Employer: DG Murray Trust
Role: Programme Manager
Project: Lesedi and Letsatsi Solar Park Trusts
Nature: Full-time
Location: Ideally based in Postmasburg or Danielskuil in the Northern Cape (negotiable)
About the projects
The DG Murray Trust (DGMT) is responsible for managing community funds for the Lesedi Solar Park Trust and the Letsatsi Solar Park Trust (the Trusts). The Trusts are community trusts, established in accordance with the Department of Energy’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (DOE REIPPP). The Trusts each have a mandate to invest in Black people living within a 50km radius of the power plants that fund them. Funding is secured for a 20-year period, with the possibility of extension. These funds provide an incredible opportunity to invest in a systemic and long-term intervention that could significantly tap into South Africa’s potential.
Table 1: Towns and Municipalities within the 50km radius
Trust
Province
Towns within 50km
Municipality
Letsatsi Solar Park Trust
Free State
Dealesville
Tokologo LM
Soutpan
Mangaung Metro
Bloemfontein
Mangaung Metro
Lesedi Solar Park Trust
Northern Cape
Postmasburg
Tsantsabane LM
Danielskuil
Kgatelopele LM
Groenwater
Kgatelopele LM
Lime Acres
Kgatelopele LM
Both Trusts are strategically focused on how to maximise holistic human development outcomes in the communities where they are based. We are already investing in interventions from cradle to career and plan to support these investments through broader community interventions. The work of the Trusts is still in its early stage and we will grow rapidly over the next few years. Identified growth areas are: increasing the portfolio of active projects, deepening impact and building the practices and systems necessary to manage the complexity of this work.
About the role
This role is suited to someone who is passionate about community and youth development. We are looking for someone who wants to be part of setting audacious goals and doing the long term, complex and experimental work of realising them. This job is suited to someone who not only wants to drive social impact work but is also keen to be part of building the operational practices required to do so. We’re looking for a high performing individual that is flexible, agile and enjoys working with small, nimble teams.
You’ll thrive in this role if you’re someone who is curious about collective impact, enjoys being in communities and convening stakeholders around a common agenda. If you enjoy providing support to others, zooming in to account for details and zooming out to see the bigger picture, taking initiative to identify potential bottlenecks and making recommendations to improve work practices you will find this role fulfilling.
Responsibilities
Strategy development
Work with the Programme Director to develop the youth strategies for the Trusts;
Continuously revise and reflect on the strategy in light of emerging lessons from the communities and programme partners;
Commission additional support from experts to enrich or execute key areas of the strategy
Commissioning and managing programmes
Source, assess and motivate for the approval of grants to support initiatives linked to the Trusts’ youth strategies;
Manage through developing relevant agreements and reporting qualifications;
Manage relationships with partners in ways that support organisations to implement effectively and allow the organisations to learn from implementation;
Work with partners to surface and communicate their implementation experience for greater strategic insight and community buy-in and influence;
Ensure programmes are appropriately adapted for the local context and work as part of an ecosystem;
Provide input to the design of practices, processes and systems necessary to support the execution of this work (e.g. stakeholder/community engagement, practices around programme integration and collaboration)
Stakeholder management
Connecting with key stakeholders and partners and facilitating visioning, reflection and coordination workshops;
Establish local communities of practice around critical thematic areas of the strategies and convene regular meetings to ensure buy-in, coordination and relevance of the work done;
Develop an approach to keeping the community informed of the work of the trusts (e.g. input to annual newsletters, brochures, community meetings etc.)
Reporting, learning and thought leadership
Provide input to board and trustee reports
Develop key communications products that support work (e.g. Op-Eds, blog posts, policy submissions, learning briefs, case studies)
Requirements:
At a minimum the candidate must have:
At least 4 years’ experience with 1 of those being in a management role
A bachelor’s degree in the social sciences, preferably with a post-graduate qualification
Knowledge of current practices, trends and information within youth development, education or youth employment
Experience in programme, project or grant management
The ideal candidate should have the following attributes:
Fluency in Setswana and/or Afrikaans (non-negotiable)
Ideally from Postmasburg or Danielskuil in the Northern Cape
Analytical, with the ability to think strategically
Ability to work independently, with a high level of self-motivation
Ability to set ambitious goals, identify critical needs, and prioritize interventions
Experience in the design of programmes and programme management
Experience in collaborating and listening with other organisations to achieve outcomes
Excellent written and verbal communication
Experience with being agile in response to changing strategies based on learnings
Humility to continuously improve as the role takes a learning and listening lens from local stakeholders and project partners
Please email your CV and a cover letter to [email protected]. Closing dates for applications is 11 March 2022. Please use ‘Application: Programme Manager – Lesedi and Letsatsi Solar Park Trusts’ as the subject line.
PLEASE NOTE: Applicants must ideally be based in Postmasburg or Danielskuil in the Northern Cape (negotiable).
Black is defined in terms of the BBBEE codes. This includes all previously disadvantaged races, including African, Coloured, Indian and Asian.