Data & Technology Manager, Acumen East & West Africa

Role Overview

This is a hands-on systems and technology role within Acumen's Green RISE Africa programme. You will build, maintain, and evolve the digital infrastructure that power the programme's monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) work — covering everything from data collection and storage to quality control and donor reporting. You will work alongside MEL and Impact & Insight colleagues across the UK, Kenya, and Nigeria, turning their requirements into reliable, well-documented systems. You are not expected to design or execute MEL activities; instead, you own the platforms that make those activities possible.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the Green RISE Africa technology stack, including Salesforce as the central grant and impact record, FormAssembly, Google Suite, and AI-assisted tools, and drive its continuous improvement throughout the grant period.
• Transform the MEL team's plans and protocols — data collection plans, quality assurance steps, results frameworks — into configured, operational systems and workflows.
• Set up and maintain the tools used for partner reporting, internal reporting, and donor reporting to the MasterCard Foundation, including automated dashboards, reports, infographics, and key performance indicators.
• Collaborate with the Impact Manager (MEL) to build quarterly reporting processes and with the Finance team to ensure financial and impact data are aligned, quality-assured, and integrated.
• Act as the primary contact for data extraction, system access, reporting infrastructure, and the management of programme data so it stays current, accurate, and well organised.
• Liaise with Compliance and Legal on data consent, retention, security, and protection practices, and integrate data from multiple sources into MEL-aligned systems.
• Develop and support a knowledge management system for capturing lessons from the programme, and ensure qualitative data is stored and handled according to best practice.
• Build the capacity of internal staff and partner organisations to use reporting technology effectively, including creating training materials, running learning sessions, conducting site visits, and helping lower-capacity partners strengthen their own internal data systems.

Requirements & Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, software engineering, data engineering, or a closely related field; an advanced degree or equivalent hands-on systems experience is an advantage.
• Salesforce Administrator certification is required or strongly preferred, with Advanced Administrator, Platform App Builder, or Data Cloud Consultant certification being a plus.
• At least eight years of professional experience developing and maintaining technology stacks, including a minimum of three years specifically building and managing MEL databases, data systems, and reporting tools.
• Strong working knowledge of how MEL frameworks, grant management processes, and reporting requirements are structured, and how to translate those into system design and configuration.
• Hands-on Salesforce configuration experience, including building custom objects and fields, flows, automations, validation rules, permission sets, reports, and dashboards.
• Practical experience integrating systems and data sources, including APIs and form tools such as FormAssembly.
• A proven record of maintaining, documenting, and improving live systems over time, with skills in change management, troubleshooting, data quality controls, and managing external vendors or build partners.
• Experience working in multi-country, matrix-managed environments, ideally with gender or youth-focused programmes or with private sector partners.
• Familiarity with tools such as Power BI, Airtable, Claude, or similar platforms.
• Permanent authorisation to work in Kenya or Nigeria.