About Restless Development Zambia

Restless Development Zambia is the leading development agency championing youth leadership nationally. We started working in Zambia in 2003 and, since then, our Hub has evolved into an organisation with true national reach and international networking.

Restless Development Zambia’s mission is to work with young people towards youth-led development to ensure that their voices are heard in the decisions that affect their lives, bodies, health and wellbeing, livelihoods, and communities. For us, youth-led development means unleashing the leadership of young people as assets towards solving Zambia’s challenges.

Our approach to safeguarding

Restless Development Zambia considers the welfare and protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults to be an organisational imperative with primacy over the success of programmes or strategic objectives. We recognise that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and we expect all of our staff, volunteers and partners to ensure we protect the communities in which we operate from harm and abide by our Safeguarding Policy.

About the role

Job title: Hub Director, Restless Development Zambia

Location : Lusaka, Zambia

Salary: ZMW 801,111 basic pay per annum + 10% housing allowance

Preferred start date: April 2026

Length of contract: 2 years

Reports to: Board of Directors

Direct Reports: Finance and Admin Manger, Head of Programmes and Partnerships and the People and Performance Coordinator

Expected travel: Regular travel within Zambia plus 2-3 weeks’ international travel as required.

You will take leadership of the Zambia Hub operations, setting strategic direction, building partnerships and driving performance across all Units in the hub. Working closely with and under the supervision of your National Board of Directors, you will provide support and oversight to your Leadership Team to ensure financial, programmatic, quality, people and performance functions are implemented to a high standard. The Zambia Hub Director also contributes to the Global Restless Development network leadership, which Restless Development Zambia is part of.

1. Strategic Leadership (30%)

• Provide strategic leadership and direction to the Zambia Hub, ensuring that the Hub remains the go-to agency on youth-led change.
• Uphold the Hub reputation, positioning it to be well-known and well-respected in the country.
• Ensures the Hub maintains good relationship with the Government, donors and partners.
• Serving as a representative and public spokesperson for Restless Development Zambia’s youth-led model, values and policies for all internal and external stakeholders.
• Accountable for the overall sustainable, effective delivery and impact of the Hub.
• Bring Restless Development Zambia’s national strategy to life, evaluating the relevance of the strategy and reviewing/revising it as needs be.
• Strategic planning: working with the Zambia Leadership Team to conduct annual planning and implement the Hub’s strategic vision.
• Lead the hub through the necessary transitions and adaptations, as the hub adapts to internal and external changes in the operational environment, planning for and responding to shifts in the political and legal landscape.
• Global leadership: as part of the Restless Development global network, participate in leadership and strategy decision making processes.

2. Resource Mobilisation, Partnerships and Grant Management (40%)

• Drive the Hub’s fundraising efforts, guiding, supervising and coordinating the Leadership Team to deliver quality proposals and cultivate successful relationships.
• Ensure the Hub is well networked with donors and partners, local and international alike.
• Ensure that strong communication is in place to support impact, influencing and fundraising ambitions
• Develop the Hub’s fundraising strategy, providing oversight of the health and cultivation of the Hub’s funding, partnership and grant portfolio in line with the Hub’s strategic ambitions – ensuring that the Hub is able to fully fund its operations, innovation and growth in the country, regionally and as part of the global network.
• Develop and maintain strategic relationships, partnerships and alliances with relevant institutions and organisations, for learning, advocacy, fundraising and influencing.
• Use leadership, networking, negotiation, influencing and relationship-building skills to secure significant funding from diverse in-country and external income streams including regional investments and partnership opportunities.
• Oversee strong systems for effective grant management, through the Leadership Team.

3. Programme Impact Performance (10%)

• Through the Zambia Leadership Team, hold ultimate responsibility for the Hub’s performance and delivery, ensuring key performance and quality indicators are achieved.
• Ensure the Hub is sought out for our expertise.
• Drive a culture of programme innovation, learning, evidence building and influencing ensuring that Restless Development Zambia’s programming portfolio remains at the forefront of driving transformative change for young people across the country and beyond.
• Ensure Innovative programmes are developed, for high impact demonstrating impact and communicating on it.
• Ensuring that the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning function performs well, to make sure that the Hub implements impactful programmes and is able to showcase it’s impact.

4. Financial Management and Performance (10%)

• Ultimate oversight for financial management including budgeting and financial governance, ensuring strong accountability and value for money.
• Working closely with the Finance and Administration Manager to ensure strong financial management systems are in place.
• Ensure financial sustainability of the hub.
• Manage funds so as to making the most of the financial resources we have.

5. People Management and Performance (5%)

• Oversee the management of Zambia’s Leadership Team, including fostering collective ownership of key organisational processes and systems.
• Lead the team in a way that thrives for performance in a nurturing manner, managing people so as to draw the best out of them, making the most of people and expertise we have.
• Upholds support for youth leadership development in staff
• Lead on all manager-level appointments, ensuring that staffing within the organisation is appropriate, trained, and motivated for the delivery of the global Strategy.
• Line manage and support the professional development of direct reports and ensure strong staff performance management and staff development is provided to all staff.

