Innovation Lead

About the role

GrowthAfrica is seeking a dynamic, experienced and proven Innovation Lead to act as the subject-matter expert and quality guardian for the two earliest stages of the entrepreneurship journey, the Innovation Café ideation series and the incubator prototyping programme. This is a full-time role based in Nairobi, Kenya, with regular travel to Ghana, Uganda and Rwanda, reporting to the Head of Programme.

The role is responsible for designing, developing and continuously improving the methodologies, content and facilitation approaches used across all four countries, while directly coaching and building the capacity of the in-country Innovation Catalysts.

• It is about designing and continuously improving the innovation curriculum, methodologies and facilitation tools used across the programme, grounded in human-centred design and lean innovation approaches.
• It is about safeguarding quality and consistency across every Innovation Café cycle and incubator cohort, setting clear standards, running structured quality assurance reviews and coaching country teams in real time.
• It is about building the capacity of Innovation Catalysts and local facilitators, modelling best practice delivery and creating space for continuous learning and iteration.
• It is about strengthening the innovation ecosystem by coordinating skilled co-facilitators and technical experts who can support participants through ideation, prototyping and early venture development.
• It is about generating reliable programme evidence, working closely with monitoring and evaluation colleagues to track participant progress and inform funder reporting and continuous improvement.

Key responsibilities

• Design, refine and document the Innovation Café and incubator curricula, facilitation guides, tools and templates, drawing on human-centred design and lean innovation approaches.
• Ensure consistent, high-quality delivery across all Innovation Café cycles and incubator cohorts by setting standards, conducting quality assurance reviews and providing real-time coaching to country Innovation Catalysts.
• Lead the facilitation of selected cohorts, particularly early cycles, to model best-practice delivery and generate learning for iteration.
• Manage the process for recruiting and briefing local co-facilitators and technical experts for workshop delivery.
• Work closely with the M&E Coordinator to define participant progress metrics, track prototype and MVP output quality, and capture learning.
• Coordinate with the Grant Coordinator on innovation grant application and milestone-based disbursement processes.
• Contribute to funder reports and learning documentation related to the innovation components.
• Support the Head of Programme across other programme activities as needed.
• Support the transition of responsibilities at contract end, ensuring full knowledge transfer to country teams.

Qualifications and requirements

Education

You hold a bachelor's degree in Innovation, Business Administration, Entrepreneurship, Design, Engineering, Development Studies or another relevant discipline. A Master's degree or recognised professional certification in innovation, design thinking or entrepreneurship is an added advantage.

Professional experience

• You have a minimum of 6 to 9 years of progressive professional experience designing and delivering innovation, incubation or entrepreneurship support programmes, with substantial experience supporting early-stage ventures from idea validation through prototype development.
• You have demonstrated expertise applying human-centred design, lean startup and other innovation methodologies within entrepreneurship or private sector development programmes.
• Experience working with digital entrepreneurship, digital transformation, digital products, technology startups or innovation programmes that incorporate digital solutions will be a distinct advantage.
• You have proven experience designing practical learning curricula, facilitation methodologies, tools and participant resources for diverse adult learning environments.
• You have a strong track record facilitating innovation workshops, incubators or similar experiential learning programmes, with the ability to coach and develop facilitators to deliver consistently high-quality participant experiences.
• You have experience working across multiple countries in sub-Saharan Africa, with a strong understanding of the opportunities and challenges involved in delivering entrepreneurship programmes across diverse operating environments.
• You are familiar with monitoring, evaluation and learning approaches for innovation and entrepreneurship programmes, including using programme evidence to strengthen delivery quality and participant outcomes.
• You have excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with the ability to prepare high quality technical documentation, guidance materials and funder reporting inputs. Working proficiency in French is an added advantage.
• You are demonstrably committed to inclusive innovation, with experience designing or delivering programmes that intentionally engage women, youth and other underserved entrepreneur groups.
• You have strong planning, organisation and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining high technical standards across geographically dispersed teams.
• You are willing and able to undertake regular travel across Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Rwanda.