Program Officer, East Africa

The Ford Foundation’s Nairobi office seeks a dynamic, innovative Program Officer to be

a part of a team that is driving and shaping the foundation’s ongoing social justice work in East Africa. With six decades in the East African region, the Nairobi office’s current strategy focuses on  civic engagement and governance in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Under this strategy we invest in the threads that hold democracies together: basic freedoms, both in the digital domain and our daily lives; supporting an autonomous civil society and open government and building the resilience of social justice actors. We sustain a commitment to gender and disability justice and acknowledge the need to support new generations of leadership in a youthful continent. Our investments span institutions, individuals and ideas-resourcing a diverse set of actors committed to ending inequality through advancing social justice.

Reporting to the Regional Director, the Program Officer will develop and manage a grantmaking portfolio that helps advance the impact of Ford’s work in the region and includes a mix of grantees reflective of the needs of the change ecosystem. They will lead on the design of learning and convening for their grantees in partnership with the office team and broader Foundation. They will also contribute to thought leadership and strengthening resources for the work through engagement with other donors. The role involves collaborative interaction with colleagues across the Foundation including peer Program Officers and contributing to other Ford programming and strategic thinking.

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