Executive Director: Leading with Heart, Vision, and Creativity (60% FTE)

About Us

The S.H.E. College Fund gives eligible young women in Kenya who have been at risk of harmful traditional practices such as FGM/C and early, forced marriage full scholarships for college, university, or trade school education. Our support extends beyond tuition to include mentorship, mental health support, life skills training, and career counseling, ensuring every recipient can pursue education, independence, and opportunity with confidence.

Each S.H.E. scholar began her journey in a safe house, where she took refuge when she had the courage to say no to harmful traditional practices and her culture’s refusal to educate females. There she was protected, supported, and educated through high school. The S.H.E. College Fund is the bridge to what comes next: scholarship for college, university, or trade school, as well as mentorship, emotional support, and a strong community.

Our graduates return to their communities as confident professionals, role models, and trailblazers, expanding what is possible for girls and women for generations to come.

The S.H.E. College Fund is not just a scholarship program; it is a living ecosystem of support, trust, and transformation. Inspired by the principles of emergent strategy, S.H.E. grows in response to the real lives, voices, and dreams of young Kenyan women.

Taking our lead from the Maasai community with whom we work, we are a heart centered organization with Osotua, a word that in Maasai denotes relationship and interdependence, as our core value. Our corporate culture invites emotional openness, creativity, and deep compassion.

The Values of the S.H.E. College Fund

• RELATIONSHIP/OSOTUA: Osotua, a Maa word, refers to the invisible umbilical cord that connects us all in peaceful and generous relationships. We nurture nourishing connections—among students, staff, funders, and across the Kenyan and U.S. communities we serve.
• INTEGRITY: We uphold honesty, transparency, and accountability in all our communications and actions.
• COMMUNITY: We foster a network of support and care for all involved, from students to staff to funders to board members, where each member is valued and encouraged.
• HEART: We are guided by compassion and wisdom: all decisions, actions, and interactions are informed by the heart as well as the mind.

Position Overview

The Executive Director of the S.H.E. College Fund embodies both inspired leadership and human connection. She guides our mission with emotional intelligence, creativity, and an open heart.

This leadership role requires the ability to envision the organization’s future, work with the cross-cultural team, and conduct administrative tasks that sustain the organization’s current operations. If you can move seamlessly between operational management, visionary thinking and heartfelt storytelling; and if you have personal life experience of the transformative power of education, mentorship, and human connection, you might be exactly who we are looking for.

The Founder of the organization will support and collaborate with the ED in select areas of the organization.

The work schedule for this role is flexible, averaging 24 – 30 hours/week or 3 – 3.5 days/week. Includes occasional evenings and weekends.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership

• Lead the organization into the next chapter of our reach and impact with vision and passion.
• Serve as the chief ambassador of our mission, building authentic relationships with donors, partners, staff, students, and alumni.
• Cultivate a collaborative, compassionate organizational culture that values creativity, courageous conversations, openness, and cross-cultural understanding.
• Collaborate with the Kenya team on program development and evaluation, ensuring academic enrollment and tracking are fulfilled; and professional development, life skills and mental wellness programs remain strong, relevant and responsive to student needs.
• Uphold program and organizational excellence by setting meaningful measures of success, tracking outcomes, and ensuring accountability across all stakeholders.
• Travel to Kenya at least once per year, with potential for additional trips.

Fundraising & Donor Cultivation and Management

• Innovate and implement strategies for financial and organizational sustainability through individual donors, family foundations, and/or philanthropic foundations.
• Nurture and cultivate existing funding relationships by fostering enduring, trust-based relationships.
• Create and execute special fundraising events to engage new and ongoing audiences.

Communications

• Write and speak on behalf of the organization with warmth, clarity, and inspiration
• Develop compelling donor communications, newsletters, annual reports, social media content, and public presentations
• Strengthen funder cultivation, education, and engagement, deepening connection to the mission and heartbeat of the work

Financial and Data Systems Management

• Manage the financial health of the S.H.E. College Fund USA, including budgeting, reporting, tracking and growth strategies.
• Oversee the finances of the S.H.E. College Trust Kenya.
• Oversee annual federal and state tax reporting, and manage the bank accounts and wire transfers.
• Maintain accurate CRM and other operational systems.

Collaboration with the S.H.E. College Trust Kenya and the Board of Directors

• Collaborate (virtually and in-person) with the Executive Director and Director of Students of the S.H.E. College Trust Kenya.
• Serve as an ex officio, non-voting member of the U.S. Board of Directors, scheduling meetings three times a year, drafting the meeting’s agenda and docket in collaboration with Board Chair.
• Assist the President and other Board members in carrying out their duties, as appropriate.

Who You Are

The following paints a picture of the kind of candidate we are looking for. You do not need to check every box; please apply if you feel you align with our overall vision for this role.

The ideal candidate communicates with warmth and clarity across cultures, belief systems, and life experiences. You are as comfortable listening with compassion as you are speaking with insight and inspiration. You take a conscious approach to your work, appreciating mindfulness practices and authentic personal sharing from the team to begin meetings. Your communication style, both in writing and in person, makes those around you feel personally seen and spoken to.

Passion and Leadership

• You have a deep commitment to the education and empowerment of young women with a commitment to breaking cycles of gender oppression.
• You have proven ability to transform vision into action with creativity, care, and persistence.
• You are ready to lead and/or participate in mindfulness practices and personal sharing that contribute to team trust, coherence and effectiveness.

Professional Experience

• You have 5+ years of proven leadership experience in a nonprofit, education, or mission-driven organization, ideally in a cross-cultural, multi-national setting.
• Your strong communication skills are used with dexterity that adjust to the audience and method, resulting in donors, partners, and supporters feeling personally connected to the mission.
• You have had fundraising success with individual donors, foundations, and other partners.
• You have the people and program management skills to lead a small non-profit into its next phase of growth and community impact.
• You are proficient with data input, tracking and management platforms, such as QuickBooks, Zoom, Google workspace, Excel, WhatsApp, Squarespace, Mailchimp, various social media outlets and experience in/a willingness to learn basic graphic design, photo and video editing.

Personal Qualities

• Communication, warmth, openness, self-responsibility and emotional intelligence are hallmarks of your character.
• You are skilled at navigating diverse perspectives, managing difficult conversations, and bridging differences to create a culture of care, growth and curiosity.
• You have a highly collaborative work style that supports our value of relationship.
• You are self-directed and comfortable working remotely and effectively managing priorities.

Travel Requirements:

• You must be legally eligible for employment in the US.
• You must hold (or be eligible to obtain) a valid passport.
• You are available to travel to Kenya for work two to four weeks each year.