Country Liaison for Sierra Leone

The Country Liaisons are the primary point of contact between the African Library Project (ALP) and our Partners in country; they manage the operational relationship between ALP and the partnering organization(s). There is a Country Liaison for each of the countries where ALP is currently active. We are currently seeking Country Liaisons for Kenya and Sierra Leone who will be the direct contact with our two partnering organizations there. In this capacity, Liaisons will serve as a member of the African Partners Committee that vets partnering organizations, and produces the biennial Summits (best practices).

Prerequisites

• Passionate about ALP’s mission and aligned with ALP Guiding Principles.
• Skills in collaboration, problem-solving, and communicating to outside stakeholders.
• Ability to use required technology, i.e. salesforce, googledocs, dropbox, whatsapp, etc.
• Prepared to give time, energy, talents and enthusiasm to create an outstanding organization.

General Duties

• Provide guidance, support, and coaching to your Partner(s).
• Participate in the African Partner Committee or working meetings, as necessary.
• Perform other duties that may be delegated by the staff, Board of Directors and or African Partners Committee.
• Conduct a transition meeting with your successor.

Responsibilities:

• Serve on the African Partners Committee (APC). This committee vets ALP’s African Partner organizations to receive ALP book donations and turn them into sustainable, working libraries that serve the community. The APC produces the Virtual and Live Summits.
• Identify/recruit Partners who meet ALP’s criteria, if necessary (currently Kenya has two Partners, Rongo and Kibabii Universities; the Sierra Leone Liaison will need to identify/recruit a Partner(s)).
• Develop and/or maintain a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), and otherwise negotiate arrangements to ensure reliable conversion of books to sustainable and productive libraries.
• Manage library application process, set annual goals, timelines, and container logistics from the North American side.
• Maintain ongoing communication and relationship with Partners.
• Support Partners as needed through the application process, receiving container, teacher-librarian training and tracking process.
• Encourage Partners to collect ‘thank you’ notes from library recipients, and deliver the notes to the Book Drive Organizers.
• Collaborate with Container Managers to create a smooth library/container fulfillment process.
• Update the APC monthly on developments.
• Evaluate library progress and make course corrections to partnerships as needed.
• Coordinate with your Partner to host and/or attend Summit (biennial program that rotates between countries).

Term – 3 years or as determined by the Board of Directors

Estimated time commitment: Average of 15 hours/month (may vary widely by month)

To apply, please send your resume of relevant experience and a cover letter to Lauren Small at Execdir@africanlibraryproject.org.