Academy Business Support Program Lead - Nigeria at Founders Factory

About The Role

• As the Business Support Program Lead, you will be at the forefront of establishing and managing the successful execution of the Academy’s business support program in Nigeria and eventually West Africa. The incumbent will be responsible for informing the business support design as per the West African context and the needs of the SMEs, building and managing partnerships in the region, in addition to managing the delivery of the business support accelerator program. The delivery of the program entails ensuring that all the successful applicants are matched with coaches, mentors or experts who can help them grow their business. You will play a leading role in understanding the needs of the entrepreneurs, informing the program strategy and coordinating the relevant coaches, mentors and experts who will be attached to the SMEs in addition to managing internal stakeholders and the end-to-end program delivery.
• This is a full-time position in Nigeria. We operate a hybrid model where you will be required to be in the office at least 3 times a week.

Responsibilities:

• As a Business Support Program Lead, you will be required to:
• Lead the Academy’s business support efforts, this includes understanding the needs of the entrepreneurs, tracking the entrepreneurs progress pre and post receiving the support, matching the entrepreneurs to the right coach, mentor or expert and reporting on the progress.
• Act as our in-house business support expert, supporting a couple of businesses and developing the ideal program support structure for FFA based on the findings and the market context.
• Collaborate with the Program Design Lead to ensure the program design delivers the desired outcomes.
• Support the community and comms team to develop relevant content for our Academy alumni community.
• Continuously evolve and improve the program support, based on your experience, findings, research and feedback.
• Work with FFA’s EIL (Embedded Impact & Learning) team to inform and support in the collection of the relevant impact metrics such as number of jobs created.
• Collaborate with the Community and Comms team to document the impact from the program. Inform, analyse and report on defined success metrics.
• Create and manage the business support budget
• Give guidance on the right tools and systems required to support the running of the business support function.
• Source and manage other coaches, mentors and business experts as required by our portfolio businesses.
• Represent FFA by facilitating sessions and speaking in panels if and when required.
• Project Manage the delivery of the program, that includes, managing the entire end-to-end implementation and continuous improvement of the Business Support Program which involves collaborating with an internal team to market, source, screen and select entrepreneurs and business coaches, participant and stakeholder engagement, operations management, reporting and feedback implementation.

The ideal candidate is or possesses…

• Dynamic experience highly preferred, with demonstrated ability to operate well in complex and fast-changing environmentsPreference for candidates that have built their own businesses, built products from the ground-up or have experience supporting businesses.
• An understanding of the entrepreneurship ecosystem with previous experience planning and executing entrepreneurship programs.
• Demonstrated ability and experience in developing and nurturing partnerships.
• Proven track record in effective stakeholder engagement and collaboration.
• Ability to work independently, entrepreneurially, and innovatively.
• Proven ability to mobilize resources in order to carry out the strategic objectives of an organisation.
• Must be detail-oriented and possess excellent organisational and analytical skills with the ability to multitask, prioritise, complete work accurately, meet deadlines and follow through.
• Demonstrate proactive approach to problem-solving.
• Excellent written/verbal communication skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively across different levels, with local and international teams and stakeholders.
• A passion for entrepreneurship and capacity building in Africa, with a keen interest or experience as an entrepreneur.
• Experience working with diverse groups and populations is a plus.

Candidates should meet the following minimum requirements:

• At least 5 years of project/program/product management experience with at least 2 years of relevant experience supporting/coaching entrepreneurs.
• Proven track record of overseeing end-to-end operations for the successful roll-out of programs/projects.
• Experience running entrepreneurship programs and a desire to continuously upskill to stay up-to-date with the changing start-up landscape/needs.
• In-depth understanding of the African entrepreneurship ecosystem and founder realities in key markets.
• Has an understanding of design thinking and entrepreneurial practices
• Undergraduate or honours graduate degree in a related discipline
• Strong collaboration, stakeholder management, and project management skills.
• Demonstrated expertise in cultivating and nurturing partnerships.
• An interest in empowering young people is a must.
• Experience working in Nigeria.