Senior Associate, West Africa Fellows Program at Acumen

About the job

Acumen West Africa is looking for a dynamic relationship-builder and program operator with 4-6 years of experience to build and develop initiatives in support of our community of West Africa Fellows.
About Acumen
Acumen is changing the way the world tackles poverty by investing in companies, leaders, and ideas. We invest patient capital in businesses whose products and services help people living in poverty to transform their lives. To date, Acumen has positively impacted 300 million lives by investing $132M in 136 innovative, early-stage companies in Africa, Latin America, South Asia, and the United States. But investment isn’t just about capital, we’ve been investing in relationships for years, connecting with emerging leaders in their own countries and engaging them in extended collective dialogue, moral inquiry, and skill building.
About Acumen Academy
Acumen Academy is the world’s school for social change. Our mission is to unleash a new generation of social innovators and leaders with the determination and grit to build a more just, inclusive, and sustainable world. Blending the best of online and offline learning, we offer anyone with access to the internet the tools, practices, resources, and supportive community they need to achieve positive social change. With more than 800 Fellows and 500,000 course takers in 192 countries, the Acumen Academy community represents a new generation of social innovators and leaders committed to doing what’s right in a world that loves easy.
The West Africa Fellows Program was launched in 2019 as an intensive, one-year leadership development program offered through Acumen Academy. Currently, the Fellowship Program is offered in 9 regions: Bangladesh, Colombia, East Africa, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Spain, the United Kingdom, and West Africa. Every year, each program selects 20 emerging leaders to participate in a blend of immersive seminars and online content that equips them with the knowledge, skills and community they need to be more effective agents of change. Once graduated, our fellows join a global community of remarkable individuals sharing their lifelong journey to master the principles and practices of moral leadership while putting those principles and practices into action.
About The Role
The Senior Associate will manage and operationalize the strategy for developing and implementing programs that complement the one-year Fellowship program, and continue to add value to the individual and organizational development of the West Africa Fellows.. This will include working directly with our Fellows, our global team, and external partners. This position reports directly to the West Africa Fellows Manager.
Successful candidates will be self starters, with a proven track record of designing, launching, evaluating and improving programs in service of enhanced adult learning and connection.
Key Responsibilities
To design and build a suite of programmatic offerings to complement the Fellowship program;

• Conduct needs assessment of Fellows community, design programming (from small initiatives to more long-standing, intensive programs)

• Develop and manage relationships with West Africa Fellows to understand their needs and maintain a pulse on their current challenges and opportunities for connection

• Identify, establish, and manage strategic partnerships with other companies and organizations that would benefit the Fellows Community. (For example, access to experts, training, funding, press/media, and business tools)

• Design and deliver opportunities that connect West Africa Fellows to each other and with Acumen Fellows across other Acumen regions in service of strengthening their work and the community.

• Support the Fellows community as needed in their self organized and global-led activities.

Program Impact Reporting

• Update and maintain a robust data on community activities and connections

• Track data and stories demonstrating the value of belonging to the Fellows’ community

• Design & deliver engaging stories and content pieces that profile Acumen Fellows in West Africa for newsletters, blogs, emails, social media campaigns, and internal meetings

• Support in the writing of the Fellows program grant, impact, and other general reports and documents as needed

Qualifications And Skills

• A minimum of 4-6 experience in program design and management with some knowledge or experience in leadership development (or related fields)

• A strong track record of building relationships with teams and partners e.g. corporate partners, media partners, influencers

• Proactive and is excited by a start-up environment - comfortable experimenting, innovating, and iterating around connections.

• Strong Excel and data management/analysis skills; ability to track data on program, report when asked, and use data to inform strategies and decisions

• Exceptional relationship and interpersonal skills: courtesy, tact, candor, empathy, patience, and strong team orientation

• Can prioritize effectively and is detail-oriented

• Confident working with Canva, Hubspot, and similar design and online communication tools is preferred

• Have experience designing, executing, and facilitating public events online and in-person

• Self reflective and aligned with Acumen values

• Familiarity with social entrepreneurs and the social impact sector in West Africa

• Permanently authorized to work in Nigeria