Executive Director TICAH

edge; United States; On-site; USD 9,300 - 14,000; Full time

Job summary

TICAH is seeking an Executive Director to lead fundraising, donor engagement and strategic governance, guiding the organisation’s vision in health, gender justice and community empowerment.

The ED will work with the Leadership Team to advance strategic plan implementation, strengthen external partnerships, and mobilise resources for long‑term impact across Kenya and the region.

Qualifications

• Proven ability to raise funds from diverse institutional, philanthropic and individual donors.
• Demonstrated experience in building and maintaining donor relationships.
• Understanding of strategic resource mobilisation for long‑term sustainability.

Responsibilities

• Lead the fundraising and donor engagement strategy across the organisation.
• Oversee governance, board engagement and organisational development.
• Represent the organisation externally to influence policy and strategic partnerships.

Skills

Fundraising leadership

Donor stewardship

Strategic resource mobilisation

Team leadership

Job description

About TICAH

TICAH is a feminist organization that works to promote health, equitable relationships, and community action. We dream of safe and just societies where barriers to equitable health and social outcomes are removed including for the most marginalized populations, where rights are realized, holistic health is attained and where the beauty of culture and diversity is celebrated.

Our definition of health recognises the links between health, values and culture, the role of art in communication and the elevation of marginalised voices and ideas, that there is much to be gained by engaging with our traditional cultures, that access to quality health information & services is critical and the power of nutrition and herbs in overall wellness cannot be overlooked.

We work toward communities driving and owning all implementation through our tried and tested methodologies: Listening and Co-Creation of interventions with communities, Creation of Safe Spaces for Values Clarification and Training of Trainers; Advocacy, where we raise our voices to advocate for better laws, policies and practices to protect rights, access to holistic health services, freedom of expression and sexual & reproductive health & rights. We celebrate the beauty and diversity of ideas, ethnicities, religions, sexuality, music, art, genders, indigenous cultures, and traditions as expressions of a healthy society.

Our priority areas are Gender Justice, Climate Justice and Holistic Health. TICAH’s 4 programs are:

• Art for Connection & Healing: Working with artists and through arts practices to build community, activate and revitalize public spaces, raise marginalized voices and find healing and wellness.

• Healthy Households working with households to stay healthy and prevent illness by incorporating practical, affordable, and sustainable practices by focusing on food and herbal remedies.

• Indigenous Knowledge and Culture Working closely with cultural practitioners and elders to bring positive indigenous knowledge and culture into holistic health and solving community challenges.

• Our Bodies, Our Choices, a SRH program encouraging more honest and healthy approaches to sexual life through curricula, trainings, peer discussions and a hotline. With like-minded organizations we advocate for comprehensive sexuality education, and access to safe legal abortion.

TICAH has evolved from providing information and programs to empowering communities to take control of their health, rights, and futures. Early work connected health with culture, rights, relationships, and indigenous knowledge, fostering open conversations on sexuality, HIV, nutrition, traditional medicine, and social justice. By 2019, the focus shifted to women and girls, gender equality, community leadership, and advocacy. Impact was seen not just in numbers reached, but in people making informed choices, changing practices at home, indigenous women leading, artists driving social change, and communities shaping policies. By 2025, communities were reorganizing after disruptions, young women were influencing policy, families were blending nutrition with local knowledge, indigenous women were leading on land and climate justice, and artists were creating spaces for healing.

TICAH also plays a strategic movement-building role, convening and hosting networks such as MAMA Network, a regional network of 70+ organizations in 26 African countries, Adolescent Girls and Young Women and RRT National networks advancing SRHR in Kenya. In so doing TICAH creates the connective infrastructure that enables organisations and activists to organise, learn, respond and act collectively. Through these networks, we help turn individual organisations and community action into collective power capable of influencing systems at scale.

The 2022–2026 Strategic Plan has marked a shift from running programs to building community power and systems change. With a team of 25, TICAH’s work has impacted over 407,000 people, equipping them with the knowledge, agency, and collective power to lead change. In this period, TICAH began to see communities not just as participants, but as leaders with collective power and agency. Our focus has thus moved from providing information to supporting informed choices, advocacy, and collective action. Our programs have become more integrated, connecting health, rights, gender, climate, art, and indigenous knowledge through an intersectional approach. This has led to greater influence on policies and systems at all levels. By the end of the strategy, TICAH’s role will be less about delivering solutions and more about creating conditions for communities to lead, systems to listen, and people to shape their own futures.

As our current Strategic Plan comes to an end, we are looking ahead with ambition and curiosity, asking ourselves what is possible as TICAH enters its next strategic plan cycle: how do we hold on to the depth, creativity and community‑rootedness that have always defined us, while growing our ability to scale and influence the systems that shape people’s health and lives at scale? How do we build an even stronger, more resilient and sustainable organisation, one that can navigate an increasingly complex political and funding environment, deepen our impact, strengthen our partnerships and continue to challenge conventional ways of thinking about health and wellbeing?

TICAH’s next Executive Director will have the exciting responsibility of helping us imagine, shape and lead this next chapter building on more than two decades of learning and impact while taking the organisation boldly into its future.

Learn more: https://www.ticahealth.org/
TICAH’s Shared Leadership Model

TICAH has adopted a shared leadership model where the Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director share responsibility, authority, and decision‑making for the organization. Rather than a traditional hierarchical structure centered on a single leader, shared leadership emphasizes collaboration, mutual accountability and complementary strengths.

In addition, shared leadership is embedded in TICAH’s DNA through listening and consensus‑building, trust and delegation, a highly collaborative Leadership Team and cross‑functional committees that steer program development, MEL, fundraising, communications, staff welfare, procurement and more.

This model is deeply aligned with TICAH’s values in a number of ways:

• Shared leadership reflects feminist values by promoting shared power, equality, and inclusive decision‑making.

• Indigenous principles emphasize collective leadership, inclusive stewardship, and respect for relational decision‑making.

• Sustainability: Sharing leadership responsibilities reduces burnout, builds institutional memory, and supports healthier, more stable operations over time.

• Better outcomes for communities: Shared Leadership brings complementary skills and insights, enhancing strategic thinking, innovation, and the overall impact of TICAH’s mission.

Shared Roles ED & Deputy ED (20%)

|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————| 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 as needed. |

Executive Director Roles

Fundraising & Donor Communication & Engagement (30%)

• 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 and the region.

• Institutionalise donor relationships across TICAH, ensuring they 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 and regionally.

• 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.

• Capacity building needs to realize TICAH’s SP and position it for further growth.

• Support and manage the Deputy ED, Head of Partnerships and Head of Finance and Operations, and enable them to drive the organization’s results through their teams.

• Committees of the ED: Actively participate in the Communications and Fundraising 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

• Build TICAH’s relevance and visibility in key spaces through taking strategic speaking engagements, contributing skills to the field, etc

• Represent TICAH and our beliefs, and work externally through strategic speaking engagements, industry networking, and collaboration on op‑eds, articles, research, publications, reports, pitch decks, etc.

• External Communications Oversight:

• Ensure strategic and value‑aligned external communications.

• Provide strategic leadership in moments of crisis communication

• Strategic Internal Communication:

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

Partner & Stakeholder Management (10%)

• 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 and the region.

• Grow non‑f funding partnerships in service of Strategic Goals, e.g., replication of our model, advocacy efforts, organisational 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 organisational 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: Experience & Track Record

We are looking for a deeply mission‑aligned 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, individual choice, holistic health, human rights, and addressing the intersections of health, culture, art, climate and inequality.

You have a robust understanding of SRHR issues in Kenya 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.

• 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. Recognises 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