Office Director – South Africa
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
Civil Society Program
The C. S. Mott Foundation’s Civil Society Program seeks a director for its office in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Responsibilities include front-line responsibility for the administration of the South Africa office; managing recruitment, professional development, supervision, and appraisal of staff working in South Africa; overseeing the Foundation’s grant programming in South Africa, especially overall visioning and strategic planning, budgeting, and monitoring and evaluation; facilitating communications with the Foundation’s head office in Flint, Michigan; and representing the Foundation with external audiences. Direct management of a grant portfolio addressing the nonprofit sector and philanthropy; rights, responsibilities, and participation; and/or race and ethnic relations will also be required (the exact nature of the grant portfolio will depend upon the successful candidate’s experience).
The C. S. Mott Foundation has been making grants to benefit South Africa since 1988. In 2007, the Foundation awarded more than $4 million to organizations active in South Africa. The current program focuses on promoting civil society in South Africa through building nonprofit sector capacity and leadership, promoting community participation, upholding rights, facilitating healing and reconciliation, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the nonprofit sector through nurturing local and indigenous forms of philanthropy. Additional information on the Foundation’s programming in South Africa and elsewhere can be found on its Web site, www.mott.org.
Candidates for this position should have the equivalent of an undergraduate/bachelor’s degree and preferably a graduate degree, considerable work experience in South Africa, and familiarity with the nonprofit sector and civil society development. This position requires fluency in English and preferably at least one other local language, excellent English language writing skills, solid strategic and analytical thinking abilities, strong interpersonal communication and presentation skills, and careful attention to detail regarding both program content and administration of grants. Prior management and grantmaking experience will be preferred; however, these are not requirements for the position. The candidate should have the desire and ability to work as a member of a team and the ability to manage a diverse workload. Candidates must be willing to live in and work out of Johannesburg and travel extensively within South Africa, as well as periodically to the U.S. and Europe.
To Apply for This Position
Please submit a cover letter, resume, references, and a writing sample of no more than ten pages by July 18, 2008. Applications and inquiries should be marked “Application for Mott Foundation Office Director – South Africa” and emailed to:
Trish Harley-Jones, Executive Search d’Afrique
Email address: trish@esda.co.za
Fax No.: +27 11 447 7137
The Mott Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and encourages diversity of thinking, background, and perspective among its staff. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply. This position offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience and excellent benefits.
About the Mott Foundation
The C. S. Mott Foundation is a private foundation providing grant support for programs throughout the U.S. and, on a limited basis, internationally. The Foundation’s work is focused in four programs: Civil Society, Environment, Flint Area, and Pathways Out of Poverty. With an endowment of approximately $2.7 billion, the Foundation awarded nearly 530 grants totaling approximately $109 million in 2007. The Foundation’s headquarters are located in the southeastern Michigan community of Flint.