Background information about the job or company

CFK Africa (CFK) seeks a mission-focused, entrepreneurial, and systems-minded leader to serve as Director of the Youth Development Network (YDN) Program. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer (COO), the YDN Director is responsible for the day-to-day coordination, delivery, and continuous improvement of the Youth Development Network CFK’s integrating platform for amplifying CFK services, empowering youth advocacy, and facilitating data-driven change across informal settlements.

The YDN is not a single program but the connective architecture linking CFK’s youth-facing components including TechCraft, the Slum Sports Platform, and the Youth Media Corps into one network through which young people can move between opportunities in skills, work, sport, media, health, and education. Working closely with the teams that run each component, the YDN Director makes that connection work in practice: applying shared standards, keeping the referral pathways between the three components, maintaining the network’s digital tools and data, and ensuring youth experience one coherent network rather than separate programs. The YDN Program will place youth in employment, enhance public health, improve educational outcomes, and showcase that when talent meets opportunity, slum youth can break from survival mode to purpose driven pathways.

This role requires deep experience in digital platform development, partnership brokering, strategy implementation, and resource mobilization, together with a genuine commitment to participatory, youth-led development in informal settlements.

Responsibilities or duties

Youth Development Network Leadership

• Provide overall strategic, technical, and operational leadership of the YDN, setting its direction, standards, and growth strategy in line with CFK’s five-year strategic plan.
• Integrate the YDN’s components including TechCraft, the Slum Sports Platform, and the Youth Media Corps so that youth experience one network rather than separate programs, with clear pathways and referrals between them.
• Establish shared network standards for youth onboarding, identity, data, quality, and safeguarding that all components adopt.
• Leverage digital technologies to expand the reach and impact of CFK’s health and economic opportunity programs and make CFK services accessible to a broader audience.
• Lead expansion of the network beyond Kibera to additional settlements, counties and countries, defining the model, partnerships, and sequencing for scale.

Digital Platform & Data

• Own the digital infrastructure underpinning the YDN, ensuring the platforms operated by individual components interoperate rather than fragment.
• Collaborate with stakeholders and youth to co-design digital solutions that foster agency, trust, and community engagement.
• Develop and maintain data collection and analysis tools that support evidence-based decision-making and generate insight for initiatives and policymaking.
• Act as steward of youth data across the network setting consent, privacy, and protection standards, with particular care for minors.

Youth Agency, Voice & Advocacy

• Ensure youth hold genuine influence over the network’s priorities, design, and governance, not solely participation in its activities.
• Build structures councils, feedback loops, youth leadership roles that make youth ownership of the YDN real and durable.
• Empower youth advocacy, equipping young people to represent their communities to institutions, government, and funders.

Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement

• Build a coalition of stakeholders government, corporations, funding partners, NGOs, researchers, employers, and community organizations around the network.
• Position CFK as a “responsible broker,” ensuring that institutional demand for access, data, and talent delivers direct benefits to the community and effectively subsidizes the network.
• Negotiate the terms on which external institutions engage YDN youth, protecting young people from extractive relationships.

Resource Mobilization & Sustainability

• Identify and cultivate revenue streams for network implementation through diverse fundraising efforts, including grants, earned revenue, and partnerships.
• Write compelling grant and business proposals and secure seed funding for new network components and innovations.
• Build the sustainability model that allows the YDN to reduce long-term grant dependency.

Strategy & Organizational Leadership

• Serve on the Executive Management Team, contributing to organization-wide strategy, planning, and decision-making.
• Oversee the planning, tracking, and execution of YDN strategic initiatives to align with CFK’s long-term objectives.
• Work closely with the management team to align strategic priorities with programming and ensure stakeholders are involved in key discussions.
• Maintain proactive engagement with donors, partners, and other stakeholders to foster strong relationships and funding support.
• Collaborate with the finance team to ensure strategic alignment between budgets, operational plans, and resource needs.
• Foster a positive work environment that encourages teamwork, transparency, and shared commitment to CFK’s mission and vision.

