The Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health (TICAH) was established in Kenya in 2003. Our aim is to promote health. Our focus is on good relationships, healthy households, and community action. We seek to learn from indigenous wisdom wherever we can. We believe beauty is important, our stories matter, and health is a matter of the body, the spirit, and the heart.

ROLES SHARED BETWEEN ED & DEPUTY ED (20%):

Strategy Development

• Lead the expansion of TICAH’s vision & advance opportunities to realise its unique mission & approach in Kenya, regionally and globally.
• Hold the SP’s vision and goals, steer implementation and learning through 2027–2030, and lead the development of the SP 2030+.
• Provide technical leadership for the annual reviews of the Strategic Plan. Ensure all Programs and MELS strategies, frameworks, and SOPs align with the Strategic Plan and its revisions
• Provide effective representation of TICAH’s transformative agenda and goals to influence relevant actors and actions in Kenya, regionally and globally.

Governance / Board Management & Development

• Lead board development as needs evolve.
• Coordinate Board Meeting Schedule.
• Prepare for, attend and ensure follow-up from board meetings.
• Ensure board decisions are documented and implemented.

Legal

Oversee the organization’s legal and compliance matters, including emerging issues and risk management, working closely with legal counsel and the board as needed.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ROLES:

Fundraising & Donor Communication & Engagement (25%):

• Hold overall accountability for TICAH’s fundraising and donor engagement, working closely with the Head of Partnerships and Deputy Executive Director to ensure adequate, sustainable and values-aligned resource mobilisation.
• In collaboration with the Head of Partnerships, cultivate and steward strong relationships with current and prospective donors, effectively communicating TICAH’s distinctive value, impact and relevance to health and social justice priorities in Kenya, the region and globally.
• Ensuring donor relationships are held by the organisation rather than concentrated in any one individual. Donor relationships may be primarily led by the Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, Head of Partnerships or other relevant team members, while ensuring that each key donor has meaningful relationships with more than one person within TICAH.
• Provide strategic leadership for the retention of existing donors and Cultivation and progressing onboarding of new donors in close collaboration with HoPa to ensure that donors understand the value and relevance of TICAH’s uniqueness to a range of current topical health and social issues in Kenya, regionally and globally.
• Ensure adequate funding to support the SP through Donor Relations with all current donors and high-value prospects. (progressive onboarding of new donors and retention of current donors)
• Ensure strategy- and value-aligned communication with all donors through the review of key donor communication tools (grant applications, donor reports, annual reports, pitch decks).
• Maintain overall oversight of TICAH’s donor portfolio and relationships, including those managed day-to-day by other members of the team, and ensure emerging opportunities, risks and relationship needs are appropriately managed.

Organizational Leadership, Talent & Culture (20%):

• In collaboration with the Leadership Team, spearhead the organizational design, talent management strategy, culture, and structure in service of our Mission and Strategic Plan, in line with our values.
• Ensure wellness, self-care and collective care are deeply embedded in the organizational culture through policy and practice.
• Oversee staff development to realize TICAH’s strategic plan, strengthen its ability for impact and growth, and stay responsive to evolving realities and needs.
• Support and manage the Deputy ED, Head of Partnerships and Head of Finance and Operations, and enable them to drive the organizations results through their teams.
• Committees of the ED: Actively participate in the Communications and Fundraising Committee and opportunity to join MELS or Programs Committee as needed.

External Influence, Communications & Visibility (10%):

• In collaboration with Head of Partnerships & Communications:
• Lead effective representation of TICAH’s transformative agenda and goals to influence relevant actors and actions in Kenya and the region and globally.
• Build relevance and visibility in key spaces by representing TICAH and our beliefs, and provide thought partnership externally through strategic speaking engagements, industry networking, and collaboration on op-eds, articles, research, publications, reports, media engagements, etc.

External Communications Oversight:

• Ensure strategic and value-aligned external communications.
• Provide strategic leadership in moments of crisis communication.
• Act as the main spokesperson and ensure oversight of external communications by the team.

