Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships
- Role
- Marketing
- Experience
- Lead
- Employment
- Full-time
- Company size
- Startup
Open to KE, GB, US only. Set where you work from to check your eligibility.
No BS summary
Director-level communications and partnerships leader with 7–10+ years in investor relations, strategic communications, philanthropic development, or public affairs. Needs deep Sub-Saharan Africa regional expertise, global health/philanthropy or impact investing background preferred, professional English, and ability to travel 30%.
Required languages
Optional languages
Beginnings Fund
POSITION: Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships
REPORTS TO: CEO, Beginnings Fund
LOCATION: Remote work available for Nairobi, Kenya; London, United Kingdom or New York, NY USA
Background
Every year in Africa, 182,000 mothers die from preventable pregnancy- and childbirth-related causes, 950,000 babies are stillborn, and 1.2 million newborns die. Global progress against maternal and newborn mortality has stalled in recent years, and most African countries are not on track to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals for maternal and newborn survival.
The Beginnings Fund is a philanthropic initiative that accelerates maternal and newborn survival in Africa by investing, in partnership with governments, in the products, people, and systems needed to sustainably improve care at scale. During its first five years, the Beginnings Fund will focus on Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Investments are developed and managed by a majority-Africa-based Investment Team, led by a Nairobi-based CEO who reports to an Investment Committee composed of the founding and anchor investors in the Beginnings Fund.
While the fund's initial phase is five years, the broader ambition is to raise $1 billion over ten years to expand into additional countries, with the potential to grow into a long-term collaborative fund.
The Beginnings Fund is fiscally sponsored by Global Impact.
Reporting to the CEO, the Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships will lead a dual-focus role shaping how the Fund engages its investors and audiences, builds its reputation, and delivers on its mission. You will also serve as a senior advisor on communications, positioning, and reputational risk, ensuring the Fund’s voice is clear, consistent, and aligned with its vision and values.
In addition to serving as a master storyteller with sharp financial and developmental acumen, the Director will be responsible for demonstrating how strategic philanthropic capital translates into systems-level healthcare transformation across Africa and for stewarding key relationships to sustain and scale.
Key Responsibilities
1. Investor Relations and Stewardship
- Investor Relations: Manage relationships with current and prospective philanthropic investors, family offices, and institutional donors, keeping them deeply connected to the fund’s progress and strategic outlook, including but not limited to virtual and written updates, investor events, and formal annual reporting.
- Fiscal Sponsor Alignment: Coordinate closely with Global Impact to ensure all financial reporting, grant tracking, and compliance communications are seamless and accurate.
- Fundraising: Partner with the CEO to develop sophisticated fundraising materials and investment cases for future funding rounds.
- Investment Committee Reporting: Support the development of high-quality investor reports, comprehensive performance, financial, and impact updates for the Investment Committee
- Co-Investment: develop a highly efficient co-investment program for investors with varying needs, including those who may not wish to invest in the pooled fund and/or may wish to invest in specific countries or areas of work through earmarked or restricted contributions, as well as for new partners of the Fund.
- Strategic Meetings & Executive Engagement: Support the CEO in her engagement with global conferences and strategic meetings, ensuring seamless alignment between high-level leadership engagements and donor stewardship goals.
- Investor Events: Coordinate investor events annually to foster engagement, highlight fund achievements, and deepen donor relationships.
2. Strategic Communications & Policy Advocacy
- Narrative Ownership: Craft and protect the Beginnings Fund narrative, positioning the initiative as a collaborative, Africa-driven authority on maternal and newborn health systems.
- Government & Partner Communications: Support the Investment Team in shaping communications for ministry-level government partners to foster trust, transparency, and sustainable co-investment.
- Multi-Channel Content Creation: Oversee the fund's digital footprint including managing and updating the website, developing high-level insights, op-eds, press releases, and digital media that speak to global development audiences and regional stakeholders.
- Media & Public Relations: Build and maintain strong relationships with key regional and international journalists covering global health, philanthropy, and African development to keep maternal and newborn survival at the top of the global agenda.
3. Country-Level Impact Storytelling
- Work hand-in-hand with the Africa-based Investment Team to extract complex clinical and system-level metrics (e.g., product deployment, training scale, mortality reductions) and translate them into human-centric success stories.
- Regional Events: Lead planning and communication for major milestones, including regional summits, donor field visits, and panels at major global health convenings (such as the World Health Assembly or the African Union Summit).
