Secretariat Lead, Global Home-Based Childcare Alliance

                              Job Description: Secretariat Lead, Global Home-Based Childcare Alliance

Location: Flexible / Remote-friendly. Preference for candidates from the Global South and in time zones with workable overlap with UTC+12.
Reports to: CEO, NurtureFirst
Internal Partners: Learning & Innovation; Communications & Narrative; Head of Programs

External Partners: Alliance Leadership, Funders, Multilateral Institutions
Organization: NurtureFirst

Duration: 2 years (renewable)

Contract Type: Full-time

About GDI: The Global Development Incubator, Inc. (GDI Africa), is a non-profit organization independently incorporated in Kenya in April 2017 and legally registered under the Non-Governmental Organizations Coordination Act of Kenya. GDI Africa is governed by a locally constituted Board and directly employs over fifty staff across the country and the African region. GDI is renowned for launching and operationalizing initiatives aimed at systemic and scaled change. GDI’s mission is to bring together ideas, leaders, and capital to build and scale the next generation of social solutions. Key areas of implementation include youth employment, economic inclusion for the extreme poor, gender and PWD inclusion, financing for smallholder farmers, mental health, green jobs and financing, MSME development, and sustainable economic development. GDI Africa works deep in the community with partners and directly with participants in all initiatives, building capacity and ensuring the voices and stories of communities, especially women, are incorporated in all of GDI’s work. More on GDI’s approach and work can be found on the following website: www.gdiafrica.org

About NurtureFirst: NurtureFirst strengthens the systems that support Home-Based Childcare (HBCC) providers - locally and globally - so the world’s youngest children can thrive in quality and nurturing childcare settings. We work at two interconnected levels:

• In-country systems change: partnering with governments, funders, and communities to design and scale HBCC-supportive policies and practices.
• Global movement-building: hosting and stewarding the Global HBCC Alliance, a coalition of organizations committed to elevating HBCC in global policy and financing agendas.

NurtureFirst is currently incubated within GDI Africa and will transition to an independent organization in 2026.

Role Overview: The Secretariat Lead, Global HBCC Alliance, serves as the Secretariat Lead for the Global HBCC Alliance. This role anchors the Alliance through coalition‑building, strategic leadership, facilitation, and Secretariat governance — ensuring coherence, legitimacy, and alignment across Members.

Working closely with the CEO, the Secretariat Lead drives collective processes, facilitates Member collaboration, and stewards governance, while drawing on evidence and communications functions to strengthen advocacy and visibility.

This is a strategic operator role: part coalition steward, part facilitator, part governance lead, part advocacy engine. The role requires flexibility in working hours to coordinate across diverse time zones and ensure global Member engagement.

As the Alliance continues to evolve, the role requires someone who is equally comfortable shaping strategic direction and translating it into the coordination, follow-through, and operational execution needed to sustain an effective global coalition.

Key Responsibilities

1. Secretariat Leadership, Governance & Sustainability

• Steward the Alliance’s governance processes, including membership criteria, decision-making procedures, and annual workplan coordination.
• Maintain the Alliance’s neutrality, legitimacy, and coherence across diverse Members.
• Track progress against the Alliance workplan, budget, and advocacy milestones, ensuring accountability and transparency.
• Escalate issues to the CEO as needed, protecting coalition cohesion and legitimacy.
• Support sustainability by mobilizing Member energy, external visibility, and funding partnerships.

2. Coalition Building, Strategic Leadership & Facilitation

• Lead facilitation of collective processes, surfacing tensions and guiding Members toward aligned positions.
• Build community and trust between Members with diverse mandates and geographies, fostering shared ownership.
• Ensure provider voice mechanisms are integrated into advocacy processes.
• Protect coalition breadth and legitimacy through diplomatic, inclusive leadership.

