a nonprofit organization is a plus

- Strong people management and supervision experience; commitment to/experience with mentorship and supporting staff professional development

- Experience leading the development of collaborative, cross-functional teams; proven ability to coach and inspire the leadership capacity of team members

- Experience with fundraising and donor relations, particularly with private foundations and bilateral donors focused on the Africa region

- Excellent facilitation skills; outstanding interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills and public speaking and media experience

- Experience developing and/or monitoring progress toward strategic plans

- Commitment to racial justice and equity, and willingness to have/lead critical/challenging conversations around race, white supremacy, and legacies of colonialism in our organization and in our field

- Commitment to and experience partnering with communities with the most to gain from expanded access to sexual and reproductive health services and information, including Black people and people of African descent, Indigenous peoples, people of color, women, young people, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people who identify as transgender, non-binary, or gender expansive

- Willingness to travel

- Collaborative approach to leadership and commitment to transparency in decision-making

- Excellent planning, forecasting, strategic thinking, analytical, and problem-solving skills

- Commitment to developing and maintaining principled partnerships

- Optimistic and resourceful, with strong self-awareness, cultural competence, emotional intelligence, and humility

- Experience working in a research organization, research or other project/program management training or experience, training and/or experience in quantitative or qualitative research methods, and/or experience leading/coordinating clinical and social science research projects is a plus

- Experience working in a global organization/in a range of global contexts is a plus

- Proficiency in written/spoken French or Portuguese is a plus

Salary: The starting salary for the Vice President position is approximately R1,200,000 per year depending on experience/qualifications.

Start date: Position starts as soon as it is filled.

Benefits: Ibis’s generous benefits package includes: medical insurance/medical aid, with most of the premium paid by Ibis; disability and life insurance; paid sick leave; a retirement savings plan/provident fund; four weeks of vacation per year; transit benefits; and professional development opportunities.

Applications: Priority will be given to applications received by June 30, 2024. No phone calls, please.

Ibis is an equal opportunity employer. Ibis seeks to build and maintain a diverse and inclusive workplace; we encourage applications from Black people and people of African descent, Indigenous people, people of color, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, including people who identify as transgender, non-binary, or gender expansive, people with disabilities, first-generation university/college graduates, those from communities with the most to gain from expanded access to sexual and reproductive health services and information, and people from other underrepresented communities

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