CDF FUND MANAGER – CORPORATE SERVICES: COEGA DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

Educational Qualifications Essential Bachelor’s Degree (NQF Level 7) in Development Studies, Public Administration, Economics, Business Management, Finance, any related field or equivalent. Preferred Postgraduate Degree, Honours, or Master’s Degree (NQF Level 8 or 9). Experience Essential 6 to 8 years of managerial experience working within corporate foundations, non-profit fund management, or economic development environments, featuring accountability for fund mobilisation, multi-million budget management, and board-level reporting. Preferred Successful track record of setting up new programs, funds or organisational units during an establishment or incubation phase or institutionalising a new foundation or corporate trust, including drafting foundational policies. • Proven experience working within or alongside a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Industrial Development Zone (IDZ), or a large-scale Public-Private Partnership (PPP), ideally with exposure to the Coega SEZ ecosystem. • Experience coordinating and collaborating with independent, pre-existing internal Business Units. Competencies Essential Deep understanding of non-profit corporate governance, localised grant-making regulations, and King V governance principles. Thorough knowledge of fundraising methodologies, capital mobilisation strategies, and donor compliance frameworks. Advanced financial acumen, budget structuring, grant management, and fiduciary risk assessment capabilities. Exceptional collaboration and internal stakeholder management skills, with a proven ability to work across a matrixed corporate structure. Strong monitoring and evaluation design, data analysis, and technical donor report-writing skills. High emotional intelligence, political astuteness, and the ability to comfortably interact with both high-level corporate donors and grassroots community structures. High levels of adaptability, initiative, and entrepreneurial drive required to build a new entity during an early establishment phase. Preferred An existing network of potential strategic partners would be advantageous. Thorough understanding of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), national SEZ legislation, and national socio-economic development (SED) targets. Cross-sector collaboration capabilities with a proven ability to align corporate, governmental, and grassroots community agendas. Licences, Registrations & Certifications Essential Driver’s licence (as regular travel to localised project sites and stakeholder meetings is required). Preferred Specialised certifications in Fund Development, Corporate Social Responsibility, Non-Profit Management, or Monitoring & Evaluation. Professional membership or registration with a recognised institute for corporate governance, fund management or social impact professionals.

