Program Manager

Role Overview

The Programme Manager holds end-to-end responsibility for how the Foundation's programmes actually run day to day — turning approved proposals and logframes into workable plans, budgets and delivery schedules, and steering them through to measurable results. Sitting at the centre of a web of internal teams, implementing partners, donors and the communities served, this role is where strategy meets execution: resolving implementation bottlenecks, keeping spend and reporting compliant, and surfacing risks before they become setbacks. Without this coordination, funded commitments would stall between plan and impact.

Key Responsibilities

• Convert proposals and logframes into detailed implementation plans and budgets, setting annual goals alongside shorter weekly and monthly milestones, then tracking delivery against those targets and explaining any deviation from agreed plans or spend.
• Own budget execution: monitor expenditure against implementation progress, analyse budget-versus-actual reports, resolve discrepancies, and ensure funds are deployed on time and used transparently.
• Manage the full partner lifecycle — identifying and vetting implementation partners through procurement processes, formalising agreements, and holding partners to them via field visits, attendance at project activities, and review of narrative and financial reports.
• Work hand in hand with the Measurement, Evidence and Learning function and partner MEL teams to define performance metrics, gather qualitative and quantitative data, assess impact, and feed findings back into programme improvement.
• Prepare internal progress updates and presentations, contribute to donor reports, and ensure every reporting obligation to funders is met accurately and on schedule.
• Anticipate programmatic risks, put mitigation measures in place early, and respond effectively when crises or emergencies disrupt delivery; champion accountability and transparency across all implementing activities.
• Supervise direct reports and strengthen partner capacity — assessing training needs, delivering training on programme documents and MEL tools, creating awareness-raising and monitoring materials, and giving regular constructive feedback through established performance management processes.
• Represent the Foundation in working groups, education forums, member meetings and planning sessions, and maintain continuous coordination with donors, NGOs, community representatives and internal support functions including HR, Finance and Procurement.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in business administration, development studies, social sciences or a closely related discipline; a relevant master's degree is an advantage.
• Experience: At least 7 years of relevant programme management experience, ideally within impact-driven organisations, with a demonstrated record of delivering programmes successfully in development contexts.
• Sector exposure: Proven coordination with local and international NGOs, representation to donors and impact-led actors, and hands-on work with donor-funded programmes and their reporting requirements.
• Certification: Project management credentials such as PMP or PRINCE2, or formal training in Agile methodologies.
• Technical tools: Proficiency with digital platforms used for programme management and reporting, for example Kobo Toolbox, Power BI and CRM systems.
• Analytical ability: Strong planning and organisational skills, sharp problem-solving, and the capacity to synthesise complex information into clear, decision-ready reports.
• Communication: Excellent written and interpersonal skills, with the confidence to produce grant reports, present to a board, and facilitate workshops with varied audiences.
• Core competencies: Collaborative leadership and team building; strategic planning from logic models through to organisational alignment; budgeting and financial acumen; MEL design and interpretation; community co-creation and trust building; cultural sensitivity and adaptability; digital literacy; and the agility to balance rigour with flexibility in a philanthropic setting.

What We Offer / Why Join

• The chance to shape programmes from design through delivery in an impact-driven, philanthropic environment where results for communities are the measure of success.
• Direct engagement with a broad network of partners — local and international NGOs, donors, strategic partners and the communities themselves — rather than work confined to a single internal team.
• A mandate that combines strategic influence with hands-on delivery, including risk management and continuous improvement based on real evidence.
• An environment that invests in people: structured capacity building, training on programme and MEL tools, and a collaborative culture that distributes ownership and accountability across teams and partners.