As Professor E. Gyimah-Boadi, co-founder and executive director of Afrobarometer (AB), approaches the end of his distinguished tenure, we are seeking his successor to lead AB as it fulfills its important role in Africa’s future. The Professor leaves an extraordinary legacy that includes a global audience, talented staff and partners, committed funders for Round 8 surveys, and a unique, longitudinal Pan-African data set built up over two decades across more than three dozen countries.
The new CEO will have a unique opportunity to build capacity across Africa and ensure that relevant and valuable data are open-source, widely available, and used for policy making and development.
The CEO will arrive at a critical point in Africa’s development. High-quality independent data are essential for government and social innovation and for research in an increasingly competitive market. In a complicated and potentially more challenging political and funding space, the CEO will build this open-source global public good and champion AB’s capacity-building mission, developing leadership and expertise within the organization and wider network across Africa.
During a time of both opportunity and challenge, the new CEO will apply his or her skills, experience, knowledge, and networks to champion AB and to ensure its secure and flourishing future. The successful candidate will therefore be someone of outstanding capability and a leader in their field who will command intellectual credibility across the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors and who will provide vision and leadership for the board, management team, and AB staff and network.
The CEO will be supported in their position by the chief operating officer and a team of senior managers responsible for directorates of survey, analysis, capacity building, and engagement. She or he will marshal the talents and energy of the board, Central Management Team, and Senior Advisory Team as they shape the right goals for the future, engage with and develop partners, and invest in improving and extending programs that increase the impact of AB’s work. The CEO will also work closely with an International Advisory Council that will launch in 2020.
AB is seeking a proven leader with the confidence and presence to engage with a wide range of external stakeholders, including funders; knowledge of and deep commitment to Africa; up-to-date expertise in survey research techniques; superior oral and written communication skills; experience working across cultures with a diverse and geographically dispersed team; and the strategic vision to ensure that AB continues to be recognized and valued as an open-source global public good that is inclusive in its approach and practical in its application.
Professor E. Gyimah-Boadi will retire in 2020 and is acting CEO until his successor is in place. The international search proceeds immediately with the aim of filling the post by 2020. Applications will be dealt with on a rolling basis, with a closing date of Friday, 6 December 2019. Early applications are encouraged.
Download the full job description.
