East Africa Regional Director at Blue Ventures

Summary job description

• Blue Ventures seeks an experienced leader to direct its new programme in East Africa, driving impact at scale for coastal communities and the ocean.
• The Regional Director willlead a dynamic team, build partnerships, and drive growth in the region and beyond.
• Change management expertise is vital for navigating rapid growth, fostering commitment to transformation, and aligning strategies.
• The Regional Director will coordinate with global colleagues, enhance operational efficiency, and drive strategic planning processes.
• As the face of Blue Ventures in the East Africa region, the Regional Director will engage with key stakeholders, drive fundraising efforts, and represent the organisation at various levels.
• The ideal candidate is strategic, resourceful, and culturally sensitive, with a track record in international development or conservation. This leader should blend entrepreneurship with strategic acumen, fostering innovation and inclusivity while prioritising evidence-based decision-making and continuous learning.

Responsibilities

• Lead and Develop the BV East Africa Team
• Live, model and promote Blue Ventures’ values to nurture and encourage our organisational culture.
• Promote a high performance and continuous improvement culture that values learning and a commitment to quality.
• Oversee and direct the work of the East Africa team.
• Mentor and develop colleagues using a supportive and collaborative approach: assign accountabilities, set objectives, establish priorities, and monitor and evaluate results.
• Ensure all organisational activities are consistently performed under equity, fairness,inclusiveness, and respect for people's diversity.
• Ensure East Africa colleagues receive timely and appropriate training and development.
• Plan and chair leadership convenings across the regional team.
• Build and nurture strong relationships across the region and the BV global team that advance the regional programme’s mission and effectiveness.
• Uphold and promote Blue Ventures’ commitment to ensuring the safeguarding and safety of the vulnerable communities we serve.
• Nurture a positive and productive work environment free from harassment and bullying.

Driving Delivery

• Lead and oversee the delivery of BV’s regional programming to drive, expand and accelerate impact with communities.
• Support continuous improvement of our delivery approaches in collaboration with regional and global colleagues, particularly partner-led delivery and advocacy.
• Design and develop new programmes and initiatives aligned with BV’s strategy and core model, leading fundraising and donor relations where required and capitalising on new development and partnership opportunities to advance Blue Ventures’ mission.
• Where required for our mission to succeed, develop partnerships on related disciplines, including health, education and alternative livelihoods, mobilising quality service delivery by experts in these areas, and enabling BV to remain focused on our specialism of fisheries management for marine conservation.
• More broadly, identify and establish relations with national and regional actors who complement our mission, including networks, governments, universities, businesses, international organisations donors, other non-governmental organisations, and key regional stakeholders.

Change Management

• Oversee large, cross-functional, region-wide change projects and initiatives.
• Develop change management plans for major change projects and initiatives.
• Evaluate the impact of planned organisational changes.
• Identify risks and develop mitigation approaches.
• Identify and manage anticipated resistance to change.
• Lead change management work streams through a structured process.
• Support the development of communications relevant to change initiatives.
• Provide coaching and training to employees to embrace changes.
• Define success metrics and measure performance against them.
• Provide reporting and other updates to management and project teams.

Strategic Planning, Goal Setting and Communications

• Lead strategic and operational planning processes: defining, guiding, facilitating, monitoring, and improving planning and reporting processes for the regional programme, aligning with Blue Ventures’ global planning processes, and coordinating input from country, regional and global colleagues.
• Champion Blue Ventures’ structured goal-setting process across the regional programme ensures that all colleagues know annual and quarterly goals and that organisational objectives and key results (OKRs) are embedded in team work and individual performance plans.
• Track the regional programme’s performance against the strategic plan and OKRs, producing quarterly progress updates and sharing briefings in town hall meetings and leadership convenings.
• Help shape and improve organisational processes for learning and adaptation.
• Align regional learning and reflection processes with organisational processes for  learning and adaptation.
• Representation, Communication, and Knowledge
• Represent Blue Ventures with public, private and civil society partners and communicate clearly and effectively with all stakeholders.
• Support field visits and learning exchanges for staff, partner organisations and donors.
• Cultivate effective, proactive internal communications to ensure all colleagues are well informed and can clearly articulate Blue Ventures’ core mission in the region and are kept up to date with ongoing activities, as well as new developments, policies and procedures, as and when they arise.
• Ensure adequate documentation of knowledge, lessons learned and experiences for internal and external sharing and publication.
• Lead by example in communicating Blue Ventures’ activities to a high standard through appropriate channels.
• Provide thought leadership and direction in regional communications and publications, including drafting and editing articles, op-eds and technical reports.

Operations and Financial Management

• Ensure safe and secure operations, compliant with Blue Ventures’ operating protocols and policies, and responsive to evolving needs and situations.
• Drive the safe establishment of Blue Ventures’ legal setup in relevant jurisdictions
• Support the development and strengthening of budget and project management systems for the regional programme.
• Oversee financial management in close collaboration with the global finance team and regional finance business partners, including supporting audits and implementing relevant audit recommendations.
• Oversee smooth operations of projects, visits, and events; ensure managers carry out adequate planning, engage adequate support, and support problem-solving when needed.
• Anticipate and mitigate programmatic and organisational risks in compliance with Blue Ventures’ risk management and reporting procedures
• Ensure successful resolution of audits and investigations of any noncompliance and/or ethical issues.
• Ensure any serious incidents are reported to the regulatory authorities and relevant donors, as appropriate.

Skills and experience
Required
The ideal candidate will bring the following professional experience and personal characteristics:

• Track record of achievements in a previous or similar role.
• Proven field and team management experience (>10 years), having served in a similar capacity as a Global or Regional Director previously, covering programme delivery; finance and administration; donor relations; and inter/intra-agency communications in progressively senior roles.
• Masters degree or equivalent in marine environmental management, or equivalent qualification in rural development, political or social science, or another relevant field.
• Significant operations experience, including direct “hands-on” skills in programme development, strategic planning, programme implementation and evaluation
• Highly skilled communicator, proficient in English, and capable of conveying complex messages clearly in presentations, meetings and written form, with the ability to connect with people of all seniority levels and cultural backgrounds.
• Demonstrated experience and skill in scientific publication, media relations and public speaking.
• Exceptional interpersonal and relationship-building skills, with a proven ability to work collaboratively with others in a complex organisation, demonstrating team-building and facilitation skills.
• Fluent in change management strategies and best practices; proven success in implementing change across a team or organisation.
• Data-driven and results-oriented; proven ability to manage data/metrics and make data-informed decisions.
• Excellent organisational skills, an ability to marshal resources, and continually improve systems and processes.