Core Responsibilities 

Program Leadership 

• Lead the design and execution of the Africa regional strategy, aligning with Heifer’s global vision and the Twelve Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development. 
• Align the program model, lead, and drive the Africa program for program quality and impact. 
• Champion Locally Led Development by empowering country programs to act as strategic and operational centers, ensuring they have the autonomy, capacity, and resources to thrive. 
• Establish an enabling environment with Global Support Functions and Regional Nodes to support successful program design, delivery, and adaptation. 
• Ensure program goals, budgets, and timelines are met, and adhere to compliance requirements while driving cohesion. 
• Maintain awareness of the competitive development landscape, expansion opportunities, and industry trends in Africa. 

Strategic Partnership, Relationship Building, and Management 

• Represent Heifer Africa with bilateral, multilateral, corporate, and philanthropic partners, cultivating long-term, trust-based relationships and strategic partnerships driven by the business model and inspired by the ambitions of the program model. 
• Collaborate with global revenue and partnership cultivation teams to align Africa’s priorities with donor engagement strategies and secure sustainable funding pipelines for long-term and innovative partnerships. 
• Elevate Heifer’s visibility and influence in Africa and abroad through strategic partnerships, advocacy and policy engagement, and thought leadership. 
• Position Heifer Africa as a top-tier development ecosystem, thought leader, and impactful organization fostering effective communication and external collaboration. 

People Leadership and Culture 

• Build and mentor a high-performing regional leadership team, fostering collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning, and champion talent fluidity by nurturing a connected ecosystem of leaders, ensuring skills, insights, and experiences flow seamlessly across country, regional, and network nodes to strengthen collective capacity. 
• Champion a culture of equity, inclusion, transparency, and integrity that aligns with Heifer’s values and regenerative leadership model. 
• Develop leadership capacity within country programs to strengthen locally led and sustainable organizations. 
• Translate organizational vision into specific, actionable strategies that mobilize and inspire teams across the region. 

Execution, Risk, and Operations 

• Oversee internal program execution, operations, finances, and compliance within Africa to ensure Heifer’s reputation as a trusted and high-performing organization. 
• Collaborate across functions to mitigate risks, optimize resources, and accelerate results. 
• Enable country programs to adopt adaptive strategies rooted in evidence, learning, and contextual realities. 

Foster Engagement, Learning, and Transformation 

• Actively contribute to Heifer’s organizational transformation, ensuring Africa serves as a leading example of semi-autonomous, regenerative, and learning-driven node. 
• Institutionalize learning loops that capture insights from Africa programs and share them across Heifer’s global network. 
• Promote a culture of shared leadership and interconnectedness across Africa and globally. 
• Promote internal engagement and foster uncommon collaboration across Africa and globally to maximize learning. 

Other tasks as assigned. 

Leadership Model 

• SVP – Africa will champion a Regenerative Leadership Model grounded in shared leadership, stewardship, systems-thinking, trust-building, and courageous humility. The SVP – Africa will lead not through control, but by cultivating coherence, presence, and shared purpose; also model a leadership approach grounded in wholeness and well-being, recognizing that personal renewal, empathy, and care are foundational to sustainable impact. 

Minimum Requirements 

• A minimum of fifteen (15) years of international development experience with a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., international development, business administration, agriculture, economics, or public policy), or a combination of education and experience can be considered. 
• Extensive experience living and working in Africa in the field of agriculture, agri-business, and food systems, etc., with strong knowledge of the continent’s development dynamics. 
• Knowledge of small holder business development and agriculture. 
• Proven success leading complex programs and organizations, including financial and operational management in the non-profit space. 
• Demonstrated experience of engaging institutional donors (IFAD, DFID/FCDO, UN agencies, Foundations, Corporations). 
• Fluent in English. 
• The ability to travel within Africa and globally up to 50% of the time. 

Preferred Requirements 

• Master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., international development, business administration, agriculture, economics, or public policy). 
• Six to seven (6~7) years of experience in executive leadership roles. 
• Prior experience working in the INGO space. 
• Proficiency in French or another widely spoken African language.