Foundation Institutionalisation and Strategy Formulation Establish and maintain governance systems, processes, and controls for the Coega Development Foundation (CDF), ensuring alignment with the CDF’s core values of accountability, transparency, inclusivity and service provision excellence. Ensure compliance with funder requirements and regulatory frameworks governing non-profit entities and Special Economic Zones. Report to the Board and stakeholders in line with governance requirements and statutory public sector obligations. Facilitate coordination of CDF meetings and engagements to drive the institution’s agenda. Translate the CDC’s developmental mandate into specific, operational, socio-economic development (SED) funding policies. Formulate long-term sustainability models to transition the Foundation from an early-stage set-up into a self-sustaining funding vehicle. Benchmark the Foundation’s governance frameworks against national and international CSI best practices. Develop the constitutional documents, operational charters, and operating frameworks for Board approval. Define clear risk management strategies to safeguard the Foundation against fiduciary, reputational, and operational liabilities. Internal CDC Business Unit Integration and Co-Identification Collaborate with CDC Business Units to ensure alignment and integration across all community-facing programs without duplicating operational delivery. Partner with the internal CDC Skills Development Centre to channel external funding towards existing accredited training programmes, short courses, and the Coega Maths and Science Programme. Partner with the CDC MSME Development Unit to link CDF funds with localised supply chain incubators. Engage the CDC Business Development and Commercial sections to integrate donor pitches into the primary tenant onboarding pipeline. Coordinate with the CDC units working in project development areas to identify early childhood development and broader infrastructure funding gaps in surrounding communities. Establish internal joint working committees to prevent duplicate functions between the Foundation and core CDC departments. Align the project selection criteria of the Foundation with the commercial and macro-investment targets of the broader SEZ. Review existing CDC corporate initiatives to determine where external grant funding can accelerate socio-economic delivery. Embed the Foundation’s strategic goals within the broader integrated reporting frameworks of the CDC. Fund Development and Capital Mobilisation Maintain strong relationships with stakeholders across sectors to identify capital-raising and co-investment opportunities, pooling social investment funds from both individuals and corporates. Spearhead capital-raising campaigns targeting corporate social investment budgets of SEZ industrial tenants. Design innovative financial mechanisms, including matching-grant and pooled-fund structures, to attract corporate donors. Package attractive value propositions that demonstrate the B-BBEE scorecard and tax exemption benefits available to investors. Diversify the revenue streams of the Foundation to reduce long-term dependency on a single donor pool or corporate grant. Convene donor networking events and investor roundtables to position the Foundation as the preferred regional development partner. Negotiate high-value seed funding and sponsorship agreements with prospective multinational manufacturing investors. Monitor global and local corporate philanthropic trends to adapt capital mobilisation strategies proactively. Fund Management and Financial Governance Establish and maintain governance systems, processes, and controls specifically for multi-donor fund accounting. Ring-fence received funds strictly according to specific funder interests, mandates, and compliance requirements during all capital distributions. Evaluate and select beneficiaries through proactive identification or unsolicited requests, utilising stringent criteria that are highly sensitive to the plight of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. Manage the overarching budget of the Foundation, ensuring optimisation of funds and prevention of unauthorised or wasteful expenditure. Enforce strict financial internal controls regarding the validation, authorisation, and disbursement of community grants. Secure legally binding grant agreements with all selected community partners, outlining strict delivery milestones. Oversee the annual external financial audit process of the Foundation to guarantee uncompromised transactional transparency. Formulate cash flow forecasts, financial variance analyses, and capital deployment schedules for executive review. Structure claw-back mechanisms within funding contracts to protect disbursed resources against non-delivery. Approve short-term investment strategies for idle reserve capital to optimise interest generation within risk tolerances. Monitoring, Evaluation and Social Impact Tracking Measure social impact to align with corporate values, national legislation, and donor-specific performance metrics, specifically tracking improvements in lifelong learning, employability, and entrepreneurship. Deploy monitoring and evaluation systems to track the real-time execution of funded projects. Formulate quantitative and qualitative key performance indicators for each community upskilling and development project. Calculate the Social Return on Investment across the portfolio of supported initiatives. Conduct site inspections and localised spot-checks to verify physical progress against submitted financial claims. Review underperforming projects to diagnose bottlenecks and implement rapid corrective action or funding suspensions. Publish data-driven performance dashboards comparing actual socio-economic outputs against baseline regional targets. Assess the long-term systemic impact of skills and MSME programs on local employment absorption rates. Refine project selection models based on historical monitoring and evaluation data to maximise future funding efficiency. Funder and Stakeholder Reporting Report to the Board and stakeholders in line with governance requirements, donor expectations, and public sector standards. Manage the entire process of the application of funds and account directly and transparently to the funders. Author detailed, compliant impact reports customised to the exact reporting frameworks of specific international and corporate donors. Demonstrate to contributing tenants exactly how their funding allocations satisfy national B-BBEE socio-economic development compliance targets. Compile regular operational and financial updates for Executive Management. Produce a comprehensive CDF Annual Social Impact Report for public and shareholder distribution. Facilitate coordination of CDF meetings and engagements focused on feedback delivery and transparent financial reporting. Manage a secure donor reporting schedule, ensuring zero delays in compliance submissions. Present evidence of community project delivery to donor audit committees during annual reviews. Synthesise statistical impact data into accessible messaging for non-technical stakeholders. Stakeholder Engagement and Social License to Operate Maintain strong relationships with stakeholders across sectors, including local government municipalities, traditional leaders, and civil society. Facilitate coordination of CDF meetings and engagements with community leadership structures to foster public trust. Communicate the mission, funding criteria, and success stories of the Foundation to the public and grassroots communities. Gather continuous community and stakeholder feedback to inform the co-identification of funding priorities with CDC business units. Safeguard the CDC’s social license to operate by ensuring geographic equity and fairness in the distribution of funds. Represent the Foundation at socio-economic development forums, government panels, and non-profit coalition summits. Promote the shared-value achievements of SEZ tenants to enhance the public image of the Coega corporate ecosystem.

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