Chelene Ebersohn
Summary
Seasoned program and finance executive with 25 years of leadership in conservation, community development, and women’s economic empowerment across Africa. Proven track record securing and managing $2–8 million donor portfolios, forging high-impact strategic partnerships, and delivering measurable social and environmental outcomes. Recognized for integrating gender-lens investing principles into multi-stakeholder programs, building robust Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) systems, and driving organizational growth through innovative fundraising strategies.
Overview
25
25
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Programs Director
African Women in Leadership Organization (AWLO)
01.2025 - Current
- Co-developed a multi-year revenue roadmap, securing $150 000 in seed funding within five months.
- Designed and launched a subscription-based “Gender-Lens Toolkit,” generating predictable income.
- Established chapter governance policies and compliance tools—ensuring DE I principles in decision-making, Board charters, and operational frameworks.
- Forged alliances with government (Dept. of Women), private CSR (Nedbank Foundation), and academia (UKZN)—co-hosting capacity-building forums and aligning programs with national gender equity goals.
- Built semi-annual reporting templates; coordinated data collection and produced “MEL Insights Briefs” linking program outcomes (e.g., 300 women trained) to revenue growth and grant renewal.
- Configured Salesforce CRM for donor tracking and Asana/SharePoint for workflow transparency.
- Lead a virtual team across six countries, maintaining 100 % on-time delivery of proposals and reports.
Program Manager
Niassa Special Reserve, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
01.2024 - 09.2024
- Managed an $8.5 million portfolio (USAID, INL, EU, GIZ, BIOFUND, World Bank).
- Negotiated multi-donor budgets and secured a $1 million no-cost extension by presenting precise cost models (fuel, personnel, M&E).
- Led and mentored five M&E officers; designed Asana boards and SharePoint structures to capture 1 200 km of patrol data per quarter and track 75 community workshops.
- Delivered donor reports two weeks early, maintaining 100 % on-time compliance.
- Served as day-to-day interface between WCS, ANAC, and donors—coordinating weekly risk-management forums, aligning project scope with funder priorities, and accelerating decision-making.
- Allocated 25 % of livelihood funds to women’s microenterprises.
- Tracked gender-disaggregated outcomes, raising women’s workshop participation by 20 %.
- Coordinated program continuity amid regional instability (fuel shortages, insurgency) by consolidating procurement and reallocating budgets to critical field activities.
Finance & Operations Manager
Chuilexi Conservancy, NRS
12.2011 - 12.2023
- Authored and submitted 30+ proposals to USAID, EU, INL, Fondation Segré, Wildcat Foundation, Darwin Initiative; achieved an 80 % success rate, securing $2.5 million annually.
- Built finance manuals, procurement SOPs, and dynamic budgeting models integrating variable (fuel, labor) and fixed costs (equipment depreciation).
- Reduced overhead by 10 % through grant-bundling (e.g., Fondation Segré + USAID).
- Created data-collection templates and trained field teams to produce bi-annual impact summaries—quantifying outcomes (e.g., 50 boreholes, 3 school upgrades) and informing adaptive management.
- Negotiated shared-services with neighboring conservancies (joint audits, pooled logistics), lowering per-project expenses by 8 % and redirecting savings to women’s livelihood grants.
- Delivered paid MEL and compliance workshops to NGOs, generating consulting income that supplemented donor funding.
- Maintained donor pipelines through quarterly site visits and transparent reporting.
General Manager
Lugenda Wilderness Camp (RANI Resorts), NRS
01.2010 - 11.2011
- Directed all financial, logistical, and operational functions of a remote eco-tourism lodge.
- Prepared annual budgets and monthly financial reports aligned with conservation objectives.
- Recruited and coached local teams, achieving a 15 % improvement in service-delivery metrics and ensuring guest safety in a remote environment.
- Negotiated supplier contracts and implemented rigorous financial controls, improving cost efficiency by 12 %.