Strategic Internal Communication:

In collaboration with the leadership team ensure that information flow transparently, clearly and consistently across teams, fostering collaboration, alignment, and a strong organisational culture

Partner & Stakeholder Engagement (15%):

• Engage regularly with diverse audiences and communities across our programs and methodologies, building relationships, deepening understanding of our work in action, and staying grounded in community realities through presence and listening.
• Cultivate relationships with partners and stakeholders to ensure they understand the value and relevance of TICAH’s unique approach to current topical health and social issues in Kenya, the region and globally.
• Grow non-funding partnerships in service of Strategic Goals, e.g., replication of our model, advocacy efforts, organizational and technical learning, etc.
• Steward relationships with strategic partners hosted by the organization, ensuring strong collaboration, alignment and mutual value creation. Join strategy committees, oversee operational plans and staff as needed.

Financial Management (10%):

• In collaboration with the Head of Finance;
• Oversee the overall budgets, grant management, and systems that comprise TICAH’s financial direction, sustainability, and practice.
• Provide strategic oversight of TICAH’s financial health and stewardship of resources, ensuring funds are used responsibly, effectively, and in alignment with organizational priorities, while the DED leads operational decisions related to grants, expenditures, and reporting
• Steward a long-term financial sustainability strategy, including diversifying revenue streams through innovative models such as social enterprise, strengthening reserves and investment strategies, and ensuring the organization is positioned for long-term resilience and independence.

WHO ARE LOOKING FOR:

We are looking for a deeply mission-aligned, bold feminist leader with demonstrated conviction and experience in rights-based programming and advocacy, who believes communities own their challenges, solutions and decisions and is committed to self- determination, bodily autonomy, holistic health, human rights, and addressing the intersections of health, culture, art, climate, and inequality.

You have a robust understanding of SRHR issues in East Africa and in-depth knowledge of relevant laws, policies, regulations, and trends, including anti-rights actors and are comfortable working on access to safe abortion and the rights of LGBTQI+ people.

You embody a deeply relational worldview: You have a deep appreciation for culture and creativity and understand the interconnectedness of people, community, wellbeing, justice, truth, beauty, and everyday life. And you bring this whole-person perspective to leadership and in how you listen, create and lead decisions on the role of the creative sector in social change.

And you move fluently across worlds: You have lived and worked across diverse contexts, and cultures and know how to move between with humility, curiosity, and ease.

EXPERIENCE & TRACK RECORD:

Fundraising:

You have successfully led fundraising across a diverse portfolio of institutional, philanthropic, and individual donors, including securing significant multi- year and unrestricted funding, and worked closely across fundraising and programme teams to translate programme priorities into compelling funding opportunities and proposals.

Relationship-led donor stewardship:

Demonstrated track record of representing an organization compellingly, building and retaining long-term donor relationships, with strong retention while building the credibility and partnerships needed to resource complex systems-change work. Recognizes that fundraising at TICAH is fundamentally relationship-based rather than proposal-based.

Strategic resource mobilisation:

Understands the changing funding landscape, thinks beyond traditional fundraising and explores diverse approaches to resource mobilisation and long-term organisational sustainability.

Team size:

You have experience leading an organisation of 20+ staff, including a senior leadership team of at least three people, with an appreciation for building and managing well motivated and self-driven diverse teams and navigating organisational transitions and evolving leadership structures.

