Chief Programs Officer

Job Description

This is a remote position.

JOB SUMMARY

• Job Title: Chief Programs Officer 
• Job Level: C-Suite 
• Team: Programs 
• Reports to: Chief Executive Officer 
• Direct (planned) reports: Programs Officers 2x - Anglophone/Francophone, (Programs Coordinator); delivery partners and event suppliers 
• Location: Remote, Africa-based, with potential travel for program delivery and organizational events 
• Time commitment: Full-time 
• Start date: Immediate, subject to notice period 

ABOUT EPIC-AFRICA 

EPIC-Africa is a pan-African infrastructure organization, dedicated to making African civil society findable, fundable, and capable. Africa is full of credible, impactful civil society organizations (CSOs) that traditional funding streams struggle to find. As a "CSO for CSOs," EPIC-Africa bridges this gap using pan-African data, sectoral research and mappings, and strategic initiatives like the African CSO Platform and the African CSO Awards, equipping funders with discovery they can trust while centering African agency and leadership. 

ABOUT THE TEAM 

The Programs team connects African CSOs with each other, with funders and with the wider ecosystem, and strengthens CSO capability. It is a new team and hosts the Partnership Center of Excellence (CoE), which sets the organization's standards for developing, vetting and stewarding partnerships. EPIC-Africa delivers capability building with partners who already do that work well, while we curate, convene and assure quality. 

The team reaches CSOs through three channels: in-person events and training, online events and training, and the African CSO Platform. It owns community engagement on the Platform, which the Technology team builds and runs. 

JOB PURPOSE 

The Chief Programs Officer builds and leads EPIC-Africa's Programs team, bringing partnerships, convening, capability and community building together into one coherent, prioritized approach. The role owns the engagement strategy for the organization, the convening and capability programs calendar, and the growth and liveliness of the African CSO Platform as a community. Delivery runs through a curated network of partners. 

The role combines strategic judgment with hands-on delivery, deciding what events, content and capability building programs would most benefit CSOs and building the partnerships to deliver them. Working closely with the Chief Executive Officer and fellow executives, the Chief Programs Officer helps position EPIC-Africa as the connective tissue among African CSOs and between them and funders. 

 KEY RESPONSIBILITIES 

1. Strategy, Prioritization & Budget 

• Own the organization's engagement strategy across convening, capability building and funder-CSO connection, prioritized against demand and capacity. Represent EPIC-Africa externally as required. 
• Own the team budget and the allocation of resources against the strategy. 
• Develop products and offers that contribute to EPIC-Africa's Growth & Sustainability Strategy: the ambition to make the organization less reliant on donor funding and more financially sustainable. 
• Base the strategy on evidence from CSO and Donor Surveys, Platform behavior, support channels, direct engagement and wider research. 
• Define what success looks like for each program before it launches, including the impact measures, monitoring approach and data that will show whether it is working. 
• Own monitoring and impact measurement across the strategy lifecycle: track participation, completion and outcomes across the portfolio, and use that evidence to refine, scale or retire programs. 

 2. Convening & Event Delivery 

• Own the design and delivery of all EPIC-Africa events: networking and visibility initiatives, the African CSO Awards, thematic and regional convenings, webinars, AMAs and learning labs. Deliver them through the Programs Officers or Coordinator, the wider team, partners and event suppliers. 
• Set clear delivery roles, timelines and quality standards for the team, partners and suppliers, and hold delivery to them. 
• Work with the Communications team on event content and publicity, with Communications leading on the framing and timing of major campaigns. 

 3. Capability Building Through Partners 

• Build and steward a network of delivery partners, in line with CoE standards, offering CSOs capability building, training and technical support matched to their needs. 
• Create and grow peer-learning communities and thematic clusters. 

 4. Platform Community 

• Use the African CSO Platform as the main channel for digital community building. 
• Develop institutional partnerships that support community building on the African CSO Platform. 
• Deepen engagement to meet CSO demand, for example through an ambassador program. 
• Work closely with the Technology team, who build the Platform features, feeding in CSO and Funder user needs and the team's requirements. 

