We are hiring an Associate Director of Development.
Associate Director of Development, Kidogo
Reports to: CEO & Co-Founder
Location: Remote with occasional travel to Nairobi, Kenya expected throughout the year.
FTE: 100 percent
Founded in 2014, Kidogo is a rapidly growing non-profit social enterprise with a mission to unlock the potential of young children in East Africa’s low-income communities through quality, affordable, early childhood care & education. The science is clear: 90% of brain development takes place in the first 5 years of life, with the most critical gains seen in the first thousand days of life. And yet, the majority of young children in the earliest years (0-3 years old) are left in undesirable conditions, particularly in urban informal settlements (slums), when mothers need to work. This leads to children entering school with poor developmental outcomes (health, cognitive, socio-emotional) and being locked in the poverty cycle.
Kidogo exists to ensure young children, regardless of where they are born, are able to reach their full potential. We translate global research & best practices into fun and engaging activities for babies and toddlers that can be implemented at scale in community childcare settings.
Using an innovative social-franchising model, we equip women (“Mamapreneurs”) with the knowledge, skills and tools to start or grow thriving childcare micro-businesses serving their local community. Kidogo is currently the leading childcare network in Kenya, with over 500 childcare centres directly transforming the lives of over 10,000 young children in 31 communities in 7 counties. We are currently testing a partnerships model, where we extend the franchise model in collaboration with actors such as employers or local government. Some notable successes have been: childcare at vocational training centres in partnership with Kisumu County, childcare at female prisons in partnership with Cleanstart (NGO), and providing technical assistance to other large, civil society organisations.
The Kidogo Family is a fun, passionate, driven group of over 85 young (and young at heart) professionals who are reinventing the childcare system to unlock the potential of young children. As a rapidly growing organization, we have been more than doubling our reach every year. But as we look to the future, we have ambitions to scale much larger, both within Kenya, and across East Africa and to reach 100,000+ children with high quality early care & education!
For more information: www.kidogo.co
About the job
At an exciting time of growth, Kidogo seeks an Associate Director of Development to lead a comprehensive fundraising effort. In close partnership with a highly engaged CEO and Board, this position will build upon our strong foundation of institutional funders – including the The Lego Foundation, Jasmine Social Investments, and Conrad N. Hilton Foundation – to secure the support needed to fine-tune our model and further prove out our impacts on early childhood development, health, and income generation of our “Mamapreneurs”. Joining a close-knit international team and overseeing a development team member at our HQ in Nairobi, this position will make a significant impact on Kidogo's ability to serve 100,000 kids by 2027. This position reports to the CEO.
To help you thrive in this role, you will have the following assets:
Team: A leadership team that understands fundraising is a team effort and will support you in executing the strategy, and a Development Associate in Nairobi who will support you by gathering updates, stories for donor reports and proposals.
Impact: Early evidence shows 80% of Kidogo kids meet developmental milestones. Kidogo's nutritional interventions reduce stunting by 23% and wasting by 32%.
Scalability: We use an innovative social franchising approach to identify, train and support female entrepreneurs (Mamapreneurs) to start or grow childcare micro-businesses. Through this approach, Kidogo is one of the fastest growing childcare networks in the world, growing from 47 to 538 in just the last year alone.
Reputation: In April 2022, CEO Sabrina Habib spoke at the White House with First Lady Dr. Biden, Ambassador Power, and Melinda Gates where Kidogo was hailed as a trailblazer in the ecosystem, positively impacting children, and improving women’s economic empowerment. In Oct 2021 Melinda Gates called out Sabrina Habib and Kidogo during the Her Power Summit, describing how she loves "seeing innovative solutions on the ground that both address childcare but also address getting women back to work.”
About You
You are a well-aligned match with Kidogo’s mission and values. You are excited to scale a solution to help solve the childcare crisis in the lowest income communities across East Africa.
You are a skilled writer, relationship-builder and communicator with at least 5 years experience raising grants from foundations, governments and individuals. You are eager to head our development efforts, and raise $8M over the next 5 years in philanthropic capital to grow from serving 10,000 to 100,000 children.
You are a thoughtful relationship builder who develops rapport easily and fosters long-term connections. You are a natural networker with the ability to deepen existing relationships and develop new ones.
You have a solid understanding of social enterprise models and the metrics our donors look for (e.g. financial sustainability, impact per donor dollar, cost to serve, grant subsidy per customer).
You are skilled in analyzing, breaking down, and communicating complex ideas in ways that inspire others to action. You create high-quality and compelling materials that clearly articulate the “why” behind an organization’s mission and impact. Extensive grant writing/reporting and collateral production experience is required.
You enjoy both the behind-the-scenes and donor-facing aspects of fundraising.
Specifically, the Associate Director of Development will:
Work in close partnership with the CEO and Kidogo’s fundraising advisory team to design and implement a comprehensive fundraising strategy that drives growth and sustainability, with a goal to raise $8M in renewals and new gifts between 2022-2027.
Maintain and grow a portfolio of existing major foundation funders, leveraging the CEO and Board in donor stewardship and retention. Develop donor-specific strategies, meeting preparation and follow-up with the goal of increasing all current donors.
New Donors: Lead the research, qualification, and management of a robust pipeline of new donor prospects. Perform due diligence, conduct outreach, and design cultivation tactics that reflect an understanding of the prospect’s interests and fit with Kidogo’s various programs and impact areas.
Serve as chief grant writer taking ownership of letters of inquiry, proposals, renewals, and reports, tightly manage a fundraising calendar to ensure the team is working against a defined timeline and assigned tasks.
Maintain a stewardship calendar to ensure all donors and partners are engaged, kept updated and feel valued.
With support from Kidogo’s graphic designer, develop written and visual content in the forms of donor communications, pitch decks, e-newsletters, social media content, and website updates.
Design and implement processes for donor data and moves management tracking, pipeline management, and reporting. With support from your development team member, maintain and improve this system over time.
The following experiences and skills are nice to have, but not required:
Personal connection to East Africa
Experience fundraising for global development nonprofits, including working with a global team
Experience with bilateral and multilateral aid
To apply, send a cover letter and CV to jointhefamily@kidogo.co with the subject, “[Last name], [First name) - Associate Director of Development”