Country Program Director (Burundi)
Opportunities Across Africa (OAA) is a multinational nonprofit
organization that provides education and training to vulnerable men,
women, and children to create long-term livelihoods, sustain and support
communities, and holistically empower. Opportunities Across Africa’s
vision is to see men, women and children equipped with knowledge and
skills that they are able to leverage to create and navigate prosperous,
joyful, futures. We turn our vision into reality by partnering with a
social business, All Across Africa, to provide sustained market access
and employment opportunities for artisans that engage with our programs
and trainings.
Currently, OAA in Burundi is working to support hundreds of artisans
and is part of a network of more than 3000 artisans throughout East
Africa benefitting from our trainings and support. We are a nonprofit
with business at heart – we believe that business is the way forward to
end poverty and remedy injustice.
This position will oversee the training and employment of thousands
of returning refugees and rural unemployed youth in partnership with UN
programs in Burundi. Additionally, this position will be responsible for
creating market opportunities to turn OAA training participants into
self-sustaining, global competitive artisan cooperatives with the
support and market access of All Across Africa.
Job Description
Opportunities Across Africa is seeking a full-time professional to
join our team and work in our Burundi office. This position will be
leading and supporting all aspects of the country’s operations including
staff leadership, program implementation, project reporting, and
product production. OAA is looking for a highly talented individual that
will use their strong and energetic leadership and management skills to
create life-giving opportunities for impoverished men and women.
This position will involve working with and developing an effective
staff and shaping them into a cohesive team, creating goals, providing
direction, utilizing creative thinking, and demonstrating good judgment
and decision making. This individual will support the ongoing
development of staff in collaboration with our San Diego headquarters,
East African country directors, managers and coordinators. We have a
collaborative and mutually supportive team – we are looking for someone
who sees the big picture and thinks long term in their support of the
poor and the marginalized.
Duties & Responsibilities
- Create, implement and oversee new and existing large scale employment programs
- Hire and manage effective teams to implement large scale programs (employing 2-4,000 producers over the next 24 months)
- Lead and encourage all field staff and country staff to strive to do their job effectively and well
- Manage budgets, oversee cost accounting and weekly reporting for accounting staff, including regular financial reporting to funding partners
- Implement production teams and systems for new product designs and seasonal lines – scaling production up to produce 1,000-3,000 handmade units per program weekly
- Lead staff in working with cooperatives and village producers to create new sample products for US buyer meetings
- Estimate production and delivery costs for each product
- Teach and manage field staff to create production systems for new product lines
- Manage quality controls and train staff in quality control for large market buys
- Strengthen production and capacity of hand-crafted products and groups
- Diversify skills and development of cooperative group members
- Remove bottlenecks and create operational efficiencies for timely delivery of products
- Implement training programs to improve each producing group’s overall success
- Negotiate pricing for raw goods, shipping, etc.
- Travel by bus, car or plane to various locations in the East African region (Kigali, Nairobi, Kampala) to find materials, meet suppliers and cooperatives, etc.
- Engage with UN partners to successfully execute on well funded grant opportunities
Knowledge, Skills & Experience Needed
- Must be a creative, collaborative problem solver who thrives in limited resource and constantly changing environments
- University degree and 3 years of leadership experience in an organization
- Must be able to relocate and begin the position by July 21, 2014
- Must be energetic, independent, self-motivated individual with a solutions based approach
- Must have excellent communication and organizational skills
- Must be passionate and committed to changing lives of men and women in Africa
- Must be able to accommodate a heavy travel schedule and be able to live full time in Bujumbura, Burundi
- Must be fluent in both French and English
Compensation:
- Dependent on experience
- Housing benefits are available and optional
- Paid travel to relocate to Bujumbura, Burundi
- Medical insurance options are available
To Apply:
Closing Date: 1 Aug 2014
loading...