 5. Partnership CoE 

• Own the organization-wide partnership framework: selection criteria, partner tiering and segmentation, and the lifecycle standard from scoping through vetting, agreement, stewardship, review and exit. 
• Set due diligence standards covering reputational, financial, safeguarding and conflict-of-interest screening, and the risk thresholds that trigger escalation. 
• Define how partner records, pipeline and interactions are logged in a customer relationship management (CRM) system, to be built in partnership with the Technology team. 
• Develop partnership toolkits and templates for all teams, such as memoranda of understanding, partnership agreements and data-sharing clauses, with legal support and the Strategy & Operations team. 
• Coach and advise colleagues across EPIC-Africa on partnership development, negotiation and partner communications. Deliver CoE training as needed. Where it advances the mission, extend the same standards and materials to CSO partners and platform members to strengthen CSO capability. 

6. Team Leadership & Enterprise Contribution 

• Lead and develop a nimble team of two Programs Officers and a planned future Programs Coordinator, scaling impact through partners. 
• Act as CSO and Funder Champion: represent their needs across the organization and in the Platform roadmap, and contribute to the development of surveys for these audiences. 
• Lead the responsible use of AI across the team's operations, including event logistics and curation of learning content and toolkits, within the standards set by the Data, Tools & AI CoE. 
• Contribute to organization-wide moments such as flagship reports and surveys, convenings, campaigns, funder reporting and organizational planning. Contribute to the Growth & Sustainability Strategy, which is owned by the Chief Operating Officer, with C-Suite leads contributing to it. 
• Set and model documentation and handover standards for the team, keeping own key decisions, strategy and external commitments recorded so work continues smoothly at handover or during leave or emergencies. 
• Undertake other reasonable responsibilities appropriate to the seniority of the role. This job description captures the main elements of the post but is not exhaustive and may evolve alongside the organization. 

Requirements

PERSON SPECIFICATION 

We are looking for a senior leader who can build a function from the ground. Partnership capability sits at the center of it: building relationships, negotiating terms that hold, and managing partners to a high delivery standard. Equally central is the ability to grow a digital community, making the African CSO Platform a place CSOs return to regularly. The right candidate will work from evidence of demand, prioritize openly, and say no to good opportunities that do not fit. As part of the Senior Leadership Team, the postholder will act for the whole organization, settling cross-team trade-offs based on our shared mission. They will communicate clearly in every direction, bring an improvement and innovation mindset, and be an experienced people and division leader. 

 Essential qualifications, skills and experience 

• Track record of building and running a new function or team at senior or executive level. 
• Strong partnership development and management experience, including negotiating agreements and holding partners to delivery standards. 
• Proven event and convening management: designing and delivering a portfolio of events, convenings or capability programs, ideally delivered through partners. 
• Demonstrated ability to grow and sustain an online community or platform audience, including strategy, engagement measures and reactivation of lapsed users. 
• Demonstrated ability to build a strategy from evidence of demand, prioritize it explicitly and sequence delivery against real capacity. 
• Confident working with data: specifying needs, interpreting results and using evidence to steer activity. 
• Budget accountability, and experience line-managing and developing colleagues. 
• Deep understanding of African civil society, philanthropy and the funder landscape. 
• Excellent written and verbal English, including proposal and narrative writing. 
• Ability to work effectively in a remote, multi-country and multilingual/cultural organization, with willingness to travel. 
• Act as a player-coach: given the size of the organization and the newness of the team, this person will be building and doing as well as directing. 
• Flexible and adaptable mindset, suited to working in a growing and evolving organization. 

 Desirable 

• Nonprofit fundraising experience, including donor pipeline ownership, grant development and donor reporting. 
• Working French, given the Francophone footprint of the CSO community. 
• Experience of earned-revenue or product models in convening, membership or capability building. 
• Existing relationships across major philanthropic funders active in Africa. 
• Experience of the responsible use of AI in events, matching or content curation. 

COMPENSATION 

This is a senior leadership role offering a competitive compensation package, commensurate with experience and qualifications.

HOW TO APPLY 

Interested candidates should submit a CV and a cover letter outlining their vision and fit for the role through this form. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and early submissions are encouraged. Acceptance of submissions will close once the ideal candidate has been identified. 

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT 

EPIC-Africa is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all. We particularly encourage applications from individuals from underrepresented communities across Africa. For more information about us, please visit our websites: EPIC-Africa and African CSO Platform.