Associate Director, Programs, Africa (Parental Leave Cover)

Who We Are

Co-Impact brings together local changemakers and funders from around the world to make health education and economic systems stronger and more inclusive creating impact that lasts. Our commitment to advancing gender equality and womens leadership is central to this goal. By focusing on systems we work at the scale of the problem - dismantling the root causes of inequality that disadvantage hundreds of millions of women girls and marginalized communities. Spanning five continents our team identifies partners that will create lasting progress when supported with the resources to work at scale. Pooling funding allows us to provide large flexible grants and strategic support to locally-rooted partners in Africa Asia and Latin America who know their systems best. Our partners initiatives will benefit more than 600 million people and we can go even further together. We aim to deploy over $1 billion by 2030 and achieve a world where everyone can lead fulfilling lives. For more information please visit and take a look at our Handbook.

Co-Impact partners with Professional Employment Organizations (PEOs) to employ their staff.

The Role

Co-Impact is seeking an Associate Director to provide coverage during a period of parental leave beginning in March 2026. In this role you will work closely with the current Associate Director Africa to ensure a smooth handover ahead of their leave and support a seamless transition upon their return. Reporting to the Regional Director Programs Africa this pivotal role sits within our Africa program team and collaborates closely with global teams across communications Learning Measurement and Evaluation (LME) philanthropic engagement and other core functions at Co-Impact.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a dynamic organization partnering with changemakers to advance the vision of an equitable world where government and market systems deliver services more effectively responsively and in dignity-affirming ways to people and communities.

As part of Co-Impact team core responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

• Sourcing (20%):
  • Support the team to finalize sourcing conduct diligence and award design grants for a new cohort of partners in our Women in Leadership (WIL) Program which aims to advance womens leadership and gender equality in law and economics and ensure women in these fields are supported to lead with confidence influence and agency.
  • Collaborate with the Regional Director Africa and the rest of the team in sourcing for additional partners in Co-Impacts focus countries in Africa in 2026. This will include pipeline identification due diligence and preparation of recommendation materials.
• Partner Support (60%):
  • Work with the incoming cohort of WIL partners to finalize their strategy development work plans following the induction (design) workshop and support them over the next couple of months as they develop their strategies. Establish regular check-ins to track their progress engage with their emerging ideas and provide practical hands-on support and feedback as they develop different components of their strategies.
  • Under the guidance of the Regional Director Africa implement regular engagement plans to check in and support other Co-Impact partners at different stages of implementing their strategies ensuring effective tracking and documentation of their progress and results in collaboration with Program Managers (PMs) and the Program Assistant (PA).
  • Partner with the Africa PMs Design team and Learning Measurement & Evaluation (LME) team to track emerging trends and challenges across our portfolio and provide relevant support streams to program partners including coaching learning gatherings communities of practice and LME support.
• Learning Insight curation and Storytelling (10%):
  • Lead the Africa team in regularly identifying insights and compelling impact stories from program partners work.
  • Work with the team and with colleagues in communications and philanthropy to develop articles reflection pieces opinion pieces blog posts and other materials that amplify partners impact and support Co-Impacts funder engagement. Share these products across both internal and external channels.
  • Contribute to tracking trends and impact at a meta-level across the portfolio.
• Team Coordination and Collaboration (10%):
  • Coordinate with other Co-Impact functional teams as required to ensure smooth information flow and decision-making across the region.
  • Support the professional growth of team members including the Program Assistant and Program Managers.
  • Foster a team culture grounded in Co-Impacts values—impact humility collaboration inclusion and continuous learning.
  • Carry out additional reasonable duties as requested by the Regional Director.

You will work with the current Associate Director before their leave to develop a detailed workplan and deliverables. At the end of the term you will document completed work lessons learned and the status of ongoing engagements to ensure a smooth handover and continuity.

Where You Fit

You are motivated by a strong desire to address the root causes of inequality by improving how governments work for people and communities at a systems level as reflected in your governance or public sector experience. Importantly you also bring a deep commitment to gender equality with a proven track record of supporting womens and girls voice agency and leadership through programs grounded in inclusive participatory and feminist principles. Because we work in partnership with proximate local organizations and are committed to supporting locally led responses including women-led and centered interventions experience in this area will be a strong asset.

