You will be responsible for overseeing and executing key operational duties, ensuring all tasks are completed efficiently and in compliance with established guidelines. This position requires strong analytical skills, meticulous attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple priorities under tight deadlines. You will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to streamline processes, identify opportunities for improvement, and drive organizational growth. Additionally, proficiency in [relevant software/tools] is essential, along with a proven track record in [specific function, e.g., project management, data analysis]. Excellent communication and problem-solving abilities are also critical to success in this role.
The Senior Officer for Africa within Global Partnership Development is responsible for shaping and executing the foundation’s strategy in African philanthropy, cultivating and maintaining high-value partnerships with ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices, corporations, and both private and institutional foundations across Africa and its diaspora. These partnerships are designed to advance critical health and development initiatives throughout the continent. This pivotal senior role seeks a dynamic professional capable of envisioning and executing large-scale, multi-faceted partnerships, leveraging strong relationship-building skills to engage with prominent philanthropists, their teams, family offices, and foundations—both within Africa and the diaspora—to secure co-funding, aligned investments, and foster champions and advocates for the foundation’s mission. The position demands a sophisticated understanding of how philanthropy, business, and civil society interact across Sub-Saharan Africa, along with a track record of designing and implementing bold, cross-sector partnership strategies across diverse thematic and geographic priorities.
This position sits at the convergence of the foundation’s strategic pillars—philanthropy, program execution, and advocacy—where the Senior Officer will cultivate and oversee a dynamic pipeline of partnerships with African philanthropic organizations while advancing the foundation’s broader agenda to expand giving across the continent. The role will collaborate closely with the institutional philanthropy lead to design and implement engagement strategies for foundations and corporate entities and will function as a pivotal relationship manager with senior leadership, including engagements tied to the Giving Pledge.
This position is accountable to the Director of the African Regional Office within Global Policy and Advocacy, with a secondary reporting line to the Deputy Director of Global Partnership Development on the Philanthropic Partnerships Team. The role is not responsible for supervising or managing personnel.
This position is based in Nairobi, Kenya, and requires candidates to possess the legal authorization to work in the country without requiring visa sponsorship.
What You’ll Do
This role will spearhead the foundation’s strategy for African philanthropy, expanding efforts to engage ultra-high-net-worth individuals (Unwise) residing in or originating from the continent in global health and development initiatives. Key responsibilities involve identifying, evaluating, and nurturing potential partners; overseeing a dynamic portfolio of high-value relationships; and advancing ambitious annual commitments to advance the foundation’s global health and development objectives.
You will leverage extensive knowledge of deal and partnership structures across Africa’s varied philanthropic, corporate, and civic sectors to craft approaches that harmonize local relevance with global strategic alignment. Collaborating across PPT, program teams, and both the Africa Regional Office and Country Offices, you will develop persuasive cases for support and design innovative partnership frameworks that may include philanthropic contributions, co-investment models, blended finance solutions, and alternative capital structures.
This position demands the development and leadership of intricate collaborations across diverse partners, programs, and regions, necessitating exceptional coordination, negotiation, and deal-structuring expertise. Your responsibilities will include seeking synergies to unite multiple stakeholders around common objectives, crafting partnership frameworks for intricate multi-party initiatives, and embedding African viewpoints into international philanthropic strategies. Depending on the portfolio’s scope and the complexity of the arrangements, you will assume a primary, facilitating, or advisory function in these partnerships.
Facilitating collaboration and strategic alignment across diverse sectors to advance institutional philanthropy initiatives stands as a core responsibility. This role demands adept coordination of stakeholders, ensuring cohesive efforts and maximizing the impact of philanthropic resources. Strong interpersonal and communication skills are essential, complemented by the ability to navigate complex institutional dynamics and foster productive partnerships. Proficiency in stakeholder engagement and a deep understanding of philanthropic principles are critical for driving meaningful cross-sector collaboration.
As a representative of the foundation, you will engage with African philanthropic networks, sector forums, and peer communities, fostering meaningful connections and collaborations. Your role will involve active participation in discussions and initiatives that advance the foundation’s mission and objectives, ensuring alignment with key stakeholders across the continent. This may encompass a wide range of activities, including:
Cultivating strategic alliances and fostering meaningful engagement with key decision-makers across African enterprises, civil society organizations, and philanthropic institutions.
Collaborating closely with communications and advocacy teams, we develop culturally relevant narratives designed to inspire philanthropy across diverse African communities.
Through strategic engagement, key donors will be identified and cultivated as influential advocates, strategic collaborators, and ardent champions for GH&D across the continent and among members of the African diaspora.
In close collaboration with the foundation’s institutional philanthropy lead, you will spearhead efforts to engage African foundations and corporate foundations, fostering strategic partnerships and aligning initiatives to maximize impact.
Foundation Leadership and Giving Pledge Engagement involves overseeing the strategic direction, governance, and impact of philanthropic initiatives aligned with the organization’s mission. Key responsibilities include cultivating relationships with high-net-worth donors, ensuring compliance with ethical standards, and fostering transparency in all giving activities. Additionally, this role demands expertise in developing impactful grant-making strategies, managing endowment funds, and driving engagement with the Giving Pledge community to maximize contributions toward critical social causes. Candidates must possess strong leadership acumen, exceptional communication skills, and a proven track record in philanthropy or a related field.
You will act as a trusted advisor to foundation leadership, fostering and strengthening relationships with prominent African philanthropists and partners. Your role will involve meticulously preparing for executive engagements, ensuring they are strategic, meaningful, and seamlessly followed up to drive impact. Additionally, you will deliver insightful briefings, develop tailored relationship strategies, and coordinate follow-up actions to optimize the effectiveness of leadership interactions.
