Senior Social Entrepreneur & Project Development Lead – Africa (100%) job at Suyana Foundation

About Suyana Foundation

Suyana Foundation is a Swiss non-profit organisation dedicated to empowering individuals, families, and communities to lead dignified and self-sustaining lives.

For more than 20 years, Suyana has worked through locally led and holistic development approaches focused on health, education, sustainable livelihoods, and WASH, creating long-term impact through strong community engagement, local ownership, and strategic partnerships.

Building on its extensive experience in South America, Suyana is currently developing and expanding its activities in Africa, including Rwanda and Uganda.

Location

Switzerland, Spain, Uganda or Rwanda, with regular travel across Suyana’s programmes and offices. Candidates must have the legal right to work in their country of employment or be able to obtain the required work authorisation; work authorization in all four countries is not required.

Reports to: CEO

Your Role

Suyana is looking for an experienced and entrepreneurial Senior Social Entrepreneur & Project Development Lead to identify, develop and test innovative social enterprises and income-generating initiatives across its African programmes.

We are looking for a builder: someone pragmatic, entrepreneurial and hands-on who can walk into a community, identify an opportunity, understand the market and turn a promising idea into a sustainable social enterprise.

This is not primarily a desk-based strategy or conventional programme-management role. You will spend significant time in the field, working with communities, entrepreneurs, local businesses, and partners to:

• identify real economic and market opportunities;
• turn promising ideas into concrete, testable pilots;
• develop viable business and operating models;
• assess demand, pricing, costs, revenues and financial sustainability;
• launch and adapt pilots based on real-world feedback;
• build local ownership and entrepreneurial capacity;
• create partnerships and market linkages; and
• determine which initiatives should be continued, scaled, adapted – or stopped.

The goal is to develop models that create measurable social and economic impact while generating sustainable livelihood and income opportunities for local communities.

Your Profile:

We are particularly interested in candidates who have personally built, launched, or grown a business, social enterprise, venture or income-generating initiative.

You bring:

• around 7–10+ years of relevant professional experience in social entrepreneurship, enterprise development, business development, private-sector development, livelihoods, innovation or related fields;
• significant professional experience working in Africa, including Uganda and Rwanda;
• a proven track record of personally developing, launching or growing businesses, social enterprises or income-generating initiatives;
• experience taking an initiative from an early-stage idea to a functioning pilot, business or enterprise;
• a strong understanding of markets, business models and financial viability in African contexts;
• the ability to balance social-impact objectives with commercial realities;
• a strong field orientation and willingness to work directly with communities, entrepreneurs and businesses;
• an independent, pragmatic and solutions-oriented working style;
• strong stakeholder engagement and relationship-building skills; and
• excellent written and spoken English. French and/or relevant local languages are an asset.

A university degree in a relevant discipline is expected but demonstrated entrepreneurial achievements and practical experience matter more than academic credentials alone.

What Suyana offers:

This role provides significant autonomy and the opportunity to:

• develop social-enterprise ideas from the ground up;
• work directly with communities, entrepreneurs and businesses;
• test and adapt ideas rather than simply design them on paper;
• combine social impact with economic opportunity and long-term sustainability; and
• help develop successful pilots into models that can potentially be replicated across Suyana’s programmes.

• identify real economic and market opportunities;
• turn promising ideas into concrete, testable pilots;
• develop viable business and operating models;
• assess demand, pricing, costs, revenues and financial sustainability;
• launch and adapt pilots based on real-world feedback;
• build local ownership and entrepreneurial capacity;
• create partnerships and market linkages; and
• determine which initiatives should be continued, scaled, adapted – or stopped.

• strong stakeholder engagement and relationship-building skills
• excellent written and spoken English
• French and/or relevant local languages are an asset

• around 7–10+ years of relevant professional experience in social entrepreneurship, enterprise development, business development, private-sector development, livelihoods, innovation or related fields;
• significant professional experience working in Africa, including Uganda and Rwanda;
• a proven track record of personally developing, launching or growing businesses, social enterprises or income-generating initiatives;
• experience taking an initiative from an early-stage idea to a functioning pilot, business or enterprise;
• a strong understanding of markets, business models and financial viability in African contexts;
• the ability to balance social-impact objectives with commercial realities;
• a strong field orientation and willingness to work directly with communities, entrepreneurs and businesses;
• an independent, pragmatic and solutions-oriented working style;
• A university degree in a relevant discipline is expected but demonstrated entrepreneurial achievements and practical experience matter more than academic credentials alone.