We are seeking someone with international experience who has worked across cultures with substantial experience navigating the political economies of our regional context. We are also seeking a flexible professional who thrives in a dynamic distributed and diverse environment and brings strong interpersonal skills analytical ability and initiative.

This is a fixed-term parental leave cover position with no expectation of transitioning into a permanent role. It is ideal for candidates looking for impactful time-bound work.

Qualifications and Experience

Essential

• Over 10 years of professional experience in advancing gender equality and womens leadership with an intersectional lens in at least one of our focus areas (health education or economic opportunity) or engaging governments to be more inclusive and effective through legal or public sector reforms.
• Experience in grantmaking that is partner-centric and outcomes focused with a strong track-record of supporting CSOs and other social sector actors in Africa and the Global South.
• Experience working with women-centred organisations and programs.
• Demonstrated leadership and management experience. At least 5 years of experience in managing or mentoring staff providing guidance and leading project management processes to achieve strong results while fostering a positive work culture.
• Evidence of building and nurturing successful working relationships and partnerships with diverse stakeholders in diverse working contexts and with a keen appreciation for intercultural dynamics
• Demonstrates strong enthusiasm for collaboration and partnership valuing the creation of an environment that fosters shared communication efforts and outcomes in alignment with Co-Impacts value as a consensus builder.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills with ability to write and speak with clarity and precision.
• Learning orientation: Intellectually curious with a strong inclination to seek and work with evidence. Demonstrates openness to new ideas and a diversity of perspectives and is unafraid to admit and learn from failures.
• Results orientation: Demonstrated project management skills effective deadline management strong sense of responsibility and accountability and the ability to handle multiple responsibilities and work effectively both remotely and independently.
• Willing to adapt to different time zones and international travel demands reflecting the global nature of the organization.
• Dealing with ambiguity: Capable of adapting quickly to changing situations; able to make decisions and take action without having the full picture while evaluating and managing risk and uncertainty effectively. Ability to shift gears comfortably.
• Strong moral compass; exhibits impeccable personal ethics and integrity combined with kindness and empathy.
• Perspective: Maintains a sense of humour and the ability to not take oneself too seriously.
• Eligibility to work in Kenya (we are unable to sponsor a visa).

Desirable

• A masters degree or equivalent in a relevant field.
• Proven experience supporting non-profits to develop strong strategic plans with strong facilitation —including the ability to ask effective questions and communicate complex strategic concepts clearly to diverse audiences.
• Experience in LME especially in analyzing synthesizing and making sense of change pathways and results in complex non-linear programs.
• Experience in developing impactful communication products that translate complex content into language that speaks to different audiences.

Benefits

Co-Impacts compensation philosophy is guided by the following three principles:

• Equity and Fairness: Our approach to compensation and benefits are designed to ensure that our global team is treated equitably regardless of location and without regard to gender race or nationality.
• Transparency: We want Co-Impacts employees to understand our salary structure and to feel confident that they are paid equitably and potential job applicants to have an understanding of how the role for which they are applying will be compensated.
• Accountability: As stewards of the philanthropic resources entrusted to us so that we can support our program partners we are accountable to our donors and our board to our staff and to the general public.

In accordance with that philosophy we include the salary for each position in our job postings; to ensure equity within the organization and for all candidates we will not negotiate salary or benefits. This is a 7-month fixed-term full-time fully remote position running from February 2026 to September 2026. The monthly gross salary will be USD 12500 plus a generous benefits package.

Application Details

You are welcome to express your interest by submitting a tailored CV and cover letter that speak specifically to this role and highlights your relevant experiences. Generic non-specific or AI-generated applications will not be as competitive.

Please apply online HERE by 5.00 pm EAT 5th January 2025. In your cover letter please confirm that you are authorized to live and work in Kenya and that you are available for the full duration of the 7-month fixed term employment contract.. Please note that Co-Impact cannot cover relocation costs. If you are authorized to live in Kenya but are not currently based there you will need to cover any relocation expenses.

As we are a small team we regret that we can only respond to applicants selected for an interview and we are unable to participate in informational calls prior to interviews. Thank you for your understanding.

We will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis. The position may close earlier if we receive a strong pool of candidates so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. Shortlisted candidates can expect to hear from the recruitment team in early January 2026.