PHILANTHROPY SECRETARIAT BACKGROUND
Foundations and philanthropists have played a central role in Liberia’s reconstruction and development. In September 2008, the Government of Liberia (GoL) and philanthropists supporting development in the country met in New York to discuss the role of philanthropy in Liberia. This meeting helped to identify several challenges that foundations were encountering. These challenges included difficulty in obtaining information about what was happening on the ground in Liberia and lack of a full awareness of what initiatives other foundations were funding in the country.
The Liberia Philanthropy Secretariat was conceived as a mechanism to respond to these challenges and to strengthen philanthropist-supported contributions in the country. Through generous support from funders including the NoVo Foundation, Humanity United, the Daphne Foundation and the McCall MacBain Foundation, GoL launched the Secretariat in April 2009. Today the Secretariat is a 5 person unit housed in the Office of the President and Headed by the Chairman of Liberia’s National Investment Commission (NIC). Liberia is the first country in the world to have established an office dedicated to facilitating the work of philanthropy.
The Philanthropy Secretariat is seeking to hire a Program Manager to build on the Secretariat’s success through its first two years and to lead the office’s day-to-day operations going forward. The Program Manager serves as the Government of Liberia’s focal point for the country’s foundation partners and also steers the Secretariat’s efforts to encourage new foundations and philanthropists to begin funding in the country.
PROGRAM MANAGER RESPONSIBILITIES
The Program Manager will be based in Monrovia full-time but will be expected to travel extensively outside of Liberia to engage directly with philanthropists and foundations (up to 30 percent).
The Program Manager’s responsibilities include:
Outreach to New Philanthropic Actors
A core Secretariat objective is to expand the number of private philanthropic institutions and individual philanthropists supporting work in Liberia. The Program Manager is responsible for developing the strategy behind and also the execution of these outreach efforts to new foundations. The Program Manager will continue to use the tools of engagement that the Secretariat has been employing to date including:
• Convening the Secretariat’s annual visit of philanthropists to Liberia
• Building relationships with philanthropy intermediary organizations such which can assist with outreach to new prospective funders
• Forging new relationships with philanthropists working through Liberia’s current network of foundation partners
The Program Manager will be responsible for building on these existing tools to strengthen the Secretariat’s outreach to new foundations. The Program Manager will also have the task of implementing the Secretariat’s new Engagement Strategy that is in the process of being developed.
Facilitating the Work of Existing Foundation Partners. Another central objective of the Secretariat is to ensure that Liberia’s current foundation partners have the information they need to enable their work in the country. The Program Manager serves as the focal point for foundations’ interactions with Liberia. On a regular basis, the Program Manager, working together with the rest of the Secretariat team, will need to be responsive to foundation queries on a variety of issues. The Program Manager will also create and implement new tools to encourage information sharing and collaboration amongst Liberia’s partner foundations. This will include sending out informational emails to philanthropic partners and convening conference calls.
Leading the Implementation of the Secretariat’s Sustainability Process. The Philanthropy Secretariat was launched in April 2009 as a 3 year pilot program. To move toward decisions on the future of this unique collaborative model of philanthropy that is being undertaken in Liberia, the Secretariat is convening a meeting of stakeholders at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Italy in April 2011. An objective of this meeting is to come to decisions on two primary questions. First, should the Secretariat continue to operate inside government or does it may make sense to operate the office as an autonomous or semi-autonomous entity sometime in the future? Second, will the Secretariat continue to be financed by a handful of Liberia’s partner foundations or should the Secretariat seek to shift to a different funding model. On the heels of this meeting, the Secretariat will need to begin implementing the recommended next steps that are agreed upon by the Secretariat and its stakeholders. The Program Manager will lead the Secretariat’s implementation of these measures with the objective of ensuring the continuity of the Secretariat as it moves beyond the end of its pilot phase at the end of March 2012.
Other Key Program Manager Functions
• Serve as a manager of the Secretariat’s current staff of five (including the Program Manager)
• Lead the organization of the Secretariat’s key annual events: the Liberia Foundations Meeting in September in New York and the Philanthropists Visit in the first quarter of the year
• Final managerial responsibility for the Secretariat’s operating budget
• Work to build awareness and enthusiasm in the philanthropic community about the Philanthropy Secretariat model and about the Secretariat’s role within Liberia itself
PROGRAM MANGER QUALIFICATIONS
The Philanthropy Secretariat is seeking a Liberian National with the following qualifications and skills:
• Experience working either for a grant-making institution or in a fundraising or development position
• Understanding of how foundations operate and of the challenges foundations face working in Liberia
• Excellent understanding of how philanthropy views its relationship with government and also with civil society
• Ability to effectively manage relationships with foundations and philanthropists and to interact with high-level individuals from the world of philanthropy and within the Liberian government
• Strong public speaking skills
• Leadership and staff management expertise and a demonstrated ability to motivate and mentor team members
• Undergraduate degree in International Development, Political Science, Public Administration, Economics, etc. Graduate Degree is a plus
• Strong writing skills, high responsiveness to email, and proficiency with Microsoft Office applications
• Strong work ethic; willingness and ability to work long hours, sometimes until 8 or 9 pm
• Ability to live in Monrovia but to travel internationally at least 30 percent of the time
How to apply
• Length of Assignment: An initial 1 year contract
• Start Date: June 15, 2011
• Employer: The Program Manager will work for the Government of Liberia in the Office of the President though will be paid as a consultant. This is a non-civil servant post.
• Reports To: Chairman of National Investment Commission
• How To Apply: Applicants are asked to submit a cover letter and a copy of their CV by email to dhymowit@gmail.com by May 6th. No hard copy application materials are needed. Cover letters should be addressed to the Secretariat Program Manager, Dan Hymowitz. Short-listed candidates will be contacted by the Secretariat. Any questions about the Program Manager position may be directed to Dan Hymowitz at dhymowit@gmail.com.
