About GrowthAfrica

GrowthAfrica is one of the continent's leading growth partners for entrepreneurs. We are looking for new talent to join our quest to grow the continent's promising impact enterprises into market and investor-ready businesses, creating much-needed quality job opportunities, economic growth, and social transformation.

We drive market-readiness, growth-readiness and investment-readiness through cohort-based programmes, projects, and tailored support services to entrepreneurs across Africa. We also build the support ecosystems that enable entrepreneurs to thrive, through capacity building of entrepreneur support organisations and ecosystem actors.

Through access to capital, markets, technology, and know-how, we have, since 2002, supported over 5,000 businesses to flourish. We focus on innovative and scalable post-revenue startups and growth SMEs across subSaharan Africa.

Headquartered in Nairobi, we run activities across Africa. You will join an international, passionate, and ambitious team across six countries.

About the role

As Programme Lead, you are accountable for the day-to-day execution of all programme activities within your country. At least two thirds of your time is dedicated to hands-on delivery. You will lead a small country team and be the primary face of GrowthAfrica for local stakeholders, partners and participants.

You know your country's startup and innovation ecosystem from the inside. You have credibility on the ground, relationships with the right people and the operational discipline to translate energy and ambition into results that can be measured and built upon. You figure things out. If something is not working, you fix it.

Key responsibilities

• Translate the master programme plan into a rolling country operational plan with monthly milestones and clear task ownership.
• Oversee the full participant pipeline from outreach and recruitment through incubation to acceleration, within country targets.
• Directly facilitate or co-facilitate workshops and participant sessions when required, maintaining programme quality standards throughout.
• Line-manage and develop the country team, conducting regular check-ins and performance reviews, and creating a culture of accountability and high performance.
• Manage relationships with local ecosystem partners, co-working hubs, mentors, investors and government stakeholders.
• Think creatively about how to identify and reach the right women entrepreneurs, particularly in rural and peri-urban communities that are easy to overlook.
• Ensure country-level compliance with grant disbursement procedures, safeguarding policies and reporting requirements.
• Report to the Head of Programme weekly and contribute data and narratives to quarterly and annual reports.
• Support the recruitment, onboarding and induction of country team members in coordination with the Head of Programme.

Qualifications and requirements

• You have 8 to 10 years of experience in programme or project management, preferably in entrepreneurship support, incubation or accelerator programmes.
• You hold a degree in Business, Development Studies, Social Sciences or a related field. A postgraduate qualification is an asset.
• You have a demonstrated track record of hands-on delivery in a multi-stakeholder programme environment in sub-Saharan Africa.
• You have a strong understanding of the local startup and innovation ecosystem in the country of assignment. Named networks, hubs and relationships matter.
• You have experience managing small teams and fostering a performance-oriented culture.
• You have excellent facilitation, communication and relationship management skills, with participants, partners and senior stakeholders alike.
• You are resourceful and solutions oriented. You do not wait for perfect conditions. You make it work.
• You have a genuine commitment to supporting women entrepreneurs and understanding of what authentic engagement with that community requires.
• Local language proficiency is a strong advantage.
• You must be based in your country of application with valid right to work documentation.

Why GrowthAfrica

• Join a vibrant, international and diverse team united by a shared passion for Africa's growth and entrepreneurship.
• A meaningful role inside one of Africa's leading entrepreneur support organisations.
• The chance to shape how innovative, women-led businesses scale across the continent.
• Exposure to innovation, entrepreneurship and ecosystem development at scale across four African markets.
• A competitive salary and benefits.

• Translate the master programme plan into a rolling country operational plan with monthly milestones and clear task ownership.
• Oversee the full participant pipeline from outreach and recruitment through incubation to acceleration, within country targets.
• Directly facilitate or co-facilitate workshops and participant sessions when required, maintaining programme quality standards throughout.
• Line-manage and develop the country team, conducting regular check-ins and performance reviews, and creating a culture of accountability and high performance.
• Manage relationships with local ecosystem partners, co-working hubs, mentors, investors and government stakeholders.
• Think creatively about how to identify and reach the right women entrepreneurs, particularly in rural and peri-urban communities that are easy to overlook.
• Ensure country-level compliance with grant disbursement procedures, safeguarding policies and reporting requirements.
• Report to the Head of Programme weekly and contribute data and narratives to quarterly and annual reports.
• Support the recruitment, onboarding and induction of country team members in coordination with the Head of Programme.

• Excellent facilitation skills
• Excellent communication skills
• Excellent relationship management skills
• Strong understanding of the local startup and innovation ecosystem
• Experience managing small teams
• Resourceful and solutions oriented
• Genuine commitment to supporting women entrepreneurs
• Local language proficiency (advantageous)

• 8 to 10 years of experience in programme or project management, preferably in entrepreneurship support, incubation or accelerator programmes.
• Degree in Business, Development Studies, Social Sciences or a related field.
• Demonstrated track record of hands-on delivery in a multi-stakeholder programme environment in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Experience managing small teams and fostering a performance-oriented culture.
• Must be based in country of application with valid right to work documentation.