Country Representative – Pharo Foundation

The Pharo Foundation (“the Foundation”) is a privately funded entrepreneurial organisation that runs philanthropic programmes as well as for-profit social ventures. The Vision of the Foundation is an economically vibrant and inclusive Africa. The Mission is to achieve the Vision by investing in the human and physical capital of Africa, with a strong focus on job creation.

Established in 2011 as a UK based non-profit, the Foundation has since made a strategic shift to directly design and implement its own programmes to ensure greater engagement with communities, better results and increased accountability. The Foundation has carried out numerous projects in East Africa, with a focus on Ethiopia and Somaliland and is now looking to expand into Rwanda. The key strategic pillars for the philanthropic side of the Foundation are education, health, water and agriculture. At the end of 2019, the Foundation also started its Social Ventures franchise to prioritise sectors where the Foundation believes a real impact can be made by establishing self- sustaining businesses, which focus on job and economic value creation.

Headquartered in London, the Foundation has an operational head office in Nairobi, Kenya with country offices in Ethiopia (Addis Ababa and Assosa) and Somaliland (Hargeisa) with further expansion plans in East Africa.

Position Summary

The Country Representative (“the CR”) is a strategic leadership role within The Pharo Foundation and will be based in Kigali, Rwanda. This career enriching position is an excellent challenge for an ambitious, self-driven individual seeking to make an impact by leveraging their relevant skills and experience through the provision of strategic leadership in establishing, developing and managing the Rwanda country office programmes in line with the Vision, Mission, Values of the Foundation.

Having previously led high performing teams as a Country Representative or Managing Director, the role holder will be entrusted with the responsibility of leading the execution of the Foundation’s long-term strategy in our Kigali office. This will include establishing our operational presence in Rwanda and scaling up of our programmes within the country. The role is accountable for all aspects of the country programmes, ensuring the delivery of the highest-level quality and impact that will be characterised by continuous improvement. The CR will also be responsible for building excellent relationships with local governments and other identified external stakeholders.

Working in a collaborative fashion and with highly committed colleagues, the position offers an incredible opportunity to an individual who respects and understands local cultures and values and yet embraces and can work within international work ethics and standards.

The role presents a wonderful opportunity for a genuinely driven, curious and passionate individual who desires to affect real change; a confident individual who takes a dynamic, innovative and forward-thinking approach to their work and in return will be rewarded with an excellent mix of challenge, motivation and fulfilment.

Role: Country Representative (Rwanda)

Reporting to: The Chief Executive Officer (London)

Functional Relationships: Director of Education (Nairobi), Heads of Programmes, Finance Manager (London), Head of HR (Nairobi), Country Representatives (Ethiopia and Somaliland), CEO Social Ventures, (Nairobi), Chief Financial Officer (Nairobi).

Direct reports: Head of Education, Head of Human Resources, Finance Manager.

Key duties and responsibilities

Establishing The Pharo Foundation presence in Rwanda

• Ensure all licenses including but not limited to business permits, certificate(s) of registration are in place in order for the Foundation to be operational and compliant in Rwanda.
• Set up the physical infrastructure of the operations, including making recommendations for appropriate office space location, internal workspace branding and negotiating the relevant lease agreements in consultation with the Finance Team based in London.
• Lead the engagement process with relevant regulatory authorities such as the Rwanda Revenue Authority in acquiring statutory documentation such as Tax Identification and Social Security numbers.
• Establish banking relationships with the appropriate financial institutions in Rwanda, in consultation with the Finance Team based in London

Programme Development and Management

• Develop and implement country programmes based on the Foundation’s strategic pillars, and actively participate in periodic country strategic reviews to respond to changing circumstances to ensure highest impact.
• In line with the Foundation’s strategy, proactively develop well researched and fact evidenced programme initiatives for submission to the CEO and the Board of Trustees

• Proactively identify suitable local partners, conduct robust due diligence, identify areas for capacity building and contractual arrangements.
• Ensure that systems are in place to monitor, evaluate and assess the impact of and learn from the programmes.
• Actively communicate and work with identified local partners and communities on programme development, implementation, monitoring, learning and report writing.

In accordance with agreed schedules, prepare and submit country reports including providing strategic insight that will be used to assess the impact of the specific programmes

Human Resources Development and Management

• Build, manage and strengthen the local country team by recruiting the best talent possible, domestically and from the diaspora.
• Provide leadership and mentorship to the team, dedicating time to help team members perform to their full potential.
• Working with line managers and Human Resources, identify the training needs of employees and ensure processes are in place to support and encourage appropriate personal and professional development of staff within the context of organisational objectives.
• Encourage the co-creation of ideas and urge team members to work through solutions together, outlining the what, the how and the when of their ideas.
• Boost productivity and team morale through setting of clear goals, continuous feedback and personal growth.

Key Stakeholder Representation

• Develop relationships with key stakeholders, especially relevant ministries, and collaborate with agencies at all levels in the country to enable the appropriate development of the Foundation’s activities.
• Represent the Foundation with Government, regional authorities, identified partners, auditors, media and the public.
• Promote and safeguard the Foundation’s recognition and reputation in the country; ensure that the Foundation is fully compliant with all legal and regulatory requirements at all times.

Financial Management

• Define financial resource requirements for the country team and all programme activities and functions and ensure that systems and teams are in place for the effective management of financial resources in relation to logistics, procurement and capital assets.
• Ensure that effective and secure control of the Foundation’s finances are established and maintained, in line with the Foundation’s financial procedures and guidelines.

• Oversee and monitor the Foundation’s finances in country and in collaboration with the London Finance team, ensure regular reporting is in place.
• Develop country operational budgets and put in place robust budgeting principles and governance guidelines.

Qualification Requirements

• The ideal person should possess a Bachelor’s degree or master degree in a relevant discipline or MBA. Demonstrated financial management experience, including preparation and management of budgets is a prerequisite for the role.
• S/He must possess a minimum of Fifteen (15) years professional experience, eight (8) of these in increasingly senior management roles in international development entities or the private sector in Rwanda.
• Extensive experience in scaling up companies, programmes or divisions in privately funded philanthropic enterprises in Rwanda will be an added advantage.
• The ability to work autonomously, have strong self-motivation and the maturity to remain accountable for results.
• Excellent communication skills both when working with peers and colleagues, as well as when remaining an approachable and accessible figure to direct reports.

Behavioural Competencies

• Strong leadership pedigree and experience of building and scaling up best in class organisations across Africa.
• Superb management skills: able to manage and motivate a wide variety of employees from diverse backgrounds in a professional and compelling manner.
• Dedicated team player with demonstrable experience in setting up good governance and processes at scale.
• Problem solving and creative thinking skills with the ability to get results in sometimes unstructured environments.
• Self-assured, internally motivated and passionate individual driven to succeed and make a difference.
• High levels of integrity, professionalism, resilience, accountability, commitment and determination.

Candidates:

If you are interested in being considered for this role, please send your CV to Big 5 Search

• Eleanor Khupe, Consultant : eleanor.khupe@big5search.com
• James Adair, Partner : james.adair@big5search.com

The deadline for submission is the 13th November 2020 and final shortlist will be presented on the 21st November 2020, although strong candidates will be shared in advance.