- Experience: 7–10+ years of experience in Investor Relations, Strategic Communications, Philanthropic Development, or Public Affairs. Experience working within venture philanthropy, impact investing, or large-scale global health initiatives in Africa is highly preferred.
- Regional Expertise: A deep understanding of the developmental, political, and healthcare landscapes across Sub-Saharan Africa, with specific familiarity with one or more of our target countries (Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Uganda, Zimbabwe).
- Storytelling & Data Mastery: Superior written and verbal communication skills. You must be equally comfortable writing rigorous technical impact reports for institutional investors or an emotional, narrative-driven feature story.
- Stakeholder Diplomacy: Proven track record of interacting with senior leaders, from high-net-worth investors to government and ministry officials.
- Tools and Technology: Mastery of investor relations/donor management tools, modern content management systems, and publishing tools.
- Language: Professional fluency in written and spoken English is required; knowledge of French and Arabic and other languages spoken in our target countries is a distinct advantage.
- Ability to inspire, motivate, and guide a diverse and dispersed team.
- Willingness to travel 30%.
- Excited to work in a startup environment.
- Collaborative and team-driven mindset.
What you'll do
- Manage relationships with current and prospective philanthropic investors, family offices, and institutional donors, keeping them deeply connected to the fund’s progress and strategic outlook, including but not limited to virtual and written updates, investor events, and formal annual reporting.
- Coordinate closely with Global Impact to ensure all financial reporting, grant tracking, and compliance communications are seamless and accurate.
- Partner with the CEO to develop sophisticated fundraising materials and investment cases for future funding rounds.
- Support the development of high-quality investor reports, comprehensive performance, financial, and impact updates for the Investment Committee.
- Develop a highly efficient co-investment program for investors with varying needs, including those who may not wish to invest in the pooled fund and/or may wish to invest in specific countries or areas of work through earmarked or restricted contributions, as well as for new partners of the Fund.
- Support the CEO in her engagement with global conferences and strategic meetings, ensuring seamless alignment between high-level leadership engagements and donor stewardship goals.
- Coordinate investor events annually to foster engagement, highlight fund achievements, and deepen donor relationships.
- Craft and protect the Beginnings Fund narrative, positioning the initiative as a collaborative, Africa-driven authority on maternal and newborn health systems.
- Support the Investment Team in shaping communications for ministry-level government partners to foster trust, transparency, and sustainable co-investment.
- Oversee the fund's digital footprint including managing and updating the website, developing high-level insights, op-eds, press releases, and digital media that speak to global development audiences and regional stakeholders.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with key regional and international journalists covering global health, philanthropy, and African development to keep maternal and newborn survival at the top of the global agenda.
- Work hand-in-hand with the Africa-based Investment Team to extract complex clinical and system-level metrics (e.g., product deployment, training scale, mortality reductions) and translate them into human-centric success stories.
- Lead planning and communication for major milestones, including regional summits, donor field visits, and panels at major global health convenings (such as the World Health Assembly or the African Union Summit).
What they require
- 7–10+ years of experience in Investor Relations, Strategic Communications, Philanthropic Development, or Public Affairs.
- Preferred: Experience working within venture philanthropy, impact investing, or large-scale global health initiatives in Africa is highly preferred.
- A deep understanding of the developmental, political, and healthcare landscapes across Sub-Saharan Africa, with specific familiarity with one or more of our target countries (Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Uganda, Zimbabwe).
- Superior written and verbal communication skills.
- You must be equally comfortable writing rigorous technical impact reports for institutional investors or an emotional, narrative-driven feature story.
- Proven track record of interacting with senior leaders, from high-net-worth investors to government and ministry officials.
- Mastery of investor relations/donor management tools, modern content management systems, and publishing tools.
- Professional fluency in written and spoken English is required.
- Preferred: Knowledge of French and Arabic and other languages spoken in our target countries is a distinct advantage.
- Ability to inspire, motivate, and guide a diverse and dispersed team.
- Willingness to travel 30%.
- Excited to work in a startup environment.
- Collaborative and team-driven mindset.
The Beginnings Fund is a philanthropic initiative that accelerates maternal and newborn survival in Africa by investing, in partnership with governments, in the products, people, and systems needed to sustainably improve care at scale. The Beginnings Fund is fiscally sponsored by Global Impact.