Build Africa is proud to announce Linda Edwards as our new Chief Executive Officer.
Linda will be joining the organisation from Marie Stopes International, where she spent five years as an award-winning country director in Malawi, and most recently as Regional Director for Pacific Asia.
She replaces Oliver Kemp, who recently left Build Africa after seven years.
Linda brings with her more than 15 years of international humanitarian, development and management experience, and has worked across Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Pacific Asia.
Her previous roles including working as Country Director for the Danish Refugee Council in Iraq, where she was also the Chair of the NGO Coordination Committee, and Country Director posts with Merlin in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan.
Linda has a reputation for managing complex organisations and services, and has established strong relationships with a range of partners and funders – from Education and Health Ministers to community leaders, private foundations, UN agencies, DFID, USAID and the European Commission.
We believe Linda has the right qualifications to help Build Africa move into the next stage of our strategy, and her experience will be critical to sustaining the growth of the organisation as we expand - reaching more communities, countries and people than ever before.
Linda Edwards, the new CEO of Build Africa, said: “I am incredibly happy to be joining Build Africa. Having worked for many years in the sub-Saharan region, I have seen the change that community-focused programming can deliver – and I feel proud to be part of an organisation that is driven by this approach.
“The organisation has already achieved so much in the communities it serves in Uganda and Kenya, and I look forward to working with my colleagues at Build Africa to further expand our reach and increase the impact we have.”
Andrew White, Chair of the UK Board of Trustees, said: "Linda was an exceptional candidate, and will now be an exceptional addition to the team.
“After a lengthy and detailed process, we believe we’ve found someone who will bring genuine and invaluable experience to the role. She has both the ability and vision to really drive the growth of the organisation, and will help us realise our ambition to impact the lives of a million people in East Africa by 2018.
“We are very excited to welcome Linda to Build Africa.”
Visit our Careers page to find out more about working for us. If you have any questions about Build Africa, please email [email protected] or call +44 (0) 1892 519619