Senior Manager - Africa Advisory at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

Role Summary

• We are looking for a Senior Manager to be responsible for supporting TBI’s Africa regional management. This role is a new management role that has come up following TBI’s growth in the Africa region.
• This role will work closely with the Managing Director and Executive Director, Africa & senior regional leadership in delivering the OKRs set by the Senior Executive Team. The Senior Manager role will provide assurance that regional project requirements, deadlines, and schedules are on track. The post-holder will also bring consulting methodologies to provide high-quality implementable advice to the way the regional management team operates.

Key Responsibilities

Leading performance reviews and measurement of impact  

• Be accountable to the Managing Director for supporting the strategic direction of the Institute, specifically the annual strategy setting and quarterly review process, playing a supporting role in workstream design, based on TBI’s mission and approach.
• Support TBI team members in Africa to develop new strategic opportunities with counterparts. 
• Monitor and report to the Managing Director the implementation status of the OKRs, ensuring workstreams are on track against project requirements and schedules. 

Support the planning and evaluation cycle to regularly assess whether the strategy is ‘working’ and adapt rapidly in response to new challenges and opportunities.  Including:  

• Ensure there are clear Objectives and Key Results (OKR) framework for regular monitoring, using the organizational Theory of Change and impact tools. Lead regular project performance reporting, including the quarterly review process
• Deploy a strategic approach to review project progress, consider alternative approaches and re-set workstream objectives accordingly (within the OKR framework), with approval from the Managing Director
• Prepare status reports and establish effective project communication plans to key stakeholders (e.g., governments, donors etc)
• Support the regional team to conduct post project evaluation and identify successful and unsuccessful project elements
• Act as a thought partner to the Managing Director on development of the commercialisation strategy.  This includes design and monitoring progress towards achieving set targets
• Africa Advisory leadership focal point for the Advisory Performance and Quality team
• Work collaboratively with colleagues and perform other duties as reasonably required to achieve the goals of the Africa team and the Institute

Support the Executive team to build and manage a high performing team.

• Challenge ways of working in the team to drive impact and maintain delivery quality with a high bar towards performance
• Where appropriate, coach TBI technical experts to problem-solve delivery issues and unblock bottlenecks in the above-mentioned technical areas and workstreams
• Role-model TBI’s culture, living and representing TBI’s values. 
• Contribute analysis, lessons learnt, case studies and/or policy papers as necessary 

Lead special projects.

• Oversee special projects and initiatives on behalf of the Executive team
• Ensure projects are in line with our strategic objectives and are delivered on time, within budget and to the required quality

Person Specification

• We are looking for an outstanding individual with high levels of enthusiasm, drive, resilience, a can-do attitude, and ability to consistently achieve results in a fast-paced environment; an individual with a proven track record of leadership and delivery in the public or private sector; with a solid background in public/civil services worldwide; strategy consulting; relevant industry experience; private equity, finance, or international development.  

The requirements that should be met are:  

• Significant experience in government advisory or management consulting, chief of staff setting and comfortable working in a fast-paced environment
• Experience in the development and implementation of project management and/or matrix frameworks and being an all-rounder with ability to adapt and read the room quickly
• Have strong political acumen; being able to develop an understanding of the needs of senior officials and manage & motivate internal stakeholders towards common goal
• An ability to work independently, think strategically and translate strategies into concrete and implementable plans and present that comfortably in easy-to-understand manner
• Exceptional problem-solving and analytical skills, including sound knowledge of data analysis, strategic planning, and project management tools
• Ability in influencing, coaching, and delivering change through others with a can-do attitude
• Excellent inter-personal skills and ability to work both independently and as part of a wider team 
• Experienced people manager and effective motivator of high performing teams 
• High quality communication, drafting and presentation skills
• Ability to set and maintain a safe and secure culture and professional environment
• Strong sense of ethics, discretion and perseverance required
• Experience of living and working in developing countries is strongly desirable
• Fluency in English is a must, fluency in additional language an advantage