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AfriForum realigns its management structures on growth path to 300 000 members

AfriForum decided to functionally realign its management structures to meet the demands that the organisation’s string growth poses. AfriForum’s membership has just passed the 226 000 mark, while the organisation’s activities, projects and number of volunteers have increased tenfold over the past few years.

In the rapidly changing South African socio-political environment, AfriForum’s success over the past decade can be attributed to its ability to take decisions quickly and execute these effectively. AfriForum’s significant growth requires that the organisation must continuously reflect on ways in which this effective action can remain a core characteristic of this civil rights organisation.

In line with the latest international best practices for organisations that must function effectively within rapidly changing circumstances, AfriForum decided to approach the organisation’s management structures functionally rather than hierarchically. This functional composition will enable AfriForum to undertake challenges flexibly as a team. AfriForum’s midlevel management also received training to empower them to extend their decision-making abilities in their respective fields of responsibility.

To implement the functional realignment of AfriForum’s management structures, the organisation’s current executive committee (exco) is being replaced with two smaller functional structures: operational management and a policy forum, which will be tasked to take operational and policy decisions, respectively. As part of the functional character of these management structures, AfriForum’s exco members decided to do away with their current job titles – deputy CEOs and operational head – and replace these with job titles that are functionally descriptive. These changes will not affect their current job levels, however.

Kallie Kriel, CEO of AfriForum, will serve on operational management as well as the policy forum. The other members of these two new management structures and their new job titles are:

Operational management
Nic Arnold            Head: Structures and Safety
William Waugh    Head: Organisational Growth

Policy Forum
Alana Bailey        Head: Cultural Affairs
Ernst Roets         Head: Policy and Action
Barend Uys         Head: Research and Development

Head, management and personnel forums were also established to improve internal communication and organisational alignment.

AfriForum’s network of 135 local branches, 140 neighbourhood watches and more than 9 500 volunteers – the core role-players and AfriForum’s points of contact with communities – will still play a fundamental role in AfriForum’s team, among others in terms of AfriForum’s national, regional and provincial conferences, branch and youth meetings, and community projects on ground level.

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