Team Leadership & People Management

• Lead, motivate, and develop the YDN team, setting clear objectives and holding staff accountable for results.
• Work with and through the coordinator and officers of the network’s components to deliver shared network outcomes.
• Manage performance, workforce planning, and recruitment for the network in partnership with the HR function.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning & Impact

• Develop and implement monitoring and evaluation frameworks that assess network impacts, including youth movement between components and downstream outcomes in work, education, and health.
• Use network data to drive learning, adaptation, and continuous improvement, and report on impact to internal and external stakeholders.

SAFEGUARDING & DATA PROTECTION

The YDN holds data on children and young people and connects them to external institutions including scouts, employers, researchers, and funders. Safeguarding is central to the post. The YDN Director must uphold CFK Africa’s safeguarding and child-protection standards across every component of the network, ensure informed consent and lawful, ethical handling of youth data (with particular care for minors), vet institutions granted access to youth, and ensure that all staff, partners, and component teams understand and comply with these standards. The successful candidate will be required to undergo relevant background checks.

Qualifications or requirements

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

• A Master’s degree in Global Youth Development, Public Health, Technology Development, Business Strategies, and Entrepreneurship, or a related field. A Bachelor’s degree with at least 12 years of exceptional, relevant, and demonstrated experience may be considered.
• Minimum of 10 years of work experience in tech development, entrepreneurship, global development, strategy, and project implementation, or related areas, including experience leading teams or programs at a senior level in Kenya and at least one other East African country.

Skills & Competencies

• Demonstrated technological literacy with proficiency in creating and using digital tools and platforms.
• Strong systems thinking able to design how separate programs connect into a coherent network.
• Exemplary organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Highly motivated individual with an entrepreneurial mindset and the ability to work independently.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability and desire to engage and inspire youth.
• Ability to analyze and interpret data to inform program development and policymaking.
• Broad understanding of Research, Measurement, Evaluation & Learning concepts.
• Knowledge of youth advocacy principles and practices, and a commitment to genuine youth ownership.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse stakeholders, including government, corporations, funding partners, youth, and community leaders.
• Strong influencing skills, with the ability to align teams and partners without relying on direct authority.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a track record of developing innovative solutions.
• Experience with digital platforms, social media management, and online community building.
• Experience in writing grant and business proposals and demonstrated success in securing seed funding for diverse projects.
• Understanding of data protection and safeguarding obligations in digital youth programming.
• Experience and/or strong desire to work with youth and informal settlement or communities, with understanding of the cultural, social, and economic contexts of African informal settlements.
• Demonstrated leadership skills with the ability to inspire and motivate youth and community members.
• Strong networking skills with the ability to build and maintain relationships with stakeholders, including NGOs, government agencies, and community organizations.

Experience needed

Minimum of 10 years of work experience in tech development, entrepreneurship, global development, strategy, and project implementation, or related areas, including experience leading teams or programs at a senior level in Kenya and at least one other East African country.

Any other provided details

CFK Africa is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against race, color, religion, gender, physical and mental disability and age.