You will be instrumental in fostering and expanding relationships central to the Giving Pledge, with a focus on identifying potential African signatories and nurturing ongoing engagements with current African signatories, all while aligning with PPT’s broader Giving Pledge strategy.
Internal Alignment and Portfolio Management involves strategically overseeing and optimizing an organization’s project portfolio to ensure alignment with overarching business goals. This role requires evaluating, prioritizing, and balancing initiatives to maximize value delivery while maintaining operational efficiency. Key responsibilities include aligning portfolio components with strategic objectives, identifying and mitigating risks, and ensuring resources are allocated effectively. Additionally, the position entails monitoring portfolio performance, providing data-driven insights to stakeholders, and fostering cross-functional collaboration to drive informed decision-making. Strong analytical skills, proficiency in portfolio management methodologies, and the ability to communicate complex information clearly are essential for success in this role.
As a key internal relationship manager, you will collaborate with PPT, the Global Partnership Development team, the Africa Regional Office, program strategy teams, and the Global Policy & Advocacy division to synchronize efforts across all teams. This ensures partner engagement is timely, aligned, and responsive to both donor interests and foundation priorities. The role involves close collaboration with Africa country offices—especially in Nigeria and Ethiopia—and requires seamless coordination with regional leads across Southern, Eastern, and Western Africa.
This role involves shaping new philanthropic offerings, engaging in strategic content and cultivation planning for events such as Goalkeepers and Proponent Labs, as well as other Africa-focused gatherings, and partnering with PPT’s Shared Services team to enhance communications, audience engagement, and data-driven insights capabilities.
You are responsible for maintaining meticulous portfolio and pipeline tracking using Salesforce, encompassing forecasting, performance reporting, and regular updates to partner intelligence.
Your Experience
A relevant field bachelor’s degree or higher, or a comparable level of professional experience, is required.
Proven expertise spanning at least seven years in key areas such as complex partnership development, major-gifts fundraising, business development, resource mobilization, investment management, or strategic relationship oversight, coupled with a strong history of securing substantial financial contributions or finalizing high-value collaborations.
We seek candidates with extensive expertise in the African philanthropic, business, and civil society sectors, demonstrating a strong grasp of partnership formation and deal structuring across Sub-Saharan Africa. Ideal applicants may originate from business, finance, investment, international development, or NGO backgrounds—what truly matters is their deep understanding of the African market, their established network of relationships, and a proven history in business development or resource mobilization.
Experienced in cultivating and overseeing relationships with ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and institutional partners, with a proven ability to secure substantial multi-year commitments.
We seek a professional with a proven ability to cultivate and oversee intricate collaborations involving diverse partners, varied issue domains, and multiple geographic regions.
A solid grasp of global health and development priorities, particularly their alignment with African development agendas, is essential. While specialized expertise in global health and development is not mandatory, intellectual curiosity, rapid learning capabilities, and a sincere dedication to the mission are critical.
Proven capability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional internal teams to accomplish collective objectives.
Demonstrates proficiency in a range of technical and interpersonal skills, alongside key competencies essential for success in the role. Exhibits strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities, enabling effective resolution of complex challenges. Maintains meticulous attention to detail to ensure accuracy in all tasks and deliverables. Possesses excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, facilitating clear and concise interaction with stakeholders at all levels. Demonstrates adaptability and resilience in dynamic environments, thriving under pressure while meeting tight deadlines. Exhibits a proactive approach to continuous learning and professional development, staying current with industry trends and best practices.
Skilled at fostering meaningful connections and cultivating trust across diverse professional levels, including principals, senior executives, and program staff, to drive targeted outcomes.
A visionary with deep insight into African philanthropy trends, donor motivations, and the expansive landscape of giving across the continent.
Skilled in structuring deals and forming strategic partnerships, with a strong grasp of blended finance, co-investment models, and innovative philanthropic capital approaches.
Demonstrated expertise in converting intricate global issues into engaging stories tailored to the varied interests of African audiences.
A solid grasp of cultivating influence, championing causes, and nurturing individuals to become advocates is essential.
Exceptional proficiency in both verbal and written English communication is essential, enabling the ability to captivate and persuade high-net-worth individuals and key senior decision-makers.
Proficient in collaborating effectively within varied cultural settings spanning Sub-Saharan Africa and global contexts, demonstrating a profound appreciation for local customs, power structures, and established relationship frameworks.
Demonstrates strong analytical abilities in evaluating the effectiveness and outcomes of partnerships, leveraging data to inform decision-making and drive performance improvements.
Preferred Attributes
Possesses well-established connections across African philanthropic, business, and civil society networks, with a particular emphasis on engaging ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and corporate or institutional foundations.
Demonstrated fluency in one or more African languages or other languages prevalent in critical market regions is required.
Skilled at collaborating effectively with top executives, key decision-makers, and governing bodies to drive strategic initiatives and foster alignment across leadership tiers.
Individuals should possess prior involvement with or understanding of the Giving Pledge or similar philanthropic networks.
Proven expertise in blended finance, impact investing, or the cultivation of cross-sector partnerships is required.
Accomplished expertise in mobilizing resources for global health and development initiatives, gender equality, or other pertinent thematic areas within the development sector.
Capable of traveling up to 40% of the time, with regional travel requirements spanning Sub-Saharan Africa.
Qualifications
BA/BSc/HND
Experience Required
7 years
