Director Of Africa

We have flexibility with the location for this role to be based in any of the following locations; Johannesburg, Cape Town, Nairobi, Abuja, Accra or Lagos.

If you are not based in these locations, unfortunately we will not be able to move forward with your application on this occasion. 

THE EARTHSHOT PRIZE

Founded by HRH Prince William in 2020, The Earthshot Prize’s (TEP) mission is to unleash urgent optimism and action by discovering, accelerating, awarding, spotlighting and scaling transformative solutions to repair and regenerate our planet. 

In 2024, we find ourselves in a world that is going through seismic change. The challenge we face as a global community is to ensure that climate denialism doesn’t slip into climate defeatism.

This is where our work plays a critical role. The Earthshot Prize Finalists tell the story of possibility, potential, inspiration and optimism. To ensure their solutions have maximum impact, our team works to support and supercharge their incredible innovations world-wide, all while seeking to identify the next cohort of amazing finalists.

We are at a pivotal moment as The Earthshot Prize embarks on its 2024-2027 strategic plan. Our ambition is to deliver global impact through a Prize that fuels a Platform, and in turn fuels a Movement. Our partnerships are at the core of our ability to scale impact and tell compelling stories of how solutions are being developed to repair the planet. 

THE ROLE

The Head of Africa is an integral part of The Earthshot Prize’s Partnerships leadership team, playing a central role in enabling our long-term regional impact and partnership goals. We are looking for an outstanding entrepreneurial and visionary partnerships leader. You will be responsible for developing and delivering our regional impact strategy in Africa by building out an ecosystem of partners, innovators and funders in Africa. Specifically, you will be focused on increasing the number of nominations and nominators in the region, elevating the Fellowship program at the regional level and securing new sources of funding and in-kind support that can scale solutions . You will be the voice of The Earthshot Prize in the region, and the voice of the region to The Earthshot Prize.

This role sits within our partnerships team, responsible for generating exponential impact through a global alliance of mission-aligned partnerships and networks. You will work closely with senior leaders to identify and access existing and new networks of partners, innovators, funders and corporations.

This is a unique opportunity to work in a fast-paced environment, where you will have the autonomy to drive real change and make a meaningful impact on the planet. As Head of Africa, you will have the opportunity to use your skills and experience to help TEP drive exponential influence through a global alliance of mission-aligned partnerships and networks.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy and partnership development

• Design and deliver the regional impact strategy to ensure TEP has a long-term impact through the development and cultivation of partnerships.
• Build long-term sustainable funding for The Earthshot Prize and unlock in-kind of direct support for solutions in the Africa region.
• Identify, cultivate and secure a set of Africa based philanthropists, Foundations and Corporations to drive our decentralized flywheel model of leveraging external networks and resources to achieve impact at scale.
• Utilize regional knowledge to identify a wide range of partnership opportunities which are strategically powerful for TEP’s long-term goals of delivering more investment in eco-innovation.

Key relationships

• Build strong working relationships with the global Partnerships Team, maintaining communication across different time-zones.
• Have a deep understanding of our Innovation’s team mission to discover and accelerate eco-innovators.
• Partner with our Storytelling team to support and leverage TEP’s events and activity in Africa.

Leadership

• Act as our lead in the region, showcasing The Earthshot Prize’s value and representing us to key partners on the ground.
• Work effectively across The Earthshot Prize team to communicate regional insight and partner feedback to help inform our approach in key countries in Africa.

CANDIDATE CRITERIA

• A strategic thinker who has a proven track record of delivering impact through a network on powerful partnerships within Africa.

• Experience with successfully building growth strategies and knowing how to get the most out of a network of partners to supercharge strategic objectives in Africa region.

• Extensive philanthropy experience within the African context with a demonstrable track record of raising funds.

• Experience with a diverse pool of donors including UHNWI, private clients, family offices, foundations, institutions, NGOs, and corporations.

• Demonstrated ability to work well cross functionally and build effective partnerships both internally and externally.

• Excellent communicator who can work credibly with senior stakeholders.

• A thorough understanding of Sub-Sahara and North Africa

• Ability to work in a fast-paced and start-up environment, and comfortable and adaptable to change.

• Ideally, you will have experience in either climate, environment or sustainability.

• Self-driven and autonomous, the role will be stand-alone within region, subject to additional resourcing unlocked by results in region.