Executive Director

#Job Description

Position: Executive Director

Reports to: Chairperson and National Council

Position open to Somaliland Nationals only.

Background:

The timely inception of Somaliland National Youth Organization (SONYO Umbrella) filled a longstanding gap that was critical to any comprehensive and encompassing rehabilitation, reconstruction and development process in the emerging Somaliland state and nation in the turn of the 21st century. SONYO was primarily intended to operate as a fully-fledged national umbrella organization for youth organizations in Somaliland and thus support in the advocacy, development, capacity building, mobilization, and coordination of Somaliland youth and the community as a whole.

SONYO Umbrella came into being on 5th June 2003 and has never looked back as a premier youth organization working to enhance the opportunities of Somaliland youth and at the same time advocating for their rightful spaces and places in the development and democratization processes of Somaliland. The achievements attained by the Umbrella for the last fourteen years of its existence speaks of resilience, hard-work, and unity of purpose, and offers hope and optimism for better and prosperous future to each and every Somaliland youth.

The Umbrella is committed to the redefinition of the role and purpose of the youth in economic, social and political leadership and governance over natural resources of the; and in mainstreaming the youth agenda in all decision-making processes of the country.

SONYO believes that investing in the youth (socially, politically, economically and even religiously) is one of the best panaceas for addressing the injustices, inequalities and poverty bedeviling the planet earth. The youth are and have the solution – they are the silver bullet to world’s crises and therefore it is not an option involving and engaging them towards solving local, national, regional, continental and even global problems. It is an obligation!

What We Seek:

Reporting to the National Council, the Executive Director (ED) will have overall strategic and operational responsibility for SONYO staff, programs, fundraising and execution of its mission. The Executive Director will be a high-level professional with proven leadership and management skills and a strong knowledge of the international sustainability and development context. A confident presenter and analytical thinker, the successful candidate will demonstrate their ability to represent SONYO and related program issues to a wide range of audiences including donors, government representatives, business leaders, and UN agencies and other INGOs/LNGOs to build relationships and networks in a culturally sensitive manner. An ability to engage and empower people and inspire others to perform and grow will go hand in hand with

excellent communication, networking and implementation skills. The Executive Director will be the primary support to organizational fundraising efforts, including organizational efforts to develop fee based income sources. The ideal candidate will have experience managing a mix of grant and fee-based income.

Key Responsibilities:

See below a list of the main responsibilities of the role. Please note that this may not be an exhaustive list and the successful candidate may also be expected to take on additional responsibilities within the overall scope of the role.

Vision & Leadership

• Inspire and motivate SONYO staff to engage with and deliver on SONYO’s mission

• Strengthen the SONYO membership, its reputation and credibility, seeking long term benefits to SONYO members

• Initiative, Sound Judgment and dedication

• Manage key relationships with SONYO member organizations, encourage open dialogue and actively foster collaboration between SONYO members

• Identify and engage key stakeholders (including governments, business leaders and global NGOs) and foster partnerships to pursue SONYO’s mission related objectives.

• Represent interests of SONYO membership externally

• Enhance SONYO’s profile by executing viable programs at scale

Governance

• Cultivate a strong and transparent working relationship with the Board of Directors, General Assembly and other stakeholders to support their respective important governance role

• Report to National Council on organizational performance against SONYO’s strategic objectives and annual work-plans and budget

• In liaison with Director of Finance ensure preparation and regular review of quarterly, biannual and annual budgets and disbursement reports

Financial Management

• Develop sustainable financial models for the organization, including identification and exploration of potential alternative income streams, e.g. through fund raising and advocacy

• In partnership with stakeholders, MO and National council develop and implement a national youth strategy plan and steward key donor relationships

Organizational Management

• Ensure programmatic excellence, rigorous program evaluation, and consistent quality of finance and administration, fundraising, communications and systems

• Define organizational annual work plans and priorities in order to effectively achieve SONYO’s mission

• Engage, develop and empower staff in order to enable high performing teams and individual learning
• Ensure that staff, systems and other resources are aligned to deliver high impact outcomes and operational efficiencies

• Foster an enabling environment to encourage continuous learning and growth

• Improve monitoring, evaluation and learning mechanisms at place for promoting organizational accountability and transparency Team Building

Program Delivery

• Support conceptualization, fundraising and launch of new programmatic activities

• Support program delivery as chief organizational ambassador
• Maintain strategic focus of the umbrella and improve its networking with member organizations.
• Work under SONYO's Strategic purpose and priorities.

 

 

Skills and Qualifications

Qualifications, Attributes, skills and experience

• Master’s degree in Business management, economics, governance or related field

• Proven 8-year experience working with youth of Somaliland through national or international agencies.

• Proven 8-year experience in dealing with a multi-donor NGO organization at a senior level management position

• Accomplished leader with substantial experience in developing and managing high performing teams

• Proven experience of developing and delivering strategy and communicating clearly about organizational priorities

• Excellent public speaking abilities and experience in dealing with high level individuals (e.g. donors or government or corporate representatives) on a one to one basis

• Demonstrable experience building networks and relationships with a wide range of actors in diverse countries, including governments, MO, INGOs/LNGOs, UN Agencies and local communities

• Strong collaborative decision making ability and inclusive

• fluency in English

 

How to apply

Term: 1 year with possibility of extension with availability of funds

Working Hours: 40 hours a week

Location: The position will be based in Hargeisa

Travel: The post holder will be required to undertake up to 30% of international/local travel

Annual Leave: 21 days per year

Equal Opportunities:

Somaliland Nationals only. Between the Age of 25-35 years. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Remuneration Package:             Compensation will be commensurate with qualifications and experience

To Apply: Please submit application with CV and cover letter to [email protected] by 10 Sept 2023. No hardcopies accepted.

 
Email[email protected]
 
PhoneUnspecified