Camp, Finance & Administration Manager
Johan Calitz Safaris
01.2004 - 12.2009
- Established finance and administrative systems from scratch: managed all accounting, procurement, and financial reporting for a remote safari camp.
- Developed procurement procedures and inventory controls, reducing supply chain delays in a low-infrastructure setting by 20 %.
- Trained local hospitality staff in financial record-keeping and regulatory compliance, bolstering operational resilience.
Financial Controller
Hanover International – Eynsham Hall
01.2000 - 01.2004
- Managed financial operations for a country-house hotel and conference venue: prepared annual budgets, oversaw payroll, and ensured compliance with UK regulations.
- Negotiated supplier contracts and implemented cost-control measures that reduced operational expenses by 8 %.
- Led the transition to digital accounting systems, improving reporting accuracy and efficiency by 30 %.
Education
MSc - Business Economics
University of Salford
LLB - Law (Environmental & Human Rights Specialization)
University of South Africa (UNISA)
BA - Law; Minor in Psychology
University of South Africa (UNISA)
BBA - Marketing
IMM Graduate School
Skills
- Executive leadership
- Multi-stakeholder coordination
- Change management
- Grant writing
- Budget modeling & costing
- Donor pipelines & stewardship
- MEL system design
- Data analysis
- Reporting & adaptive management
- Programme design
- Gender-disaggregated data
- Inclusive governance
- Salesforce CRM
- Asana project management
- SharePoint knowledge management
- DFI negotiations
- Consortium building
- Cross-cultural facilitation
- Technical report writing
- Proposal development
- Stakeholder presentations
Websites
Certification
- Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability & Learning for Development Professionals (MEAL DPro), 08/01/23
- Project Management for Development Professionals (Project DPro), 12/01/22
- USAID Subaward Management, 09/01/23
- USAID Contract Management for NGOs, 08/01/22
- Budgeting Essentials, 08/01/22
- USAID Rules & Regulations: Grants & Cooperative Agreements, 08/01/22
- Managing Partner Relationships, 01/01/22
- Good Fund Management, 06/01/22
Accomplishments
- $8.5 Million Portfolio Management (WCS NSR), Oversaw multi-donor grants (USAID, INL, EU, GIZ, BIOFUND, World Bank), achieving 100 % on-time reporting and securing a $1 million no-cost extension.
- Revenue Growth & Diversification (Chuilexi Conservancy), Grew annual funding from $1 million to $2.5 million by bundling grants (USAID, EU, INL) and introducing fee-based MEL training, increasing sustainable income by 20 %.
- AWLO SA Fundraising Launch, Co-created and executed a pipeline that raised $150 000 in five months; designed a subscription-based “Gender-Lens Toolkit” model for recurring revenue.
- MEL Systems Leadership, Headed a five-person MEL team at WCS NSR, building Asana/SharePoint workflows that produced donor-ready reports two weeks early in every cycle.
- Gender-Lens Program Design, As AWLO founding board member and G20 EMPOWER advocate, developed rights-based leadership curricula and advised on gender-responsive finance frameworks adopted by regional stakeholders.
Affiliations
- AWLO South Africa, Founding Board Member
- G20 EMPOWER Alliance, Advocate & Workstream Contributor
Timeline
Programs Director
African Women in Leadership Organization (AWLO)
01.2025 - Current
Program Manager
Niassa Special Reserve, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
01.2024 - 09.2024
Finance & Operations Manager
Chuilexi Conservancy, NRS
12.2011 - 12.2023
General Manager
Lugenda Wilderness Camp (RANI Resorts), NRS
01.2010 - 11.2011
Camp, Finance & Administration Manager
Johan Calitz Safaris
01.2004 - 12.2009
Financial Controller
Hanover International – Eynsham Hall
01.2000 - 01.2004
LLB - Law (Environmental & Human Rights Specialization)
University of South Africa (UNISA)
BA - Law; Minor in Psychology
University of South Africa (UNISA)
BBA - Marketing
IMM Graduate School
MSc - Business Economics
University of Salford
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