• Lead the expansion of TICAH’s vision & advance opportunities to realise its unique mission & approach in Kenya, regionally and globally.
• Hold the SP’s vision and goals, steer implementation and learning through 2027–2030, and lead the development of the SP 2030+.
• Provide technical leadership for the annual reviews of the Strategic Plan. Ensure all Programs and MELS strategies, frameworks, and SOPs align with the Strategic Plan and its revisions
• Provide effective representation of TICAH’s transformative agenda and goals to influence relevant actors and actions in Kenya, regionally and globally.
• Lead board development as needs evolve.
• Coordinate Board Meeting Schedule.
• Prepare for, attend and ensure follow-up from board meetings.
• Ensure board decisions are documented and implemented.
• Oversee the organization’s legal and compliance matters, including emerging issues and risk management, working closely with legal counsel and the board as needed.
• Hold overall accountability for TICAH’s fundraising and donor engagement, working closely with the Head of Partnerships and Deputy Executive Director to ensure adequate, sustainable and values-aligned resource mobilisation.
• In collaboration with the Head of Partnerships, cultivate and steward strong relationships with current and prospective donors, effectively communicating TICAH’s distinctive value, impact and relevance to health and social justice priorities in Kenya, the region and globally.
• Ensuring donor relationships are held by the organisation rather than concentrated in any one individual. Donor relationships may be primarily led by the Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, Head of Partnerships or other relevant team members, while ensuring that each key donor has meaningful relationships with more than one person within TICAH.
• Provide strategic leadership for the retention of existing donors and Cultivation and progressing onboarding of new donors in close collaboration with HoPa to ensure that donors understand the value and relevance of TICAH’s uniqueness to a range of current topical health and social issues in Kenya, regionally and globally.
• Ensure adequate funding to support the SP through Donor Relations with all current donors and high-value prospects. (progressive onboarding of new donors and retention of current donors)
• Ensure strategy- and value-aligned communication with all donors through the review of key donor communication tools (grant applications, donor reports, annual reports, pitch decks).
• Maintain overall oversight of TICAH’s donor portfolio and relationships, including those managed day-to-day by other members of the team, and ensure emerging opportunities, risks and relationship needs are appropriately managed.
• In collaboration with the Leadership Team, spearhead the organizational design, talent management strategy, culture, and structure in service of our Mission and Strategic Plan, in line with our values.
• Ensure wellness, self-care and collective care are deeply embedded in the organizational culture through policy and practice.
• Oversee staff development to realize TICAH’s strategic plan, strengthen its ability for impact and growth, and stay responsive to evolving realities and needs.
• Support and manage the Deputy ED, Head of Partnerships and Head of Finance and Operations, and enable them to drive the organizations results through their teams.
• Actively participate in the Communications and Fundraising Committee and opportunity to join MELS or Programs Committee as needed.
• Lead effective representation of TICAH’s transformative agenda and goals to influence relevant actors and actions in Kenya and the region and globally.
• Build relevance and visibility in key spaces by representing TICAH and our beliefs, and provide thought partnership externally through strategic speaking engagements, industry networking, and collaboration on op-eds, articles, research, publications, reports, media engagements, etc.
• Ensure strategic and value-aligned external communications.
• Provide strategic leadership in moments of crisis communication.
• Act as the main spokesperson and ensure oversight of external communications by the team.
• In collaboration with the leadership team ensure that information flow transparently, clearly and consistently across teams, fostering collaboration, alignment, and a strong organisational culture
• Engage regularly with diverse audiences and communities across our programs and methodologies, building relationships, deepening understanding of our work in action, and staying grounded in community realities through presence and listening.
• Cultivate relationships with partners and stakeholders to ensure they understand the value and relevance of TICAH’s unique approach to current topical health and social issues in Kenya, the region and globally.
• Grow non-funding partnerships in service of Strategic Goals, e.g., replication of our model, advocacy efforts, organizational and technical learning, etc.
• Steward relationships with strategic partners hosted by the organization, ensuring strong collaboration, alignment and mutual value creation. Join strategy committees, oversee operational plans and staff as needed.
• Oversee the overall budgets, grant management, and systems that comprise TICAH’s financial direction, sustainability, and practice.
• Provide strategic oversight of TICAH’s financial health and stewardship of resources, ensuring funds are used responsibly, effectively, and in alignment with organizational priorities, while the DED leads operational decisions related to grants, expenditures, and reporting
• Steward a long-term financial sustainability strategy, including diversifying revenue streams through innovative models such as social enterprise, strengthening reserves and investment strategies, and ensuring the organization is positioned for long-term resilience and independence.

• Rights-based programming and advocacy
• Community-owned challenges, solutions, and decisions
• Self-determination
• Bodily autonomy
• Holistic health
• Human rights
• Intersections of health, culture, art, climate, and inequality
• SRHR issues in East Africa
• Relevant laws, policies, regulations, and trends
• Anti-rights actors
• Access to safe abortion
• Rights of LGBTQI+ people
• Relational worldview
• Appreciation for culture and creativity
• Interconnectedness of people, community, wellbeing, justice, truth, beauty, and everyday life
• Whole-person perspective to leadership
• Listening
• Creating and leading decisions on the role of the creative sector in social change
• Working across diverse contexts and cultures with humility, curiosity, and ease
• Fundraising across diverse portfolios (institutional, philanthropic, individual)
• Securing multi-year and unrestricted funding
• Translating program priorities into funding opportunities and proposals
• Representing an organization compellingly
• Building and retaining long-term donor relationships
• Strategic resource mobilization
• Leading organizations of 20+ staff
• Managing senior leadership teams
• Building and managing motivated and self-driven diverse teams
• Navigating organizational transitions and evolving leadership structures

• BA/BSc/HND