6. Upholding governance and compliance imperatives (5%)

• Serving the Board of Directors as its Secretary and working towards its institutionalization and strengthening.
• Supporting the Board in its reform ambition.
• Work closely with the Hub’s National Board of Directors to ensure effective governance of the Hub.

7. Other duties as required

You may occasionally be required to work on weekends and/or public holidays, for which time off in lieu will be granted.

We are looking for people with the right competencies and skills for the role, and who demonstrate the personal qualities consistent with our Values.

Skills and Experience

Essential

• Be committed to the role of young people in development and Restless Development Zambia’s mission and values.
• Experience of youth programming, and knowledge of relevant national, regional and international policy.
• Substantial senior management experience in fundraising and programmes development and implementation in the development sector.
• Demonstrated success in raising significant income through fundraising and partnerships development.
• Experience in managing finance / operations and of leading teams.
• E

• Provide strategic leadership and direction to the Zambia Hub, ensuring that the Hub remains the go-to agency on youth-led change.
• Uphold the Hub reputation, positioning it to be well-known and well-respected in the country.
• Ensures the Hub maintains good relationship with the Government, donors and partners.
• Serving as a representative and public spokesperson for Restless Development Zambia’s youth-led model, values and policies for all internal and external stakeholders.
• Accountable for the overall sustainable, effective delivery and impact of the Hub.
• Bring Restless Development Zambia’s national strategy to life, evaluating the relevance of the strategy and reviewing/revising it as needs be.
• Strategic planning: working with the Zambia Leadership Team to conduct annual planning and implement the Hub’s strategic vision.
• Lead the hub through the necessary transitions and adaptations, as the hub adapts to internal and external changes in the operational environment, planning for and responding to shifts in the political and legal landscape.
• Global leadership: as part of the Restless Development global network, participate in leadership and strategy decision making processes.
• Drive the Hub’s fundraising efforts, guiding, supervising and coordinating the Leadership Team to deliver quality proposals and cultivate successful relationships.
• Ensure the Hub is well networked with donors and partners, local and international alike.
• Ensure that strong communication is in place to support impact, influencing and fundraising ambitions
• Develop the Hub’s fundraising strategy, providing oversight of the health and cultivation of the Hub’s funding, partnership and grant portfolio in line with the Hub’s strategic ambitions – ensuring that the Hub is able to fully fund its operations, innovation and growth in the country, regionally and as part of the global network.
• Develop and maintain strategic relationships, partnerships and alliances with relevant institutions and organisations, for learning, advocacy, fundraising and influencing.
• Use leadership, networking, negotiation, influencing and relationship-building skills to secure significant funding from diverse in-country and external income streams including regional investments and partnership opportunities.
• Oversee strong systems for effective grant management, through the Leadership Team.
• Through the Zambia Leadership Team, hold ultimate responsibility for the Hub’s performance and delivery, ensuring key performance and quality indicators are achieved.
• Ensure the Hub is sought out for our expertise.
• Drive a culture of programme innovation, learning, evidence building and influencing ensuring that Restless Development Zambia’s programming portfolio remains at the forefront of driving transformative change for young people across the country and beyond.
• Ensure Innovative programmes are developed, for high impact demonstrating impact and communicating on it.
• Ensuring that the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning function performs well, to make sure that the Hub implements impactful programmes and is able to showcase it’s impact.
• Ultimate oversight for financial management including budgeting and financial governance, ensuring strong accountability and value for money.
• Working closely with the Finance and Administration Manager to ensure strong financial management systems are in place.
• Ensure financial sustainability of the hub.
• Manage funds so as to making the most of the financial resources we have.
• Oversee the management of Zambia’s Leadership Team, including fostering collective ownership of key organisational processes and systems.
• Lead the team in a way that thrives for performance in a nurturing manner, managing people so as to draw the best out of them, making the most of people and expertise we have.
• Upholds support for youth leadership development in staff
• Lead on all manager-level appointments, ensuring that staffing within the organisation is appropriate, trained, and motivated for the delivery of the global Strategy.
• Line manage and support the professional development of direct reports and ensure strong staff performance management and staff development is provided to all staff.
• Serving the Board of Directors as its Secretary and working towards its institutionalization and strengthening.
• Supporting the Board in its reform ambition.
• Work closely with the Hub’s National Board of Directors to ensure effective governance of the Hub.
• You may occasionally be required to work on weekends and/or public holidays, for which time off in lieu will be granted.

• Be committed to the role of young people in development and Restless Development Zambia’s mission and values.
• Experience of youth programming, and knowledge of relevant national, regional and international policy.
• Substantial senior management experience in fundraising and programmes development and implementation in the development sector.
• Demonstrated success in raising significant income through fundraising and partnerships development.
• Experience in managing finance / operations and of leading teams.