Position Identification
Position Title: Orphan Admin Assistant
Organisation: Islamic Relief South Africa
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Reports to: Donor Care and Orphans Co-ordinator
Line Management Responsibilities: None
Islamic Relief
Islamic Relief South Africa (IRSA) is an independently registered non-governmental organisation (NGO) and a proud member of Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), the world’s largest independent Muslim humanitarian organisation.
Guided by the core values of Sincerity (Ikhlās), Excellence (Iḥsān), Compassion (Raḥma), Custodianship (Amāna), and Social Justice (ʿAdl), Islamic Relief’s mission is to help the poor and those in need — regardless of race, colour, political affiliation, gender, or belief — to live sustainable, self-reliant lives within safe and caring communities.
Purpose of Department
To develop and implement strategies to increase the funding income of Islamic Relief through a range of fundraising initiatives and through acquisition and retention of donors, volunteers and supporters.
Purpose of Position
This is a key supporter-facing role, responsible for delivering a high standard of service to Islamic Relief South Africa’s donors, in alignment with defined organisational values and service standards. The role involves assisting orphan-related enquiries across multiple communication channels, supporting departmental administrative functions, and overseeing the administration of South Africa’s One-to-One Orphan Sponsorship Programme.
A critical aspect of the position is maintaining accurate, secure, and up-to-date donor and sponsorship records on the database, ensuring all information is appropriately handled in accordance with data protection and organisational policies.
Scope and Authority
Reporting to the Donor Care and Orphans Co-ordinator the Orphan Admin Assistant and has the responsibility for the administration of the One to One Orphans Sponsorship program in the South Africa office, maintaining and updating accurate donor records on the relationship management database software and Al Yateem database, supporting the implementation of processes agreed within the Fund Development Department and
progressing with activities assigned by the Donor Care and Orphans Co-ordinator within agreed criteria but without further reference.
This role is responsible for ensuring that data on Al Yateem, donor folders and trackers is accurate, updated and accessible. The job holder also has responsibility for maintaining email, paper and electronic filing system relating to Orphans related work.
Key Accountabilities
The job holder is accountable for fulfilling his or her roles and responsibilities in line with Islamic values and principles of fairness, humanity, honesty, respect and fair treatment of his/her colleagues and staff. The following are the main responsibilities that the role holder will be accountable for:
1.
One to One Orphan Sponsorship Administration
Maintain and update donor profiles on Al Yateem, ensuring accuracy and completeness.
Share the master log of new donors with the Orphans Administrative Supports to enable the creation of donor folders on the shared server.
Download and update orphan biodata reports and APRs from Al Yateem, ensuring the removal of all personal, confidential, and donor-related information. Update donor contracts with the donor's name, email address, orphan ID, and contract start and end dates.
Email new donors with their allocation details, orphan biodata, and personalized donor contracts.
Draft and prepare email templates for existing donors, including Annual Progress Reports (APRs), and cancellations of their sponsored orphans.
Prepare email communication templates for sponsorship terminations, ensuring timely, sensitive, and professional follow-up.
Engage and work closely with the Orphan Administrative Supports to follow up on contract renewals and terminations, commencing three months prior to the donor’s contract end date, while maintaining shared renewal trackers to monitor the renewal process.
Prepare new and renewal donor contracts in line with sponsorship preferences.
Update sponsorship start and end dates and monitor contract renewals through consistent tracking and follow-up, maintaining the shared renewal tracker.
Assist the Orphan Administrative Supports in re-allocating orphans post-termination and maintain monthly allocation logs.
Work closely with Orphan Administrative Supports to assist with the re-allocation of orphan beneficiaries following sponsorship cancellations, while maintaining the cancellation tracker with the relevant orphan, initial donor, reallocated donor, and applicable cancellation and reallocation dates.
2.
General Office Duties
Generate Procurement Request Forms (PRFs) for review and approval by the Donor Care and Orphans Co-ordinator.
