Grow Pillar Lead

Acumen is seeking a seasoned program manager with at least eight (8) years of experience leading the delivery of complex, multi-partner programs to lead our initiative advancing inclusive enterprise growth across East and West Africa.

This is an excellent opportunity for a strategic program leader to lead a multi-country, grant-funded growth portfolio, working with partners to strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems and deliver evidence-informed results that enable enterprise growth. This position is located in Nairobi or Lagos, with the expectation of working in the office 3 days a week. Remote from other geographies is not an option. The role is offered on a 5 year contract basis, subject to available funding. 

About Acumen

Acumen is a global force of entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists, and social innovators working together to build a world based on dignity. We were founded by Jacqueline Novogratz on the radical idea that business, when cultivated with moral imagination, can break the cycle of poverty. We invest in transformational companies, build sustainable markets, and prepare leaders with the tools they need to create a more just and inclusive future. Since 2001, we have scaled companies and shaped markets in some of the hardest-to-reach communities on the planet, impacting over half-a-billion lives. To learn more visit acumen.org.

About Green RISE Africa

Green RISE Africa is a five-year, donor-funded program valued at approximately USD 80 million, led by Acumen, focused on supporting early-stage social enterprises in the African green economy that are creating and improving dignified work opportunities for women and young people.

The program provides grant funding, technical support, and learning-driven accompaniment to enterprises and the ecosystems that support them, working across multiple pillars that address different dimensions of enterprise growth and resilience. Green RISE Africa places strong emphasis on effective implementation, financial stewardship, safeguarding, learning, and adaptive management, ensuring accountability to donors, partners, and the communities the program serves.

The program is led by a Program Lead who is accountable for overall planning, launch, management, and successful delivery across regions and functions, and who serves as the primary representative of Acumen to the donor and broader ecosystem. Within this structure, Pillar Leads play a critical role in translating program strategy into high-quality, on-the-ground delivery.

About the Grow Pillar Lead Role

The Grow Pillar Lead will provide end-to-end leadership for the Grow Pillar within Green RISE Africa, with full responsibility for pillar strategy, implementation, performance, reporting and learning.

The Grow Pillar works through Entrepreneurial Support Organizations (ESOs) that receive grant funding to co-design and implement interventions aimed at strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystems and enabling enterprise growth. Reporting to the Program Lead, the Grow Pillar Lead will lead delivery across multiple countries, manage ESO partnerships, oversee grant-funded activities, timely reporting and ensure that learning and evidence continuously inform program adaptation.

This role sits at the intersection of program leadership, partner accountability, and learning, and requires a leader who combines strong Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) expertise with the ability to manage complexity, lead partners, and deliver results in a donor-funded environment.

Key Responsibilities

Pillar Leadership & Strategy

• Lead the overall strategy, delivery approach, and evolution of the Grow Pillar in alignment with Green RISE Africa objectives.
• Translate pillar goals into clear workplans, milestones, performance indicators, and learning questions.
• Own Grow Pillar outcomes, risks, and learning, escalating key issues to the Program Lead as needed.
• Continuously refine the Grow Pillar approach based on evidence, learning, and contextual realities.

Entrepreneurial Support Organization (ESO) Management

• Lead the selection, co-creation, onboarding, and ongoing management of Entrepreneurial Support Organizations (ESOs) receiving sub-awards under the Grow Pillar.
• Set clear expectations and performance standards for ESOs and hold partners accountable for delivery, results, and grant conditions.
• Provide strategic and operational support to ESOs to strengthen implementation quality.
• Ensure quality assurance across all ESO workplans and deliverables
• Lead quarterly performance reviews and adaptive management cycles
• Manage underperformance, support course correction, and make recommendations on continuation or adjustment of partnerships.

Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL)

• Lead the design and implementation of the Grow Pillar’s MEL framework, ensuring alignment with overall program learning goals and donor requirements.
• Ensure MEL systems capture performance, learning, and ecosystem-level outcomes, not just outputs.
• Use data and insights to drive adaptive management decisions within the Grow Pillar.
• Synthesize learning into clear insights and recommendations for internal leadership and donor engagement.

Program Delivery, Grants & Operations

• Oversee day-to-day delivery of Grow Pillar activities across multiple countries.
• Coordinate closely with internal teams (finance, legal, safeguarding,  impact and insights and partnerships) to ensure compliant and effective delivery.
• Ensure grant management, reporting, and documentation requirements are met across all Grow Pillar partnerships.
• Identify, manage, and mitigate operational, fiduciary, and delivery risks within the pillar.

Ecosystem & Systems Leadership

• Apply a systems lens to understand how ESOs, entrepreneurs, markets, capital providers, and enabling actors interact.
• Support ESOs to strengthen ecosystem linkages and address systemic constraints.
• Identify cross-cutting patterns, leverage points, and insights that inform broader program strategy.

Stakeholder & Donor Engagement

• Represent the Grow Pillar in internal coordination forums and external engagements, as required.
• Contribute to  internal and donor reporting, reviews, and learning conversations, particularly with the Mastercard Foundation.
• Communicate Grow Pillar progress, challenges, and learning clearly and credibly to senior internal and external stakeholders.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Minimum of 8 years of experience leading complex programs in development, social impact, entrepreneurship, MSME development, or economic development.
• Strong expertise in Program management (i.e. work plans, budget management etc.), and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) for multi-partner, multi-country programs.
• Demonstrated experience managing grantees, intermediaries, or Entrepreneurial Support Organizations, including familiarity with grant-making, sub-awards, or intermediary delivery models.
• Direct experience working with or within Entrepreneurial Support Organizations and/or Non-Governmental Organisations that deliver work accessibility programs to nano/micro-entrepreneurs. 
• Proven ability to lead programs through ambiguity and adapt strategy based on evidence and learning.
• Strong understanding of donor-funded program environments, including compliance, safeguards, and reporting.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Prior regional, in-country experience working in East or West Africa.
• Comfort working across multiple geographies and institutional context
• Permanent work authorization for either Kenya or Nigeria

Values & Ways of Working

• Strong alignment with Acumen’s mission and values.
• Ownership mindset and comfort with accountability.
• Learning-oriented, reflective, and adaptive
• Collaborative, pragmatic, and outcomes-driven.

Compensation 

Acumen offers a competitive compensation package commensurate with experience.

Deadline 

The deadline to apply for this position is February 20th but candidates are encouraged to apply early, as applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.