Fellows Manager, West Africa Fellows Program

Acumen Academy West Africa is seeking an experienced, strategic, and highly organized program manager with a minimum of 7 years of experience to lead the delivery of the Climate-Focused Fellowship in West Africa. The Fellowship sits within the BUILD pillar of Green RISE (Resilient Impact through Sustainable Entrepreneurship) Africa - a multi-year program designed to accelerate inclusive green enterprises and create dignified green jobs for young women and youth across the continent.

This role will be accountable for end-to-end management, delivery and oversight of the Fellowship lifecycle - from outreach and recruitment to program delivery, facilitation, graduation, and alumni transition into the Foundry (Alumni Community). The Fellows Manager will be responsible for ensuring high-quality learning experiences through delivery & operational excellence. The Fellowship Manager reports to the Acumen Academy Lead.

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 a transformative, cohort-based leadership program for individuals with an entrepreneurial mindset and a commitment to addressing poverty. Currently, the Acumen 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 approximately 20 emerging leaders to participate in a blend of immersive seminars, learning labs, one-on-one coaching, and peer learning designed to deepen their leadership practice and strengthen their impact. Once graduated, our fellows join the Foundry, our 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
Acumen is hiring a Fellowship Manager to lead the delivery of the Climate-Focused Fellowship in West Africa under Green RISE Africa.

This is a program leadership role that blends strategy, facilitation, operations, community building, and ecosystem engagement. The Fellowship Manager will ensure a high-quality, transformational Fellow experience while strengthening systems, partnerships, and cross-pillar alignment.

The ideal candidate is a proactive leader, strong executor, skilled facilitator, and thoughtful relationship-builder who thrives in fast-paced environments and is deeply motivated by leadership development and climate-driven impact.

Key Responsibilities :

1. Fellowship Strategy, Delivery & Facilitation

• Lead end-to-end delivery of the Climate-Focused Fellowship in West Africa
• Develop annual Fellowship workplans aligned with Green RISE Africa objectives
• Co-design and co-facilitate immersive seminars and virtual learning labs
• Ensure curriculum adaptation reflects regional climate realities and youth-in-work pathways
• Serve as primary point of contact and trusted advisor to Fellows throughout the program year
• Maintain high standards of learning experience, and community cohesion
• Support Fellows’ transition into the Foundry community post-graduation
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2. Outreach, Recruitment & Selection

• Lead recruitment strategy across priority West African countries in collaboration with Marketing & Communication team
• Build and nurture strong pipelines through ecosystem actors, alumni, partners, and climate networks
• Represent Acumen Academy at ecosystem events and partner engagements
• Own the end-to-end selection process, ensuring rigor, transparency, diversity, and alignment with program objectives and targets

3. Foundry Coordination & Community Engagement

• Support coordination and oversight of Foundry community engagement activities in West Africa
• Work with the Foundry Lead to ensure Fellows transition smoothly into alumni engagement pathways
• Contribute to planning of regional gatherings, peer learning sessions, and ecosystem convenings
• Strengthen community cohesion across cohorts and pillars

4. Program Operations & Team Coordination

• Own Fellowship planning, timelines, budgets, logistics, communications, and documentation
• Coordinate closely with cross-functional teams (Impact & Insights, Content & Curriculum, Marketing & Communications etc.)
• Improve operational systems and tools for efficient program delivery
• Contribute to overall coordination and execution within the West Africa Academy team

5. Reporting, Learning & Continuous Improvement

• Maintain accurate program data and ensure timely reporting against Green RISE Africa targets
• Track Fellow engagement, learning outcomes, and youth-in-work contribution pathways
• Lead preparation of impact summaries, donor reporting inputs, and learning documentation
• Surface insights and recommendations to strengthen future Fellowship cycles
• Contribute to refining the Fellowship’s role within the broader capital continuum

6. Ecosystem & Partnership Engagement

• Build relationships with ecosystem partners, ESOs, funders, and advisory organizations
• Support partnership conversations aligned with Fellowship growth and Green RISE Africa objectives
• Identify collaboration opportunities that strengthen pathways for Fellows post-program

Skills & Qualifications

• Minimum of 7 years of experience in program leadership and management, preferably in leadership development, climate, entrepreneurship, or social impact
• Demonstrated experience owning complex, multi-phase programs end-to-end
• Strong facilitation skills
• Familiarity with social entrepreneurs and the social impact ecosystem in West Africa
• Strong stakeholder and partnership management skills
• Excellent organizational and project management capabilities
• Experience managing budgets and coordinating across teams
• Strong data literacy and reporting skills
• Ability to work independently while managing multiple priorities
• Self-reflective and strongly aligned with Acumen’s values
• Permanently authorized to work in Lagos, Nigeria 

Deadline
The deadline to apply for this position is Friday, 6 March but candidates are encouraged to apply early, as applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

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