Unlock Your Future: 2 High-Impact Remote Roles at African Futures Lab for 2026

Strengthening Africa's Future Through Remote Leadership and Research

African Futures Lab (AFL) has launched two exciting remote opportunities designed to strengthen institutional leadership and advance critical research on climate justice in Africa. These positions reflect the organization's ongoing commitment to building equitable futures through rigorous analysis, policy innovation, and operational excellence.

Head of Operations and Finance: Lead from Anywhere

African Futures Lab is seeking a Head of Operations and Finance to play a central leadership role within the organization. This senior remote position is perfect for an experienced professional who can strengthen AFL's internal systems while supporting its strategic vision and programmatic growth.

This role sits at the intersection of operations, finance, and organizational development, ensuring that African Futures Lab remains agile, accountable, and sustainable as it scales its work across the continent and globally.

Key responsibilities include:

• Providing strategic oversight of financial planning, budgeting, and reporting
• Strengthening internal operational systems, policies, and procedures
• Ensuring compliance with donor, legal, and regulatory requirements
• Supporting senior leadership with data-driven financial and operational insights
• Managing risk, audits, and organizational sustainability planning

Ideal candidates will bring:

• Proven experience in operations and financial leadership, preferably within research, policy, or nonprofit organizations
• Strong knowledge of financial management, grants administration, and governance
• The ability to translate strategy into efficient operational systems
• A commitment to African-led research, justice-centered policy, and institutional integrity

This remote role offers a unique opportunity to help shape the backbone of an organization working at the forefront of Africa-focused futures thinking.

Call for Consultants: Research Climate Justice from Any Location

In parallel, African Futures Lab has issued a Call for Consultants to conduct in-depth research case studies on climate reparations and green colonialism in Africa. This remote research initiative responds to growing global interest in climate finance, energy transitions, and environmental justice—while centering African perspectives often excluded from dominant narratives.

The selected consultants will contribute to a body of work that interrogates how climate action frameworks can reproduce extractive or colonial dynamics, even when framed as "green" or sustainable.

The research will focus on:

• Climate reparations as a justice-based response to historical and ongoing environmental harm
• Case studies illustrating green colonialism in African contexts
• Power dynamics within global climate governance and financing mechanisms
• African-led alternatives that prioritize sovereignty, equity, and reparative justice

Consultants are expected to:

• Conduct rigorous qualitative and desk-based research
• Develop well-documented, accessible case studies
• Engage critically with policy, historical, and political economy dimensions
• Produce outputs suitable for advocacy, policy engagement, and public discourse

This remote opportunity is particularly suited for:

• Researchers, scholars, and policy analysts
• Practitioners working on climate justice, development, or political economy
• Writers and thinkers with strong grounding in African contexts

Key Dates and Application Information

• Organization: African Futures Lab
• Posted: 23 December 2025
• Closing Date: 15 January 2026

Applicants are encouraged to submit their materials early and ensure their applications clearly demonstrate alignment with African Futures Lab's mission and values.

Shaping Just and African-Centered Futures

Through these remote opportunities, African Futures Lab continues to invest in both institutional capacity and transformative knowledge production. Whether through operational leadership or critical research, these roles contribute to a broader effort to challenge inequitable systems and imagine futures rooted in justice, dignity, and African agency.

Interested candidates and consultants are invited to engage with these calls and be part of shaping the next chapter of Africa-focused futures work.

How to apply:

If you're enthusiastic about making a difference, we encourage you to apply by January 20, 2026, EAT (midnight).

Please send a cover letter and CV, including names and contact information of two references, to info@afalab.org with the appropriate subject line.

Disclaimer: Global South Opportunities (GSO) is not the hiring organization. For any inquiries, please contact the responsible organization directly. Please do not send your applications to GSO, as we are unable to process them. Due to the high volume of emails we receive daily, we may not be able to respond to all inquiries. Thank you for your understanding.