Purpose-Driven Talent, Ready to Contribute.
The Sparks Impact Fellowship places and supports African talent within impact organisations, building capacity today and pipeline tomorrow.
A Placement Model That Fits
Around Your Needs
Whether you need a defined project delivered, additional capacity within your team, or a longer-term investment in future impact leadership, The Sparks Impact Fellowship can shape a managed placement around your needs. The duration and working patterns are adaptable, yet the support structure remains the same.
Impact Organisations We Work With
Embedded in communities across Africa and beyond.
How You Can Work With a Spark
Fellowship Placement
Designed as a deep investment in future impact leadership. A Spark joins your organisation for a longer development journey, on a near- or full-time basis. Alongside meaningful work, they progress through the full Sparks learning pathway, including four quarterly learning modules (Systems Thinking, Impact Measurement and Management, Impact Storytelling, Finance for Social Enterprise), plus professional skills training throughout the year, coaching, and structured professional development. This format offers the deepest integration with your organisation and the strongest opportunity to develop a long-term talent pipeline.
Duration: There is no fixed term. The length of a Fellowship Placement is agreed with you as the host organisation.
Capacity Placement
Bringing purpose-aligned capacity directly to your team. A Spark joins your organisation for a fixed period and contributes to your day-to-day work, projects, or operations. Your organisation provides workplace onboarding and day-to-day line management, while we handle professional development, and the placement relationship.
Duration: Capacity Placements can be part-time or full-time and are generally measured in months, although the timeframe is also flexible.
Project Placement
A defined outcome, delivered with additional Sparks oversight. A Spark works towards a clearly scoped output, set of milestones or deadline, supported by a Sparks-hosted project lead. The project lead provides active delivery oversight and hands-on implementation support. This is best suited to organisations that need a defined scope delivered and would benefit from additional management capacity from the Sparks team.
Duration: Set projects and responsibilities, with agreed upon timeframes upfront. Typically a few weeks to a few months.
How Placements Work
Tell Us What You Need
Share the challenge, role, project or capacity gap you are trying to address.
Shape the Placement
We hold a short diagnostic conversation and help clarify the scope, working pattern and most appropriate placement format.
Meet Potential Sparks
We identify and present suitable, placement-ready Sparks based on the work, skills, values and context of your organisation.
Prepare for the Start
We coordinate contracting, expectations and preparation. Your organisation provides the workplace-specific onboarding, access and tools the Spark will need.
Work with Ongoing Support
The Spark begins contributing to your organisation, while the Sparks team continues supporting their development, performance and the placement relationship.
Where Do Partnership Responsibilities Lie?
Successful partnerships are built on honest commitments, from both sides.
The Sparks
- Providing learning, coaching and professional development
- Identifying and matching suitable Sparks
- Managing formal issues and interventions
- Monitoring the placement relationship
- Coordinating close-out and next steps
- Supporting performance conversations
- Helping shape the role or project
- Supporting pre-start preparation
- Managing contracts and payments
Impact Organisations
- Providing a meaningful impact role or project for collaboration
- Identifying an appropriate internal manager or project owner
- Managing daily work for Fellowship or Capacity Placements*
- Providing tools, information, and access for contribution
- Participating in agreed check-ins and reviews
- Giving timely feedback to promote growth
- Providing workplace-specific onboarding
*For a Project Placement, impact organisations need to appoint a project owner; The Sparks project lead will provide delivery and management oversight.
What Ongoing Support Looks Like
Every placement retains a core Sparks management and development layer. The depth of that support varies according to the format.
This can include:
- Structured learning and professional development
- Needs diagnostics and role or project scoping
- Pre-start preparation and onboarding readiness
- Problem resolution and people-process support
- Matching and shortlisting potential Sparks
- Check-ins and support for the host manager
- Performance monitoring and formal support
- Contracts and payment administration
- Placement close-out and transition
- Regular Spark check-ins
*Project Placements include a more active Sparks delivery-management role. Capacity and Fellowship Placements are line-managed day to day by the impact organisation.
Let's Work Together.
Tell us a little about yourself and what you're looking for, and we'll be in touch.