Senior Program Manager, SAY-WEE Entrepreneurship Project at TechnoServe Nigeria

TechnoServe works with enterprising people in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. We are a non-profit organization that develops business solutions to poverty by linking people to information, capital, and markets. Our work is rooted in the idea that given the opportunity, hardworking men and women in even the poorest places can generate income, jobs, and wealth for their families and communities. With more than four decades of proven results, we believe in the power of private enterprise to transform lives.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Senior Program Manager, SAY-WEE Entrepreneurship Project

Job Requisition ID: SENIO003660
Location: Abuja
Employment Type: Full-time
Job Category: Programs
Reports to: Deputy Country Director

Job Summary

• The Senior Program Manager will manage a team of up to 15 staff to implement this entrepreneurship, job creation and skills building project in Kano and Lagos states in Nigeria, over 2 years and 4 month period.
• She or he will lead the overall implementation and management of the project, including providing oversight of activities, developing work plans, overseeing the project budget, overseeing M&E, and reporting to the donor on delivery and progress.
• The Senior Program Manager will continuously develop operational efficiencies and drive innovations in delivery and will serve as the primary point of contact with the donor, ensuring that the project meets established objectives and targets.

Program / Practice / Department Overview

• TechnoServe’s SAY WEE project in partnership with MindTheGap, will leverage TechnoServe’s global Entrepreneurship and Gender expertise, replicating and scaling our proven multi-country approaches, which have provided 68,000 youth with the skills and knowledge they need to improve their livelihoods.
• SAY WEE will improve the employability and entrepreneurship capability of 37,000 adolescent girls & young women in Kano and Lagos states in Nigeria, targeting those enrolled in vocational training or formal education institutions and those running microbusinesses, providing them with the entrepreneurial, digital and soft skills to secure formal employment or succeed in entrepreneurial ventures. 

Primary Functions & Responsibilities

• Recruit staff and oversee their induction on TechnoServe and project systems and processes.
• Develop project work plans and M&E plans.
• Oversee project-related procurement.
• Identify staff training needs and oversee staff capacity development as required.
• Maintain a good working relationship with the donor, partners, project steering committee members and key stakeholders.
• Effectively plan and manage the project steering committee meetings.
• Lead overall project strategy to improve the employability and entrepreneurship capability of 37,000 adolescent girls & young women.
• Ensure that project objectives, outcomes, and deliverables are met on time and within budget, and that financial, operational, and reporting requirements of the donor and TechnoServe are adhered to.
• Guide team to develop effective monitoring and evaluation plans, turn data into actionable insights to guide implementation, and disseminate results and learning.
• Lead the development of reports for donors, as required.
• Develop and share internal and external project performance metrics.
• Manage the activities and performance of project staff and consultants, ensuring high-quality execution and delivery of project targets.
• Supervise, mentor and develop staff capacity to ensure project delivery, staff performance, and retention, overseeing the recruitment of new staff as needed.
• Ensure all payments/activities are in compliance with donor requests, restrictions and regulations.
• Develop and maintain a budget for each respective project work-stream, ensuring operational plans are aligned with project budgets.
• Monitor project expenditures and manage budget variances, realigning as required.

Basic Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Economics, Marketing or related discipline with at least with 10 years’ experience in the following below.
• Alternatively, a Master’s Degree in similar fields listed with 7 years’ experience in the following below:
  • Experience in implementing private sector or SME development assistance programs.
  • Experience with SMEs is strongly
  • Experience with entrepreneurship and business accelerator programs strongly preferred.
  • Experience with youth and gender programming is preferred.
  • Experience leading entrepreneurship and skills development programs, with aparticular focus on entrepreneurship, digital and soft skills.
  • Among the experiences, at least 2 years of post-graduate experience in analytical and strategic roles within the private sector and/or development spheres (ideally with a top-tier management consulting firm).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Related work experience and knowledge of the Nigerian economic, social and development context preferred.
• Experience in leading/managing donor funded projects required.
• Knowledge of the private sector/SME landscape in Nigeria and/or anglophone West Africa preferred.
• Has experience in working with FCDO funded projects.
• Required Languages: Fluency in English is required.
• Travel: Local and International.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Strong interpersonal and communications skills in a multicultural
• Ability to work with tight deadlines while managing multiple tasks and projects.
• Ability to develop well written, cohesive analyses and reports.
• Proven experience managing and motivating teams.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Enterprise development specialist, Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator, Business Advisor and Project Admin while being responsible for the success of the entire SAY-WEE Entrepreneurship team (Nigeria) in TechnoServe Nigeria.

Application Closing Date
28th July, 2023.