Senior Alumnae Manager, East Africa

Position Title: Senior Alumnae Manager, East Africa

Location: East Africa

Type: Hybrid with travel to in-person meetings and events

Reports to: Alumnae Program Lead, Cross-Regional

Hours per week (average): 40 (full time)

Our Vision and Mission – WomenLift Health envisions a world where diverse, accomplished leaders collectively transform health outcomes. To realize that vision, we seek to expand the power and influence of talented mid-career women in health and engage with senior institutional and societal leaders to catalyze systemic change for gender equality in health leadership. We work in East Africa, India, Nigeria, North America, Southern Africa and continue to explore outreach to other regions.

Our Work – Established in 2019, we work to advance equality in health leadership through a range of actions at the individual, institutional, and societal levels. This includes “Leadership Journeys,” which focus on equipping mid-career women with tools, along with peer, mentor and coach support, to successfully use their voice, expertise and leadership for impact. It includes pushing conversations and partnerships with senior leaders in health institutions, taking steps to prioritize gender equality. It also includes supporting/ convening global conversations about the importance of women’s leadership, amplifying the voices of national and global health leaders including at the bi-annual WomenLift Health Conference.

Our Culture and Values

• We are building a diverse, entrepreneurial team of people who bring unique cultural and technical perspectives and experiences. We welcome results-oriented problem-solvers of any nationality, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, and disability. We are a growing organization that is committed to building a culture with our partners that values:
  • Collaborative leadership that celebrates diverse perspectives and experiences and ensures everyone contributes to their full potential.
  • Partnership grounded in humility, respect, empathy, and inclusion.
  • Transformative change based upon bold, strategic thinking combined with adaptability and pragmatic action.
  • Spirit of learning ensures we are open, forward-looking, constructive, and committed to growing collectively and individually.
  • Achieving impact by improving global health and gender equality.

POSITION SUMMARY

WomenLift Health recognizes that leadership is a lifetime journey.   Following a powerful year-long leadership developmental experience, alumnae continue to navigate complexity and uncertainty in their workplaces and in public and global health. WomenLift Health invests in the growth, connection and leadership of the women in this impactful alumnae community.

WomenLift is seeking a Senior Alumnae Manager based in East Africa to work under the direction of the Alumnae Program Lead, Cross-Regional and as a member of their East Africa team to contribute to the design and implementation of both a regional and global Alumnae Community strategy. Their focus will be on serving the contextualized needs of women leaders based in East Africa and connecting these women into a powerful global community with close ties to women leaders around the world.

The Senior Alumnae Manager will require strong leadership skills, and the ability to manage projects and people effectively. They must bring a high level of emotional and cross-cultural intelligence and will be adept at building deep relationships across a variety of lived experiences and backgrounds. They should understand the value of co-creation with team members and be able to work independently. They must have strong written and oral communication skills. The SAM should be proficient at synthesizing and organizing information. They should possess strong end-to-end event (in-person and virtual) design, implementation, and communication skills. They bring public/global health understanding and interest and embrace a growth mindset. They value human connection and are strongly aligned with WomenLift Health Mission, Vision, Culture and Values.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The WomenLift’s global Alumnae Community is growing rapidly.  In 2024, it includes 229 women and 60 of those are based in East Africa, growing to 420 in 2025 and over 1000 by 2027. The Senior Alumnae Manager will work under the direction of the Alumnae Program Lead, Cross-Regional and closely with the East Africa Director and alumnae managers in other regions to design and implement an annual set of virtual and in-person offerings. They will also liaise closely with East Africa alumnae to reimagine the future for this community nationally/regionally and globally.  The responsibilities include:

