Location: Ghana Regional Hub (Accra) / Benin Francophone Hub (Porto Novo) | With significant travel to intervention zones across Africa (~30%).
Role Type: 3-Year Fixed Term Contract (A catalytic, high-stakes leadership role).
Compensation & Resourcing: $2,000 – $4,000 USD/month (Commensurate with deep movement experience), plus comprehensive support for professional development and collective care.
✊🏾 THE CONTEXT: WHY RFLD EXISTS NOW
We are operating in a moment of intense polarization across Africa. While feminist movements are gaining unprecedented visibility, we are simultaneously facing a fierce, well-resourced anti-rights backlash targeting women’s bodily autonomy, LGBTQI+ existence, and civic space.
In this climate, RFLD is not just an NGO; we are critical feminist infrastructure. Headquartered in West Africa, we exist to serve as the connective tissue, the amplifier, and the resource hub for grassroots movements that are dismantling gender-based oppression on the frontlines. We consciously center the margins, refusing to ignore the vibrant but often under-resourced feminist resistance in Francophone and Lusophone corridors. We believe that sustainable development is impossible without gender justice, and gender justice is impossible without shifting power.
🔥 THE MANDATE: BEYOND MANAGEMENT
We are seeking a Regional Advocacy and Gender Justice Director ready to step into this breach.
This is not a traditional “program management” position. This is a call for a seasoned feminist political strategist to hold the helm of our entire Gender Justice agenda. You are not just administering projects; you are orchestrating a continental strategy of resistance and rebuilding.
Reporting directly to the Africa Director, you will serve as the organization’s ideological anchor on gender issues. You will operate at the nexus of grassroots reality and high-level policy, translating the urgent demands of communities into irrefutable policy positions in halls of power where they are often silenced. You will protect the organization’s mission from co-optation, ensuring that as we grow, our radical roots only deepen.
YOUR DEEP SPHERES OF INFLUENCE
1. Architecting Feminist Strategy & Systemic Impact
You will move the organization beyond the outdated model of “gender mainstreaming” toward a model of radical transformation.
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Co-Creation of Agenda: You will develop RFLD’s overarching continental strategy not from a top-down ivory tower, but through continuous dialogue with our grassroots partners. Your strategy must reflect the complex realities of women in conflict zones, rural areas, and urban centers across West, Central, and Southern Africa.
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Intersectionality in Action: You will be the guardian against a “single-issue” approach. You will ensure our strategy rigorously examines how gender intersects with economic justice, climate change, digital rights, and state violence.
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Living Frameworks: You will utilize instruments like the Maputo Protocol, CEDAW, and regional instruments not merely as compliance checklists, but as living tools for liberation. You will ensure RFLD’s internal programming embodies the feminist values we preach externally.
2. High-Stakes Advocacy & Decolonial Knowledge Production
You will lead our offensive strategy to challenge hegemony and reclaim narratives.
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Disruptive & Diplomatic Advocacy: You will lead bold policy campaigns targeting regional bodies (ECOWAS, CEMAC, SADC, African Union). You must possess the agility to code-switch—to speak the language of diplomacy in the halls of power without diluting the radical demands of the streets. Your goal is systemic legal reform that hinders patriarchal control over bodies and lives.
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Occupying Space: You will maximize RFLD’s Observer Status with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) and other multilateral forums. You will ensure these platforms are used not just for statements, but for strategic litigation support and amplifying the voices of defenders currently under attack.
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Feminist Knowledge Generation as Power: Data is political. You will direct our continental Data Center to produce evidence-based, decolonial research. We do not just want to study problems; we want to generate actionable intelligence for feminist policymaking, legislative tracking, and ensuring digital safety for activists.
3. Shifting the Power: Feminist Grantmaking as Reparation
You will oversee the mechanisms that move money to where the resistance is hottest. This is financial stewardship as a political act.
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Overseeing the Feminist Purse: You will hold ultimate responsibility for the strategic allocation and impact monitoring of major portfolios, including the West Africa Francophone Feminist Fund (WAFFF). Your mandate is to ensure crucial resources bypass traditional gatekeepers and reach unregistered, constituent-led groups operating on trust-based principles.
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Decolonizing Aid Dynamics: You will cultivate high-level relationships with institutional funders, but you will do so on feminist terms. You will educate donors on the necessity of core, flexible funding and push back against onerous reporting requirements that burden grassroots groups.
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Transparent Stewardship: You will manage significant departmental budgets in strict alignment with international standards, proving that feminist organizations are not only politically astute but also models of financial integrity and transparency.
4. Nurturing a Radical Institutional Culture
We cannot build a liberated world if our internal house is built on oppression.
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Mentorship and Collective Leadership: You will supervise a team of passionate professionals. Your leadership style must move beyond command-and-control toward fostering a culture of collective responsibility, mutual accountability, and political clarity. You are a mentor, not just a manager.
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Politicizing Collective Care: In movement work, burnout is a tactic of the oppressor. You will embed practices of collective care and psychosocial support into the department, recognizing that sustaining ourselves is a political imperative.
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Safety, Dignity, and Zero Tolerance: You will uphold an absolute, non-negotiable zero-tolerance policy against Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (SEAH). You will foster a “zero retaliation” culture where truth-tellers are protected, ensuring RFLD remains a safe harbor.
🧠 THE IDEAL CO-CONSPIRATOR (Profile & Mindset)
We are looking for political acuity, resilience, and an unshakeable commitment to African feminisms.
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Experience: Minimum 5-7 years of high-level leadership experience within African feminist movements, human rights advocacy, or social justice sectors. You have scars and victories from the field.
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Financial Acuity: A demonstrated track record in managing complex, multi-donor program budgets. Experience specifically with feminist funds or intermediary grantmaking is a massive advantage.
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The Bridge-Builder: You have the unique ability to navigate international philanthropic partnerships without compromising organizational values. You can translate radical concepts into fundable proposals without losing the soul of the work.
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The Intersectional Lens: This is non-negotiable. You must have a sophisticated analysis of how race, class, SOGIESC (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics), ability, and colonial legacies shape power in Africa.
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Linguistic Power: Bilingual proficiency in English and French is highly preferred and constitutes a significant strategic advantage. Our power lies in bridging the linguistic colonial divides on the continent. Portuguese is an added asset.
