Senior Director, Africa

Position description

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) seeks to advance democracy and freedom. NED seeks to empower its partners to inform, organize, and mobilize constituencies for political reforms as a means to build and sustain democracy.

At NED, you will join a team of committed individuals who are mission- and values-driven. We are looking for individuals who will deliver their talents in support of our work.

Our values include:

• Respect

• Empathy

• Accountability

• Adaptability

• Excellence

Position Summary

The Senior Director, Africa shapes and leads the National Endowment for Democracy’s (NED) grantmaking and strategic direction across Africa. In FY26, NED plans to invest $38.5 million in Africa, including programs covering all regions of the continent and 27 country-specific programs with over 200 partners. The Senior Director, Africa will develop and advance NED’s strategy and priorities for supporting democracy across the continent, including country-specific strategies, within the framework of NED’s overall strategy and approach. The position aligns grantmaking resources with organizational strategy and priorities, leads a team of 10–12 experts, and serves as the Endowment’s primary interlocutor on Africa.

The position requires a deep understanding of political dynamics, organizational strategy, and program design to advance NED’s mission. The Senior Director position demands expertise, relationships, and experience in priority countries, including Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Sudan, the Sahel and Zimbabwe as well as the demographic trends, economics, historical context, and foreign policies affecting African countries’ current politics and democratic development. The successful candidate must have relationships of trust across the continent and have a nuanced understanding of, relationships within, and command the respect of the policy and media community related to Africa.

The Senior Director serves as a key advisor to the executive team, contributes to cross-departmental integration through the One Grantmaking Team initiative, and represents NED to a range of external stakeholders, including the Board, Members of Congress, the media, and partners in the academic, DC policy, and NGO communities.

This is a hybrid position based in Washington, DC.

Primary Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Vision

• Formulate and implement strategies to support democracy consistent with NED’s mission, grounded in local political and economic realities and informed by geopolitical, financial, and technological shifts. Align and deploy grantmaking resources with these strategies.

• Brief NED leadership, the Board of Directors, Members of Congress, and other key stakeholders on strategy, approach, and programmatic impact clearly and persuasively.

• Articulate the purpose and intended outcomes of NED programs and ensure accountability for results among both staff and partners.

• Lead integration efforts across the organization through the One Grantmaking Team initiative—streamlining processes, strengthening collaboration across teams, and reducing redundancies.

Political and Regional Expertise

• Demonstrate deep political, historical, and cultural understanding of sub-Saharan Africa; sustain relationships of trust and respect with local civic, political and economic actors relevant to NED’s work; maintain fluency in relevant languages and familiarity with local media.

• Offer nuanced analysis beyond mainstream reporting and provide authoritative insights sought by peers, leadership, policymakers, and the media.

• Continuously expand expertise across all countries within the Africa portfolio, including frequent travel, ensuring balanced and informed coverage.

Programmatic Expertise

• Possess a comprehensive understanding of democracy support, NED’s core thematic areas and project design methodologies, including evaluation and impact assessment.

• Demonstrate creativity and a problem-solving attitude to adapt programming in response to changing political and operating environments, bringing in new partners and ideas as appropriate.

• Evaluate grant applicants holistically, considering political, operational, and organizational dimensions, as well as assess risk.

• Strengthen programming through monitoring, learning, and targeted evaluation in collaboration with other NED departments and teams.

• Continuously deepen knowledge of trends impacting democracy and freedom across the continent, including youth movements, authoritarian influence, kleptocracy, and technology.

Institutional Management and Team Leadership

• Will serve as a model for NED’s Core Values: Respect, Empathy, Accountability, Adaptability, and Excellence.

• Build and lead a strong, high-performing team through setting ambitious goals, effective hiring, mentoring, and performance management, including modeling behavior in accordance with in-office policy and travel.

• Cultivate a collaborative team culture that supports professional development and continuous learning.

• Provide clear, constructive feedback and support staff in developing professional growth plans and ensuring accountability.

• Communicate effectively with senior leadership, escalating issues appropriately and ensuring information flow across levels.

• Inspire and guide staff through a shared sense of mission, balancing strategic vision with operational excellence.

Administrative and Process Oversight

• Ensure timely and accurate execution of grantmaking processes and compliance with NED procedures.

• Balance grantee oversight with respect for local agency and innovation.

• Maintain a high standard of work quality, meeting deadlines and managing workflows efficiently.

• Contribute to institutional initiatives beyond immediate team responsibilities.

External Representation and Partnerships

• Serve as a confident and credible representative of NED in external settings, including conferences, panels, and high-level meetings.

• Build and sustain relationships with government officials, congressional staff, academic institutions, think tanks, and NGO partners in the US, among other donors, and in the field.

• Take initiative in external engagement to promote NED’s mission, expand awareness of programmatic work, and shape public understanding of democracy, governance and regional issues.

• Seek opportunities to mobilize additional resources for democracy support in Africa through strategic partnerships, donor advocacy and coordination, or philanthropic support to grow NED’s grantmaking portfolio.

Decision-Making and Autonomy

• Exercise sound judgment and discretion and demonstrate awareness of sensitivities and risk in managing regional portfolios and programmatic decisions.

• Demonstrate increasing levels of autonomy and strategic initiative while maintaining alignment with NED’s institutional priorities.

Qualifications

• An advanced degree in political science, international relations, or a related field and a graduate degree are required.

• Minimum of 15 years of relevant experience in democracy support, international development, policymaking, or related sectors, with 6 years or more of management experience.

• Demonstrated experience in regional or thematic strategy formulation and program management.

• Relationships of trust with key actors across the continent and in the relevant policy community.

• Exceptional analytical, communication, and representational skills. Demonstrated record of briefing policymakers and media, and publishing.

• Proven record of staff leadership, mentorship, and interdepartmental collaboration.

• Proficiency in relevant regional languages strongly preferred; extensive travel experience across regions of responsibility required.

Talent in Action

Consistent with NED’s talent statement, and grounded in our values, the successful individual in this role will demonstrate the following competencies in the delivery of their work while supporting NED’s efforts to advance democratic change:

• Purpose-Driven

• Reliable

• Expertise

• Respectful Collaboration

• Curiosity

• Results-Oriented

• An Optimistic Mindset

Application instructions

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