Prepare and follow up on Purchase Orders (POs), Payment Requests (PRs), and Terms of Reference (TORs) for the Donor Care and Orphans Co-ordinator approval, and liaise with Procurement and Accounts to ensure the timely internal processes.
With team guidance, respond to (OSP) related enquiries within the defined scope and criteria, ensuring professionalism and consistency in communication.
For record keeping all (OSP) correspondence to be share and provided to the Orphan Administrative Supports for record-keeping purposes, ensuring donor records are kept up to date and accurate documentation is saved in the appropriate donor folders.
Oversight on the Sadaqa and Aqeeqa slaughter tracker and ensure Procurements prompt execution of donor requests with oversight on the process from beginning-to-end.
Ensure Goods Received Notes (GRNs) and reports are obtained by the Service Provider within the expected timelines and shared promptly with donors.
Verify and ensure that donor funds have been received upon receipt of the donor’s instructions for Sadaqa or Aqeeqa slaughter requests, before sharing the PRF request with Procurement for processing.
Undertake additional administrative tasks as assigned by the Donor Care and Orphans Co-ordinator to support team efficiency and service delivery.
3.
Database
Maintain accurate and up-to-date data on Al Yateem and associated relationship management trackers.
Ensure data integrity, security, and compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and Safeguarding of Child Protection Policy of IRSA and IRW.
4.
Communications
Work collaboratively within Donor Care team.
Communicate effectively and professionally with donors via email on Orphans related work.
Attend departmental meetings as required and implement assigned action points.
Stay informed about all Islamic Relief South Africa (IRSA) campaigns and appeals to enhance donor engagement.
General Duties of Islamic Relief Staff Member
Contribute actively to the effective and efficient operation of Islamic Relief South Africa and the One-to-One Orphan Sponsorship Programme.
Represent Islamic Relief professionally within the broader community.
Uphold and embody Islamic Relief’s core values: fairness, compassion, entrustment, honesty, and respect.
Maintain professionalism and adhere to all Islamic Relief policies, including those on equal opportunities, safeguarding, and ethical conduct.
Educational Qualification:
Tertiary qualification/s in relevant & related discipline
Experience in administrative role
Experience in customer service
Skills & Knowledge Required
It is essential that the post holder shows a good understanding and empathy with the Islamic Values and principles as well as commitment to IRSA’s vision and mission.
Essential criteria
Good levels of computer skills with experience of working with databases and competent in Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel and Power Point.
Experience of working in customer service environment
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Good standard of numeracy
Ability to work unsupervised and as part of a team
Ability to work in a methodical manner with attention to detail
Ability to plan, prioritise and deliver on tight timescales and work under pressure
Ability to input data accurately and efficiently
Willingness to work longer hours, including weekends, during peak campaigns
Strong empathy for the aims and work of Islamic Relief
Key Islamic Relief Qualities Required
It is essential that the post holder shows a good understanding and sympathy with Islamic values and principles as well as commitment to IR’s vision and mission as per below:
Excellence (Ihsan): Our actions in tackling poverty are marked by excellence in our operations and conduct which are deserving of the people we serve.
Sincerity (Ikhlas): In responding to poverty and suffering our efforts are driven by sincerity to God and the need to fulfil our obligations to humanity
Social Justice (Adl): Our work is founded on enabling people and institutions to fulfil the rights of the poor and vulnerable. We work to empower the dispossessed towards realising their God-given human potential and developing their capabilities and resources.
Compassion (Rahma): We believe the protection and well-being of every life is of paramount importance and we shall join with other humanitarian actors to act as one in responding to suffering brought on by disasters, poverty and injustice.
Custodianship (Amana): We uphold our duty of custodianship over the earth, its resources and the trust people place in us as humanitarian and development practitioners to be transparent and accountable.
Over and above operational requirements Islamic Relief South Africa will take into account the country’s and organizational employment equity imperatives. Should you not hear back from us after 2 weeks, you may have been unsuccessful in your application.
CLOSING DATE: 11 SEPTEMBER 2026
Application Question(s):
- What is your salary expectation?
Work Location: In person