• Provide overall strategic, technical, and operational leadership of the YDN, setting its direction, standards, and growth strategy in line with CFK’s five-year strategic plan.
• Integrate the YDN’s components including TechCraft, the Slum Sports Platform, and the Youth Media Corps so that youth experience one network rather than separate programs, with clear pathways and referrals between them.
• Establish shared network standards for youth onboarding, identity, data, quality, and safeguarding that all components adopt.
• Leverage digital technologies to expand the reach and impact of CFK’s health and economic opportunity programs and make CFK services accessible to a broader audience.
• Lead expansion of the network beyond Kibera to additional settlements, counties and countries, defining the model, partnerships, and sequencing for scale.
• Own the digital infrastructure underpinning the YDN, ensuring the platforms operated by individual components interoperate rather than fragment.
• Collaborate with stakeholders and youth to co-design digital solutions that foster agency, trust, and community engagement.
• Develop and maintain data collection and analysis tools that support evidence-based decision-making and generate insight for initiatives and policymaking.
• Act as steward of youth data across the network setting consent, privacy, and protection standards, with particular care for minors.
• Ensure youth hold genuine influence over the network’s priorities, design, and governance, not solely participation in its activities.
• Build structures councils, feedback loops, youth leadership roles that make youth ownership of the YDN real and durable.
• Empower youth advocacy, equipping young people to represent their communities to institutions, government, and funders.
• Build a coalition of stakeholders government, corporations, funding partners, NGOs, researchers, employers, and community organizations around the network.
• Position CFK as a “responsible broker,” ensuring that institutional demand for access, data, and talent delivers direct benefits to the community and effectively subsidizes the network.
• Negotiate the terms on which external institutions engage YDN youth, protecting young people from extractive relationships.
• Identify and cultivate revenue streams for network implementation through diverse fundraising efforts, including grants, earned revenue, and partnerships.
• Write compelling grant and business proposals and secure seed funding for new network components and innovations.
• Build the sustainability model that allows the YDN to reduce long-term grant dependency.
• Serve on the Executive Management Team, contributing to organization-wide strategy, planning, and decision-making.
• Oversee the planning, tracking, and execution of YDN strategic initiatives to align with CFK’s long-term objectives.
• Work closely with the management team to align strategic priorities with programming and ensure stakeholders are involved in key discussions.
• Maintain proactive engagement with donors, partners, and other stakeholders to foster strong relationships and funding support.
• Collaborate with the finance team to ensure strategic alignment between budgets, operational plans, and resource needs.
• Foster a positive work environment that encourages teamwork, transparency, and shared commitment to CFK’s mission and vision.
• Lead, motivate, and develop the YDN team, setting clear objectives and holding staff accountable for results.
• Work with and through the coordinator and officers of the network’s components to deliver shared network outcomes.
• Manage performance, workforce planning, and recruitment for the network in partnership with the HR function.
• Develop and implement monitoring and evaluation frameworks that assess network impacts, including youth movement between components and downstream outcomes in work, education, and health.
• Use network data to drive learning, adaptation, and continuous improvement, and report on impact to internal and external stakeholders.
• Uphold CFK Africa’s safeguarding and child-protection standards across every component of the network, ensure informed consent and lawful, ethical handling of youth data (with particular care for minors), vet institutions granted access to youth, and ensure that all staff, partners, and component teams understand and comply with these standards.

• Demonstrated technological literacy with proficiency in creating and using digital tools and platforms.
• Strong systems thinking able to design how separate programs connect into a coherent network.
• Exemplary organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Highly motivated individual with an entrepreneurial mindset and the ability to work independently.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability and desire to engage and inspire youth.
• Ability to analyze and interpret data to inform program development and policymaking.
• Broad understanding of Research, Measurement, Evaluation & Learning concepts.
• Knowledge of youth advocacy principles and practices, and a commitment to genuine youth ownership.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse stakeholders, including government, corporations, funding partners, youth, and community leaders.
• Strong influencing skills, with the ability to align teams and partners without relying on direct authority.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a track record of developing innovative solutions.
• Experience with digital platforms, social media management, and online community building.
• Experience in writing grant and business proposals and demonstrated success in securing seed funding for diverse projects.
• Understanding of data protection and safeguarding obligations in digital youth programming.
• Experience and/or strong desire to work with youth and informal settlement or communities, with understanding of the cultural, social, and economic contexts of African informal settlements.
• Demonstrated leadership skills with the ability to inspire and motivate youth and community members.
• Strong networking skills with the ability to build and maintain relationships with stakeholders, including NGOs, government agencies, and community organizations.

• A Master’s degree in Global Youth Development, Public Health, Technology Development, Business Strategies, and Entrepreneurship, or a related field. A Bachelor’s degree with at least 12 years of exceptional, relevant, and demonstrated experience may be considered.