In A Nutshell
Serve as the visionary leader of the Masakhane AI Hub for African Languages, responsible for shaping and executing the Hub’s strategy to position it as a global leader in African language AI.
Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
- Develop and implement the Hub’s long-term vision, strategy, and goals. Identify and prioritize strategic opportunities to advance African NLP and scale the Hub’s impact, in alignment with MRF’s 5-year strategy (2025-2029).
- Drive the delivery of flagship projects to speed the pace and reach of African language AI.
Operations and Governance
- Oversee day-to-day operations, ensuring effective management of resources and teams. Provide guidance and support to the operational team to ensure successful project delivery.
- Build systems and processes that contribute to the Hub being scalable and highly cost efficient.
- Establish robust governance structures, policies, and procedures to ensure transparency and accountability.
- Monitor project delivery, budgets, and performance metrics, ensuring alignment with donor and community expectations.
- Responsible for the financial results of the Hub across all funding streams.
Resource Mobilization
- Cultivate relationships with funders, securing multi-year funding and aligning resources to a continental vision for African language AI.
- Be the external face of compelling grant proposals, reports, speaking engagements, and pitches to support the Hub’s initiatives.
- Secure diverse revenue streams to enhance the Hub’s financial sustainability.
Community, Partnerships, and Advocacy
- Build and nurture partnerships with global and local stakeholders, including the African NLP community, governments, research institutions, startups, private sector, and funders.
- Represent the Hub at high-profile events, summits, and conferences to advocate for African language AI.
- Establish the Hub as a thought leader in inclusive and responsible AI, showcasing its impact through advocacy and media/speaking engagements.
Team Leadership and Capacity Building
- Recruit, mentor, and retain high-performing teams, fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation.
- Lead capacity-building initiatives within the organization and across the African NLP ecosystem.
Skillset
- Proven leadership experience in managing complex, multi-stakeholder organizations or initiatives. This experience could be gained through multiple channels, from academia/research to relevant experience in startups, tech companies, consulting or ops management.
- 5+ years of leadership experience, preferably in AI, technology, or development sectors.
- Demonstrated expertise in strategic planning, fundraising, and stakeholder management.
- Strong communication and leadership skills with a track record of fostering organizational growth.
- Existing network within African technology, academic, and donor ecosystems.
- An eye for great talent and the ability to unlock its potential.
- A commitment to building a strong culture driven by the values of the African NLP community and a commitment to responsible and inclusive AI.