Head of Local Social Sector at Inkomoko

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• The Head of Local Social Sector is a senior regional leadership role responsible for building and institutionalizing Inkomoko’s approach to partnering with, strengthening, and ultimately enabling greater independence of local social sector organizations across our markets.
• Local organizations, including refugee-led, community-based, youth-led, women-led, faith-based, and other locally rooted organizations, often possess capabilities, relationships, trust, and contextual knowledge that are essential to sustainable development outcomes. Inkomoko sees an opportunity to build a more intentional institutional pathway through which these organizations can become stronger, more sustainable partners and, where appropriate, increasingly take ownership of functions that complement or extend Inkomoko’s work.
• The Head will therefore own the development and evolution of the Local Social Sector strategy, portfolio, operating model, partnerships, and organizational development approach. The role is not simply to manage a programme; it is to build a new organizational capability for Inkomoko.
• The successful candidate will work across Business Growth Services, Investment, MERL, Program Design & Innovation, Country Leadership, and other functions to embed local social sector engagement into Inkomoko’s broader pathway to enterprise development, employment, resilience, and sustainable impact. This role requires a leader who can move comfortably between strategy and execution: setting a regional direction, translating it into practical country models, building teams and systems, developing strategic partnerships, managing a portfolio, and using evidence to determine when and how Inkomoko’s role should evolve.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Institutionalization

• Develop, own, and continuously evolve Inkomoko’s regional Local Social Sector strategy and operating model.
• Translate strategy into clear priorities, country approaches, portfolio decisions, resource requirements, and measurable outcomes.
• Establish systems and standards for partner selection, organizational development, progression, quality assurance, risk management, and partnership management.
• Institutionalize Local Social Sector engagement as part of Inkomoko’s broader impact and enterprise-development model..

Organizational Development & Graduation

• Lead the design and implementation of the Local Social Sector strengthening approach.
• Build pathways through which local organizations strengthen their institutional capabilities, assume greater ownership, and become sustainable partners or independent institutions.
• Ensure that Inkomoko’s support evolves as organizational capability and market conditions change, avoiding dependency and creating pathways toward greater local ownership.
• Use evidence and learning to continuously improve the model..

Build a high-performing regional team and country capability

• Build, structure, and lead a high-performing regional team and appropriate country-level capability.
• Recruit, coach, develop, and retain strong talent while building leadership depth within the function.
• Establish effective ways of working across regional, country, and cross-functional teams.

Strategic Partnerships & Ecosystem Building

• Develop and steward strategic partnerships with local organizations, governments, funders, private-sector actors, networks, and other ecosystem stakeholders.
• Identify opportunities for co-investment, collaboration, referrals, resource mobilization, and complementary capabilities that extend Inkomoko’s reach and impact.
• Represent Inkomoko externally in relevant forums and bring external learning and opportunities into the organization.
• Build coalitions across Inkomoko and beyond the department to advance shared outcomes..

Enterprise & Impact Integration

• Work with BGS, Investment, MERL, Program Design & Innovation, and Country Leadership to identify where stronger local institutions can unlock pathways to entrepreneurship, employment, resilience, and economic participation.
• Ensure local social sector partnerships complement rather than duplicate Inkomoko’s core capabilities.
• Establish evidence and learning on what types of organizations, partnerships, and institutional-development approaches generate the greatest value..

Performance & Resource Stewardship

• Establish portfolio-level performance measures and manage impact, institutional development, risk, cost, and sustainability.
• Manage the function’s budget and resources.
• Make disciplined decisions about where to invest, deepen, redesign, transition, or exit partnerships.

Requirements

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR;

We are looking for a strategic institution-builder who combines organizational-development expertise with exceptional partnership, people, and systems leadership.

The ideal candidate will have:

• 10+ years of relevant experience, including significant leadership responsibility in organizational development, institutional strengthening, localization, partnerships, ecosystem development, or related fields.
• A proven track record of building or scaling a function, programme, partnership portfolio, or organizational capability from an early stage.
• Strong experience developing strategy and translating it into operating models, teams, systems, and results.
• Demonstrated ability to build and lead high-performing, multi-country or cross-functional teams.
• Exceptional partnership-building and stakeholder-management skills, including the ability to influence without relying on formal authority.
• Strong strategic and commercial judgment, including portfolio, resource allocation, sustainability, and risk decisions.
• Experience working with local organizations, community-based organizations, refugee-led organizations, or other locally rooted institutions is strongly preferred.
• Experience in fragile, displacement-affected, or complex operating environments is an advantage.
• Bachelor’s degree in Development Studies, Business, Organizational Development, Public Policy, Education, Social Sciences, or related field; Master’s preferred.

KEY COMPETENCIES. 
We are looking for someone who;

• Synthesizes Data - Leverages key information, data, and insights to enhance both client and team member experiences.
• Adapts Approach to Situations - Adjusts the team's approach to meet the shifting demands of impact; able to quickly adapt to suit the context and drive to positive outcomes for their department. 
• Enhances Competitive Advantage - Creates new and better ways to drive organizational success, with a future-focused mindset (at least 2 years ahead), through innovation and leveraging external relationships and opportunities. 
• Uses his/her Technical expertise to coach and guide staff to meet and exceed expectations.

Benefits

WHAT YOU’LL GET

This role is inside a high-growth, mission-driven social enterprise. By joining, you’ll access:

• Meaningful work that directly contributes to sustainable livelihoods and job creation across East and Central Africa.
• Competitive salary, and potential Performance-based bonus
• Incredible company culture, with opportunities for learning and growth
• Diverse colleagues across the region, and policies that demonstrate commitment to equity and inclusion 
• A dynamic and entrepreneurial team environment committed to innovation and social impact
• Health insurance for self and family
• Staff savings and provident fund, negotiated bank rates for long-term employees
• Generous annual leave, parental leave, and sabbatical options.