Program Associate at IDEA Africa

IDEA Africa (Impact Driven Entrepreneurship Advancement in Africa) is a social enterprise that is focused on enhancing the growth of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across Africa. Our vision is to be recognized as the leading facilitator for the continent's growth and prosperity through innovative entrepreneurship. By bridging the gap between large corporations/organisations and the MSME sector, we aim to create an enabling ecosystem for these businesses to thrive.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Program Associate

Location: Lagos
Employment Type: Full-time

The Role

Job Summary

• We are looking for a Program Associate at FI Lagos who will play a central role in the planning, coordination, execution, and evaluation of our programs and ecosystem initiatives.
• In this role, you will work closely with FI Directors, Mentors, Partners, and Global FI stakeholders to ensure the successful delivery of the FI Core Program and related initiatives that support early-stage founders and the broader startup ecosystem in Nigeria and West Africa.
• This position sits at the intersection of program operations, partnership support, data tracking, and founder engagement, with a strong emphasis on execution excellence, structure, and measurable impact delivery.

What You’ll Own  
Program Planning & Design:

• Support in defining program structure, milestones, and delivery plans for FI Lagos cohorts and initiatives.
• Conduct research on startup trends, ecosystem developments to strengthen program relevance.
• Assist in developing program timelines, session structures, and cohort execution plans.
• Contribute to the design of monitoring and evaluation frameworks.
• Support the drafting of program documents including proposals, cohort briefs, mentor guides, and internal reports.

Program Execution & Project Management:

• Provide day-to-day operational support for FI Lagos programs.
• Ensure smooth delivery of sessions, workshops, office hours, and cohort milestones.
• Track program progress against key deliverables and escalate risks or bottlenecks where necessary.
• Coordinate logistics for virtual and physical events.
• Maintain structured documentation of program activities.

Data Tracking, Analysis & Reporting:

• Collect and organize program data including founder engagement, cohort performance, and participation metrics.
• Support the preparation of weekly, monthly, and cohort-end reports for internal teams and FI Global HQ.
• Translate program data into clear insights on founder progress, retention, and outcomes.
• Identify trends and gaps in program execution and suggest improvements based on evidence.
• Support documentation of case studies, founder success stories, and ecosystem impact highlights.

Partnership & Stakeholder Support:

• Support engagement with ecosystem partners, mentors, sponsors, and institutional stakeholders.
• Assist in coordinating partnership activities such as founder access programs, events, and collaborative initiatives.
• Support the preparation of partnership materials including briefs, updates, and reports.
• Help ensure partner expectations are properly tracked and delivered.
• Maintain strong communication flow between FI Lagos, mentors, founders, and external collaborators.

Capacity Building & Founder Support:

• Support delivery of founder-facing learning activities, workshops, and cohort training sessions.
• Assist in preparing learning materials, templates, and program resources for founders.
• Coordinate onboarding processes for founders entering FI Lagos programs.
• Support knowledge-sharing sessions, mentor engagements, and ecosystem learning activities.
• Collect feedback from founders and mentors to improve program delivery and experience.

You Have

• Strong organizational and program coordination skills
• Experience supporting structured programs, cohorts, or training environments
• Ability to manage timelines, deliverables, and multiple stakeholders
• Strong written communication skills (reports, documentation, and updates)
• Analytical mindset with comfort working with data and program metrics
• Ability to work in fast-paced, founder-driven or startup ecosystem environments

You’ve Likely Worked In:

• Startup accelerator or incubator
• Innovation hub or entrepreneurship program
• Education, training, or cohort-based learning environment
• Founder-led or early-stage startup operations team.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified. 

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online