Executive Director – South Africa Full Time

Open Society Foundation for South Africa (OSF-SA) is a part of the worldwide network of the Open Society Foundations. OSF-SA celebrated 25 years of grant-making in 2018 and since the foundation’s inception has been committed to promoting the values, institutions, and practices of an open, non-racial and non-sexist, democratic, civil society in South Africa. The organization is governed by its own board and is also one of four African sub-regional offices overseen by Open Society Foundation’s Africa Regional Program. OSF-SA works in partnership with civil society organizations in South Africa in advancing its mission, seeking to promote:

• Democratic, responsive, accountable and transparent governance
• The strengthening of democracy through informed and appropriate checks and balances on the exercise of public and private power
• The free flow of information
• Informed and active communities
• Adherence to the rule of law and universal access to justice
• The ability of the poor, disadvantaged and marginalised to exercise their rights

In seeking to promote these principles, OSF-SA is guided by South Africa’s painful past and the values contained in South Africa’s Constitution of human dignity, non-discrimination, seeking the achievement of substantive equality and the advancement of human rights.

OSF – SA seeks to appoint an EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR to be based in Cape Town

Key responsibilities of this exciting, challenging opportunity include:

• Providing overall strategic direction by developing and recommending appropriate strategies and policies to OSF-SA’s Board for approval and ensuring their successful implementation in line with the mandate and vision of the foundation;
• Reporting to the Board and participation as a member to ensure that the Board is well informed in providing overall oversight, guidance and direction in leading OSF-SA;
• Overseeing the management of OSF-SA’s finances, ensuring financial transparency, compliance, and accountability are of the highest standard and accounted for through timely and accurate reporting to the Board, the OSF network through the Africa Regional Director and OSF’s internal auditors;
• Providing overall direction and management of OSF-SA in relation to strategy, policy, research, programme and grant management, human resources, finances and communications;
• Creating and maintaining a motivational climate, which promotes valued and engaged employees and the development of constructive working relationships;
• Ensuring that OSF-SA’s operation is based on respect for principles of equity, inclusion and diversity
• Managing relationships with key stakeholders and communicating with them both formally and informally to ensure they understand OSF-SA and its objectives and ensure their needs are understood and translated into practical applications;
• In addition to reporting to OSF-SA’s Board, reporting and driving collaboration with the wider OSF network; managing relationships and communicating both formally and informally to ensure optimal synergies and engagement by the OSF network as a whole in South Africa;
• Ensuring compliance with Corporate Governance and relevant domestic legislation.

Candidate Profile

The successful candidate will demonstrate significant personal and professional commitment to the advancement of open society values across South Africa and detailed understanding of the country’sgeo-political landscape and historical context. She/he will bring substantive analytical skills to bear in designing strategy that meaningfully promotes human rights and constitutionalism in South Africa.

She/he will need to be experienced in and enjoy navigating a complex stakeholder terrain, and have an instinctive understanding of how to build and leverage relationships in support of OSF-SA’s mission.

Operating on the highest ethical and fiduciary standards will be fundamental to success in this role and the Executive Director is expected to embody the values that OSF-SA seeks to promote.

The successful candidate will:

• Demonstrate exceptional knowledge of South Africa’s Constitution, history, politics, economics and the civic sector therein;
• Possess a tertiary degree and at least eight years’ management experience, three of which must be leading a multi-disciplinary team in a large civil society organisation
• Exercise measured and appropriate judgment, flexibility and willingness to work simultaneously on a wide range of tasks and projects;
• Exercise creative leadership in projects and programs of substance and be experienced in creating new and innovative practices for improving team performance;
• Possess high-level experience in the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of successful strategy;
• Ideally, have some experience in working at national level within a global, matrixed structure;
• Be knowledgeable and experienced in the legal and regulatory dimensions of non-profit organizational management in South Africa and comfortable implementing complex, rule-based systems;
• Have proven success in developing cohesive teams and growing the professional capacities of team members;
• Demonstrate humility, willingness to listen and learn in the company of colleagues as well as internal and external stakeholders;
• Have excellent written and verbal English language communication skills;
• Be willing to undertake frequent travel.

Interested candidates can view the full job description and application instructions at www.actionappointments.co.za and send a CV and motivation letter by 28th June 2019 to lisa@actionappointments.co.za

Tagged as: Open Society, South Africa