Company Description
Waves for Change (W4C) is a South Africa-based nonprofit that delivers an evidence-based surf therapy program to children and adolescents from under-resourced communities. Led by mental health and social service professionals, W4C’s Take 5 Model focuses on building resilience, confidence, and emotional wellbeing through weekly, structured surf sessions. Local community members are trained as surf therapy coaches to support referred at-risk youth, improving behaviour, learning outcomes, and access to social support in volatile environments. Each session provides safe transportation, surf equipment, psychosocial support, and a nutritious meal, creating a consistent, safe space for healing and growth over the course of a year. W4C is committed to accessible, community-based mental health care that is engaging, impactful, and empowers young people to cope with trauma, violence, and adversity.
Since 2011, Waves for Change has delivered Surf Therapy to over 15,000 highly vulnerable youth. More recently, we have developed Take 5, a product that takes the key ingredients of Surf Therapy and packages them for use by coaches in any sporting or learning environment. We have established relationships with Government and Humanitarian partners that could see Take 5 being used by 10,000 coaches across Africa by 2030, reaching in excess of 1,000,000 children per year. The Take 5 model is being reviewed by leading systems change partners including Mulago, Audacious and Co-impact. We seek a driven, passionate and seasoned development officer who will join our executive team and tell our scaling and impact journey to a growing global audience whilst securing the funding to meet our scaling goals.
Role Description
The Chief Development Officer (CDO) is a full-time, hybrid role based in Muizenberg, with flexibility for some work from home. The CDO will lead the organisation’s fundraising and development strategy, designing and implementing comprehensive plans to grow philanthropic support from individuals, foundations, corporations, and other partners. You will lead all external development functions at Waves for Change and ensure that fundraising and communications collectively strengthen organisational visibility and drive sustainable revenue growth. You will manage a budget of 2.5m USD and ensure budget growth to 4m USD by 2030. Day-to-day responsibilities include managing annual and planned giving programs, cultivating and stewarding major donors, overseeing grant proposals and reporting, and ensuring consistent donor communications and impact storytelling. The CDO will report to the CEO and collaborate closely with the executive team to align development goals with organisational strategy, lead budgeting and revenue forecasting for fundraising activities, and build systems to track performance against targets. This role will also involve coaching and supporting staff and board members in fundraising efforts, representing W4C at events and meetings, and strengthening relationships with key stakeholders locally and internationally. You will manage and support a communications team to ensure our messaging and communications support donor acquisition and retention and increase awareness of our mission, our growth and our impact.
Key Performance Areas (KPAS)
The CDO is accountable for the following core KPAs:
Fundraising Strategy & Revenue Growth (and donor retention)
- Sustain budget of 2.5 Million US in Year One, grow to 3m USD annually by 2030.
- Develop and lead a multi-year fundraising strategy that diversifies W4C's income across individual philanthropy, corporate partnerships, trusts and foundations, and bilateral/multilateral donors.
- Set and meet ambitious annual income targets, maintaining a healthy pipeline of prospective funders at all stages.
- Lead the cultivation and stewardship of high-value donor relationships, acting as the senior relationship holder for strategic funders
- Identify and pursue emerging funding mechanisms including new markets,, and government partnerships.
- Provide the CEO and Board with regular pipeline, income performance, and strategic risk reporting.
Strategic Communications & Brand Management
- Develop a donor communications strategy that ensures all key and prospective donors receive regular communication about programme development and success.
- Manage Communications Director and Communications Officer to turn this strategy into annual workplans that can be monitored for success.
- Ensure that donor-facing communications, including annual reports, direct mailers, impact briefs, case studies, and digital content, are compelling, accurate, and aligned with funder priorities.
- Champion W4C's thought leadership and profile in the surf therapy, mental health, and youth development sectors at national and international level.
- Manage organisational reputation and crisis communications in collaboration with the CEO.
Grant Management & Compliance
- Establish and manage systems to manage donor prospecting, proposal generation, timely reporting and compliance.
- Support the Senior Grants Manager and Business Development Specialist in managing funder relationships, tracking deliverables, and resolving compliance issues.
- Ensure robust systems and processes are in place for grants administration, CRM, and financial tracking.
- Ensure all fundraising activities comply with relevant South African legal and regulatory requirements.
Team Leadership & Integration
- Lead, coach, and develop the Development Department team, fostering a high-performance, collaborative, and values-aligned culture.
- Facilitate effective integration and collaboration across the Communications, MERL, and Grants functions.
- Contribute to organisational strategy as a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT).
- Model W4C's values of child safety, equity, community-led development, and continuous learning in all internal and external engagements.
- Manage a team of up to five people, including communications and business development specialists.
Qualifications
- A minimum of 5 years of executive experience leading fundraising, resource mobilisation, or development within an NGO, social impact, or public sector organisation with an annual operating budget of 3m USD or above.
- Demonstrated track record of securing significant grants and donations from a range of funders, including international foundations, institutional donors and high net-worth individuals.
- Strong Strategic Planning skills, with the ability to design and execute multi-year development strategies aligned with organisational goals.
- Proficiency in Budgeting and financial management related to fundraising portfolios, including forecasting, monitoring, and reporting on development performance.
- Proven experience managing senior-level donor and partner relationships at national and international level.
- Leadership experience managing or mentoring teams, and collaborating effectively with senior leadership, boards, and cross-functional staff.
- Strong knowledge of the South African and global development funding landscape.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including proposal writing, impact reporting, and presentation abilities for varied audiences; ability to craft compelling narratives for diverse audiences.
- Familiarity with CRM (Salesforce) or donor management systems, and comfort using data and analytics to guide fundraising decisions.
- Understanding of or interest in community-based mental health, youth development, or nonprofit work in under-resourced settings
- Able to work remotely in the South African Timezone
Working Location, Salary and Benefits
Waves for Change offers market-related benchmarked salaries and competitive benefits packages that include healthcare insurance and pension. This role is open to South African or non-South African-based applicants. Waves for Change will bring you to South Africa a minimum of two times per year for strategic planning and team building. Remote applicants must be able to demonstrate prior experience of effective remote working and access to consistent and stable working environments.
Waves for Change Values and Culture
All Waves for Change (W4C) staff are required to demonstrate a deep personal commitment to:
- Child protection and safeguarding — a strict safeguarding policy applies, and all staff undergo annual enhanced background screening.
- Equity, diversity, and inclusion — W4C actively centres community voices and promotes inclusive workplaces.
- Community-led development — respect for, and genuine partnership with, the communities W4C serves.
- Continuous learning and evidence — W4C is an evidence-generating organisation and expects all staff to contribute to a learning culture.
The successful candidate must contribute to building a supportive, respectful, and growth-oriented organisational culture that reflects the mission and impact objectives of Waves for Change.
How to apply
Apply via LinkedIn.
Please include a detailed CV, Cover Letter, and three contactable professional references along with your application.
Should you not have heard from us within three weeks of your application, you may consider your application unsuccessful.