Programme Officer, South Africa

Programme Officer, South Africa

Posted 26 March 2025

Position Title: Programme Officer, South Africa | Reports to: Regional Programme Director, Africa | Business Unit: Programmes | Location: Johannesburg

Employment Status: Full-time | % Time: 100% | Supervisory Responsibility: No

Position Summary 

The Programme Officer, South Africa has primary responsibility for programmes and grants portfolio in South Africa. They will lead and manage this portfolio including managing institutional donor funds, capacity strengthening and partner learning with grantee partners. They will report to the Regional Programme Director who is also based in Johannesburg. 

This position is critical to EMpower’s mission in finding, supporting, engaging and learning from youth-centered local organisations in South Africa and serving as a strategic conduit between their knowledge and learnings and global practice. 

Primary Responsibilities 

The duties that follow represent the primary responsibilities for this role. All employees are responsible for performing other duties as assigned. Primary responsibilities for this role include the following: 

Grantmaking

• Manages and monitors grantee partner pipelines for the South Africa portfolio.  
• Pro-actively sources and screens potential new grantee partners, mainly through desk research but also in participating in and contributing to field visits. 
• Reviews and negotiate full proposals with both prospective and current grantee partners. 
• Leads independently on conducting due diligence for potential new and existing grantee partners and on any needed documentation or support to partners to understand and comply with due diligence/grant administration policies and procedures. 
• Monitors and manages grants including the review and approval of grantee partner reports for their portfolio. 
• Organises and keeps track of grantee reporting schedules and proactively follows up on outstanding reports for their portfolio. 
• Prepares grant summaries for e.g., EMpower grants meetings, for their portfolio. 
• Leads ongoing communication with grantee partners of their portfolio and as agreed with the Regional Programme Director.

Institutional Donor Fund Management

• Proven experience in managing institutional donor funds, including budgeting, financial tracking, and compliance with donor regulations.
• Understanding of financial reporting and accountability standards for NGOs.
• Ability to prepare and present financial reports to donors and senior management.
• Experience with grant management, including proposal writing, fund allocation, and expenditure tracking.

Programme Learning and Capacity Building: 

• Enable, facilitate and share lessons across EMpower grantees and programme experience through webinars, panels, articles, social media etc 
• Enable and facilitate capacity building with and across grantee partner organisations; plan and support learning exchanges among grantees; review or co-develop content for programme learning products. 

Other tasks related to Grantmaking in the region: 

• Aggregates and analyzes data on the Africa portfolio: supports the team, e.g., preparing presentations on programmatic inputs for board meetings, programme retreats, strategic planning or for strategic portfolio reviews or other purposes as needed and requested. 
• Updates of country dashboards/ strategies to guide grantmaking decisions as needed and requested. 
• Maintains and keeps programmatic Excel sheets up to date in order to best track and monitor the regional Africa portfolio 
• Leads and coordinates on logistics and organizing for grants meetings, e.g., invitation, pre-reads, note taking (supported by and in collaboration with the EMpower Africa team members) 
• Acts as focal point (Power User) on grants management system (Fluxx) and implementation of Fluxx in the Africa region.  

Knowledge, Skills, Values and education 

The knowledge, skills, values and abilities for this position are as follows: 

• At least 5 years’ experience in the philanthropic and/or nonprofit sector
• Experience in grants management and institutional fund management is required  
• Bachelor’s Degree preferred but not required 
• Interest in the field of youth development, emerging market countries, and/or effective philanthropy 
• Fluency in English and proficiency in regional language required. 
• Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated cultural sensitivity/awareness. 
• Strong interpersonal communication skills with culturally diverse audiences; from marginalised, underserved youth to high-profile finance professionals.  
• Strong creative, strategic, and analytical thinking skills 
• Self-starter; highly organised; proven ability to work independently, anticipate, prioritise, complete multiple projects and meet deadlines, with consistent attention to detail 
• Ability to work independently with high degree of judgment and professionalism, as well as virtually with a team across multiple time zones (early morning/evening calls required) 
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Applications and comfortable with learning new database technology (experience using Fluxx a plus) 
• Ability to work with quantitative information such as budgets and excel spreadsheets 
• A commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion; alignment with EMpower values. 
• Ability to work and reside in South Africa, and travel in the region and internationally as needed.

Compensation and Benefits 

EMpower offers competitive wages, benefits, and growth opportunities consistent with industry standards. Flexible benefits packages include health insurance and other insurance; pension plan with employer contribution/match; time off; and work/life benefits. 

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement 

EMpower is a public foundation that makes grants globally to benefit marginalised youth, including adolescent girls. We are committed to attracting, developing, motivating and retaining exceptional talent and to a work environment that recognises contribution, fosters respect and teamwork, and facilitates strong performance. We encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds, recognizing that diversity enriches all staff and our work globally. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion or faith, or physical ability. 

This policy applies to all employment practices within our organisation, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, and training. EMpower makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.  

How to Apply: Through the Easy Apply option on LinkedIn, please submit one PDF with your CV and a cover letter combined outlining how your experience aligns with the role. Applications that do not include a cover letter will not be considered.

If you have any questions or encounter issues submitting your files, please reach out to Lindsay Prybylski, People & Operations Associate, at lprybylski@empowerweb.org

Deadline: April 7th, 2025