• Develop a regional alumnae strategy and workplan that aligns with and contributes to the cross-regional alumnae strategy. 
• Engage hub alumnae to provide input on WomenLift Health’s strategy including the alumnae strategy, engagement with health institutions and contributing to societal change.
• Collaborate with colleagues to seamlessly transition women from the Leadership Journey to join the alumnae community including facilitating in-person sessions during the LiftOff event.
• Build relationships with alumnae and track the progress, opportunities and challenges of the alumnae. Support activities to collect the stories of alumnae.
• Provide support to the alumnae to sustain progress on the implementation of their Leadership Projects by sharing their expertise and exploring continued access to WomenLift’s network and resources during weekly office hours.
• Working with colleagues within the Hub and across regions, co-design and implement a minimum of 4 regional alumnae events per year and 2 cross-regional events, with a mix of in-person and virtual opportunities.
• Encourage alumnae to engage with their sisters within and across regions; Collaborate closely with Alumnae Lead (cross-regional) and alumnae managers in other regions to foster and strengthen these relationships.
• Work with the regional and functional communications team to raise the visibility of alumnae including but not limited to the amplification of their publications and speaking engagements and highlighting their professional advancement in the quarterly alumnae newsletter.
• Support the creation, moderation, and engagement of one or more cross-regional Communities of Practice on the WomenLift Health WhatsApp Community.
• Identify and engage with internal and external partners for alumnae events.
• Under the supervision of the East Africa Director prioritize, manage, and disperse the annual alumnae budget for the hub, working with operational staff to manage contracts with local partners and vendors for events. Work in collaboration with the cross-regional Alumnae Lead to determine the use of the cross-regional alumnae budget.
• Manage and support updating the alumnae database.  

Education & Experience (Required):

• Master’s degree (related field preferred)
• 9+ years of global public health or gender-equality or social development or human-centric training experience.
• Minimum 3 years of employee supervisory experience  

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities (Required)

• Commitment to WomenLift Health’s mission, vision, and theory of change.
• Exceptional leadership, interpersonal, people and project management skills
• Ability to exercise cultural competency and work respectfully with a diverse team across cultures, geographies, and time zones.
• Proven ability to collaborate and co-create within and across teams and with external partners.
• High emotional intelligence and ability to build trusting relationships
• Excellent spoken and written communication skills in English.
• Depth of experience, integrity, maturity, confidence, ability to learn and adapt, and give and receive feedback, befitting a Senior Manager
• Advanced technological skills and demonstrated experience in using MS office suite including spreadsheets, PowerPoint, Outlook email; Social media platforms such as LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, Videoconferencing platforms such as Zoom, Teams, Google Meets; Program and Task management applications such as Smartsheet, Monday.com, Trello, Figma, and ease in learning new programs. 
• Demonstrated success in following through and completing projects in a timely manner.
• Advanced analytical skills and proficient in synthesizing complex information
• Ability to design systems and processes with a keen eye for detail
• Ability to prioritize, multi-task, and delegate work to others.
• Ability to take initiative and ownership of projects.
• Ability to routinely and independently exercise sound judgment with minimal supervision.

Education & Experience (Preferred):

• Experience with cohort-based programs desired.
• Lived or work experience in another WomenLift Health geography beneficial.

HOW TO APPLY

Please see career page of WomenLift Health, select the appropriate position, and fill out an application form for the role you are interested in. As part of the application packet, you will be asked to submit a) your resume, b) cover letter detailing why you are interested and a good fit for the role, and c) list of three references.

Hiring Information

WomenLift Health is a project of New Venture Fund (NVF), a 501(c)(3) public charity that incubates new and innovative public-interest projects and grant-making programs. NVF is committed to attracting, developing, and retaining exceptional people, and to creating a work environment that is dynamic, rewarding and enables each of us to realize our potential. NVF’s work environment is safe and open to all employees and partners, respecting the full spectrum of race, color, religious creed, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, and all other classifications protected by law in the locality and/or state in which you are working.

WomenLift Health intends to hire the selected candidate via BDO, our PEO (Professional Employer Organization) partner.  Candidate must live and be authorized to work in any of the countries in East Africa.