3. Evidence Translation & Knowledge Brokering

Working in close collaboration with the Learning & Innovation function:

• Equip Members with advocacy‑ready insights and narratives drawn from synthesized evidence.
• Broker knowledge into collective positions, messaging frameworks, and public goods that strengthen global advocacy.
• Ensure the Alliance’s evidence base is accessible and coherent, supporting Member alignment and external credibility.
• Identify priority evidence needs that inform the Alliance’s advocacy agenda, coordinating with Members to shape research directions.

4. Global Advocacy Execution

In partnership with the CEO (who leads high-stakes representation):

• Support the design and execution of the Alliance’s global advocacy strategy targeting donors, development banks, and multilateral institutions.
• Coordinate Member engagement in global moments (UN forums, development bank convenings, care economy events).
• Align messaging and advocacy positions across Members to ensure coherence and amplification.
• Represent the Alliance in selected forums as needed.

5. Convenings & Collective Learning

• Design the strategic purpose and structure of Alliance convenings (virtual and in-person), ensuring they advance advocacy and evidence goals.
• Provide strategic facilitation that enables Members to move from dialogue to collective positions and advocacy priorities.
• Coordinate logistics and content development with Members and relevant internal functions.
• Ensure convenings generate actionable insights, shared narratives, and strengthened alignment.

6. Internal Collaboration & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Collaborate with the Learning & Innovation function to ensure evidence synthesis aligns with advocacy needs.
• Partner with the Communications & Narrative function to shape coherent coalition narratives and advocacy materials that amplify Member voices.
• Work with the Head of Programs to ensure alignment between global advocacy and in-country systems work.
• Support the CEO in preparing for high-level engagements, speeches, and global advocacy moments.

Qualifications & Experience

Required

• 8–12 years of experience in global advocacy, coalition coordination, policy engagement, or systems-focused program leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to steward multi-stakeholder governance processes with diplomacy and neutrality.
• Proven ability to facilitate collective processes and build coalitions across differences.
• Strong understanding of global development, early childhood, gender equity, or care economy ecosystems.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including facilitation and synthesis.
• Experience working across diverse cultural and geographic contexts, especially in the Global Majority.
• Flexibility in working hours to coordinate across diverse time zones and geographies

Preferred

• Experience translating evidence or research into accessible narratives, policy messages, or advocacy materials.
• Familiarity with HBCC, early childhood development, or women’s economic empowerment.
• Experience coordinating research agendas or knowledge products.
• Comfort representing an organization in selected external forums.

Competencies

• Coalition builder: Anchors the role in convening, alignment, and shared power — the most critical function of the Secretariat.
• Strategic leadership & facilitation: Guides collective processes with clarity, neutrality, and authority, ensuring Members move from dialogue to aligned action.
• Operational excellence & governance: Builds systems, tracks progress, and drives execution with transparency and accountability.
• Communication & relationship management: Maintains trust and coherence across diverse stakeholders.
• Sustainability & mobilization: Secures legitimacy, resources, and momentum for the Alliance.
• Political intelligence: Reads dynamics, anticipates tensions, and escalates appropriately.
• Strategic synthesis: Distils complex evidence into clear, compelling advocacy insights.
• Cultural humility: Deep respect for diverse caregiving practices and contexts.
• Narrative awareness: Understands how evidence becomes influence.

Location & Travel

• Flexible / Remote-friendly.
• Preference for candidates based in the Global South or in time zones with workable overlap with UTC+12.
• International travel up to 20–30% for convenings, global moments, and Member engagement.

Why Join NurtureFirst

This is a rare opportunity to help shape a global movement for home-based childcare — stewarding a coalition that elevates provider voice, strengthens evidence, and influences global policy and financing. You will play a pivotal role in building the systems, relationships, and narratives that position HBCC as essential public infrastructure worldwide.

How to Apply

If this sounds exciting to you and you meet the qualifications above, please submit a single PDF document containing a one-page cover letter and CV/resume outlining your interest in this position and why you would be a good fit. Please note that the cover letter is considered an important aspect of the application and will be evaluated against the qualifications above. Applications that do not include a cover letter will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Applications take place on a rolling basis until the position is filled, and are to be submitted via https://www.gdiafrica.org/our-careers/