Program Coordinator, Southern Africa

Position Title: Program Coordinator, Southern Africa

Location: Major cities in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Zimbabwe

Type: Fully remote

Reports to: Akhona Tshangela, Southern Africa Director

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, North America and, 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 a “Leadership Journey,” which focuses on equipping mid-career women the 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 conversation 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 is seeking a Program Coordinator to work under the direction of the WomenLift Health Southern Africa Director to contribute to implementation and administration of programmatic functions to achieve the objectives of WomenLift Health.

The Program Coordinator will work closely with the Southern Africa Director, the next level manager, and other members of the small and nimble globally distributed WomenLift Health team to contribute to designing, building and implementing the systems and processes to efficiently track and support the operations of the WomenLift Health Southern Africa training program (“The Leadership Journey”) for mid-career women leaders in public health in  Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Zimbabwe. The Southern Africa hub plans to launch one Signature and One Thematic Leadership Journey in 2025 each with 30 women for a 12-month duration and may scale up to include additional Journeys in the following years. The Thematic Leadership Journey in Family Planning and Contraceptive Access will be launched jointly with East Africa including women leaders from both regions in the cohort. More details about the Leadership Journey can be found here.

The Program Coordinator should be a self-starter with a strong work ethic, someone who pays close attention to detail and takes initiative. They should deeply value WomenLift’s mission and cherish human connection and relationship building. They should have an eye to constant improvement and streamlining of systems and processes related to the Southern Africa Leadership Journey. The ideal candidate should be able to work adeptly both independently and in a team. WomenLift team members feel closely aligned with our values and enjoy working in an entrepreneurial environment with a diverse set of teammates from around the world.

This recruitment is for 1 full-time (100% FTE) position.

Responsibilities and Tasks

• Key Journey Operations: Work closely with the Southern Africa Director and next-level manager to establish clear timelines, systems, and process for all activities related to the Southern Africa Leadership Journey (s) from Launch to LiftOff.
  • Develop a solid grasp of WomenLift Leadership Journey systems and processes including tools, templates, technological platforms, and documentation. In collaboration with the next level manager, take ownership for the contextualization and upkeep of these within the region and share learnings across regions. Examples include:
    • Key milestones, timelines, and deliverables related to Southern Africa Leadership Journeys including the annual Leadership Journey Calendar(s).
    • Journey digital platforms such as Smartsheet, Slideroom, TechChange, and SharePoint. (PC needs to be tech savvy but does not need to be an expert in all these platforms. Training will be provided)
    • Monitoring Evaluation and Learning implementation processes.
  • Support operations related to Leadership Journey (LJ) application process including – social media promotion, application review, selection, and onboarding of cohort.  
  • Primary point of contact for the cohort and Journey support networks: disseminating key information to the cohort, scheduling touchpoints with facilitators, mentors, and project reviewers, and responding to any inquiries or needs.
  • Refine and implement processes related to tracking, supporting, and evaluating cohort members’ leadership projects (LP). Share any feedback about LPs emerging from cohort with the hub team and contribute to LP template updates.
  • Along with WomenLift Operations team, coordinate the logistics and event planning for 2 in-person residencies called Immersion and LiftOff.  
  • Support the tech and programmatic production and delivery of the biweekly/monthly virtual learning sessions attended by the cohort members.
• Collaboration with Communications Team
• Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL)
  • Support all monitoring and evaluation activities as needed, including launching feedback surveys during touchpoints, and annual evaluations through email outreach.
• Scaling and Quality Control

• Support WomenLift Communications and Alumnae team to amplify the regional cohort and alumnae community and support compilation of all the necessary information to effectively transition cohort to alumnae team after the completion of the Leadership Journey.
• Assist WomenLift Health communications personnel with development of Southern Africa cohort training materials including contributing to the creation of presentations, invitations, brochures, website collateral, social media assets, etc.

• Contribute to the creation of contextualized guidelines and templates related to scaling for the hub and help next level manager to proactively forecast increases in LJ needs and support recruitment for multiple journeys in a timely manner - mentors, coaches, project reviewers.
  • Identify and escalate challenges or needs related to Leadership Journey implementation to next level management in a timely manner

Education, Experience, Knowledge, Skills, and Ability   

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE (REQUIRED):

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field and 5 or more years of related experience in activities including administration, training implementation, program or project management, scheduling, tracking, and budgeting; or combination of education and relevant experience for projects of comparable size/complexity

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (REQUIRED):

• Commitment to WomenLift Health’s mission, vision, theory of change, and unique positioning in the field
• Technological savvy and comfort with the use of various digital platforms (e.g., Zoom, Monday, SharePoint, etc.)
• Interpersonal Skills: Demonstrates the ability to work well with key stakeholders and partners from diverse cultures and backgrounds
• Demonstrated success in following through and completing projects in a timely manner
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to prioritize, multi-task, and assign work to others
• Ability to take initiative and ownership of projects
• Ability to routinely and independently exercise sound judgment in decision-making

VALUED AND NON-ESSENTIAL EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITY

●      Additional language preferred, but not required

●      Background in public health, gender equality, leadership development, or related field

How to Apply

Please see the 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) a cover letter detailing why you are interested and a good fit for the role, and c) a list of three references.

Hiring Statement

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 employment via a PEO (Professional Employer Organization)/host partner in South Africa or other southern African countries.  Candidate must live and be authorized to work in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Zimbabwe.