Title: President/CEO Location: Washington, DC Reports to: Board of Directors Position Summary: The President/CEO of Africare has primary responsibility for the leadership and growth of this 40- year-old, minority-led and multicultural organization that now provides development assistance throughout Africa. The President reports to the Board of Directors and is responsible for managing more than 1,000 personnel, hundreds of projects and activities, and an annual operating budget of as much as $100M annually. As the most senior staff position within the organization, the President is responsible for the strategic leadership of the organization to ensure its future relevance, credibility, and viability. The incumbent is responsible for establishing organizational objectives and priorities and for reviewing and evaluating the progress and work for attainment of objectives and performance goals. The successful candidate for Africare's Presidency should articulate a vision that ensures the organization's role as a preeminent African American institution contributing to the social and economic development of Africa. The person must have a total and unwavering commitment to this objective. A new President/CEO will face a special challenge: demonstrating that Africare's guiding philosophy, its operating systems, management and technical capabilities reflect a mature, stable and credible organization whose reputation in Africa and among donors is based on results.
Key Characteristics and Selection Criteria To be seriously considered, we would expect that every candidate will demonstrate through prior experience the following qualities and accomplishments: Leadership Experience Experience as a leader with strong business acumen, futureorientation and executive leadership in multi-constituent environments. Exceptional ability to lead through influence and facilitation, respecting Africare s historical dynamics while driving visionary solutions. This leader will have a record of establishing clear goals and guiding an organization to achieve them. He/she will also have demonstrated an inspiring, collaborative leadership style that engenders respect and builds credibility. Fundraising A proven fund-raiser with the ability to build relationships and inspire others that will lead to significant financial support for Africare. External Engagement Exceptional ability to build constructive relationships with individuals, corporate partners, foundations, government officials and other stakeholders. Maintain a highly visible presence and clearly understand the vital role Africare plays in the NGO sector. Collaboration and Interpersonal Skills Displays open and engaging personality. Possesses exceptional interpersonal communications skills and is comfortable communicating with people at all levels and from a variety of backgrounds. Displays sound judgement in making decisions and prioritizing how his/her involvement in key relationships is most effective. Operational Excellence Extraordinary ability to drive operational excellence around a clear and compelling strategic vision of the future. Ability to oversee complex, largescale projects and identify and help implement growth and innovation opportunities for the organization.
Board Leadership Experience fostering open dialogue and valuing the input of a committed board of directors. Ability to effectively work with a board and facilitate the agenda and discussion in a productive manner. Ability to recruit new board members. Integrity/Stature/Gravitas/Presence Well-regarded reputation with unquestioned integrity. Ability to serve as a visible leader of an organization devoted to making substantial improvements in the lives of others. Has previously demonstrated the ability to represent an organization such as Africare. Displays high degree of confidence balanced with self-awareness in dealings with others. Passion and Commitment - Demonstrated commitment to mission and vision for Africare and a passionate advocate for improving the lives of others. Role and Responsibilities of President/CEO Strategic Organizational Management Provides in depth management to HQ and Overseas staff Provides the organization with the vision and leadership to carry out its mission. Develops and implements a standard of excellence and world class services for delivery of Africare programs Provide inspirational leadership and direction to all executives, and ensure the continued development and management of a professional and efficient organization; establish effective decision-making processes that will enable Africare to achieve its long- and short-term goals and objectives. Cultivate a strong and transparent working relationship with the Board and ensure open communication about the measurement of financial, programmatic, and impacted performance against stated milestones and goals. Build a diverse and inclusive Board representative of the community that is highly engaged and willing to leverage and secure resources.
Seeks out opportunities to improve organizational operations and shift organizational philosophy to integrate departments and programs to function as a strong, cohesive operation. Develops policies and strategies for financial management including all revenues, expenses, endowment funds, and investments. Ensures rigorous accountability and long-term stability through the conservative fiscal management of resources and endowments. Encourages and facilitates the application of technology to enable the re-engineering of programs and processes to make optimal use of resources. Fund-Raising: Ensure that the flow of funds permits Africare to make continuous progress towards the achievement of its mission and that those funds are allocated properly to reflect present needs and potential. Provides the leadership and long-term vision necessary to significantly increase the organization's pre-eminence in fund-raising. Develops new initiatives to ensure resources are available to support programs by building endowment funds. Identifies, involves, educates and cultivates corporate and individual major prospects. Solicits and stewards major individual and corporate donors, providing accountability and recognition. Strengthening infrastructure and operations: Ensure the delivery of high quality services while managing for current and future growth. Support and motivate the organization's staff. Facilitate cross-departmental collaboration and strengthen internal communications with staff throughout the organization; create and promote a positive, multicultural work environment that supports consistency throughout the organization's strategy, operational methods, and data collection needs. Oversee the financial status of the organization including developing long and shortrange financial plans, monitoring the budget and ensuring sound financial controls are in
place; set financial priorities accurately to ensure the organization is operating in a manner that supports the needs of the program and staff. Program Development Rationalize the delivery of programs through new and existing offices and partnerships. Increase efficiencies and consistency throughout the organization by developing and implementing standardized programs and services. The successful candidate will possess the following professional qualifications: Minimum of a BA, ideally with an MBA, MPA or related advanced degree At least 15 to 20 years of overall professional experience Nonprofit experience and management of a global or multisite organization Significant board development, fundraising, marketing/branding and fiscal management experience a must A financially savvy and politically astute leader with the ability to set clear priorities, delegate, and guide investment in people and systems; keen analytic, organization and problem solving skills, which support and enable sound decision making Excellent coalition building skills with an ability to communicate and work effectively with a variety of internal and external stakeholders; a persuasive negotiator able to achieve consensus amongst differing opinions Outstanding presentation, strong and compelling communication skills and the experience and proclivity to be an outgoing spokesperson, relationship builder, and fundraiser
Strong commitment to the professional development of staff; successful track record of recruiting and retaining a diverse team PROCEDURES FOR CANDIDACY Search Team and Contact Information The Africare Board of Directors has retained the services of Diversified Search as consultants to the Search Committee. Interested parties are encouraged to submit materials (including a cover letter and resumé). All communications will be treated confidentially. All nominations, applications and inquiries should be directed electronically to: AfricareCEO@divsearch.com Dale E. Jones Chief Executive Officer Diversified Search 1200 New Hampshire Avenue NW Suite 820 Washington, DC 20036 Euris Belle, Managing Director 404 942 6307 euris.belle@divsearch.com Africare is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer committed to workplace diversity.