Big Win Philanthropy partners with driven and committed African leaders to deliver on their transformational visions for children and young people. We seek to improve lives directly and to build demographic dividends for equitable economic growth, peace and security. As part of our new strategy, we seek to play an integral role in substantially and tangibly improving 23.5 million lives over the next five years.

Purpose: Big Win Philanthropy partners with visionary African governmental leaders to address some of the biggest human capital challenges their countries face. Big Win does not implement its own ‘projects’: We work directly with inspiring government leaders to implement their human capital development goals for their people, and you will be expected to interface in a respectful, savvy, and non-prescriptive manner with our government colleagues, while simultaneously providing the honest feedback of a true partner.

We are seeking a Program Director who can complement our existing team by virtue of his or her experience in labor market economics, value chain transformation, and/or the prioritization of public-sector investment in critical economic sectors. Program Directors work with their government counterparts to design and support implementation of transformative programs, and many of our government counterparts are prioritizing youth employment. Program Directors are accountable to the CEO and are responsible for ensuring quality execution of programs; strengthening routine monitoring systems; leading evidence-based decision-making; and driving highly leveraged outcomes.

Our Program Directors each work on a variety of matters related to human capital development and contribute to programs in different African geographies. Working at Big Win, you can expect a dynamic environment and a culture of collaboration, innovation, and drive for highly leveraged outcomes.

Main accountabilities

• Work with government counterparts to design concrete program goals with clear milestones, from the overall program concept and vision to the articulation of tangible and ambitious Big Wins.
• Co-design a critical path that includes key levers for programmatic success and addresses all stakeholders.
• Work with government counterparts to transition initiatives to implementation and delivery.
• Course correct as necessary to ensure good quality implementation and closely monitor execution using agreed indicators.
• Identify indicators that ensure accountability towards Big Win’s strategic targets while building on existing government data systems.
• Remain clear about how Big Win adds value – seek always to maintain the right balance of driving progress, performance and problem solving, while not enabling the in-country team to outsource core management responsibilities to Big Win.
• Communicate openly and regularly with the Executive Team to keep them abreast of progress and challenges of all programs being managed. Seek advice, guidance and trouble-shooting input on complex, problematic or high-risk programs to ensure the effective and timely resolution of issues if they arise.
• Use sound financial acumen to manage budgets and resourcing for all managed programs to maximize program effectiveness and efficiency.
• Identify and manage any risks associated with a given program so that the interests and reputation of Big Win and the program champion are protected.
• Actively strategize throughout the effort how Big Win and our partners can pursue greater and ideally global impact that extends beyond the initiative.

Candidate Profile

Experience

• Experience with complex and large-scale program ideation and implementation, ideally related to labor market interventions, value chain transformation, and public-sector investment.
• Good understanding of how governmental departments work, ideally with direct experience working within government.
• Significant interactions at high policy levels within governments, with proven experience in managing complex and politically sensitive relationships with different stakeholders.
• Demonstration of methodical program oversight and management.
• Experienced in the use of programmatic tools such as dashboard creation, program monitoring and strategic planning.
• Demonstrated familiarity with and/or experience working in sub-Saharan Africa.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong understanding of labor markets and development economics.
• Excellent data analysis skills.
• Project finance and private sector experience appreciated.
• Exemplary work ethic with a drive for concrete results in a complex environment.
• An eye for detail and an understanding of the high standards required by Big Win and its partners.
• Fluency in French and/or widely spoken African languages is desirable.

Personal Qualities and Attitudes

• Team player with excellent people skills and highly developed presentation skills.
• Purpose-driven and ability to maintain focus on the big picture, even when discussing technical questions.
• Full alignment with the Big Win ethos of supporting the ambition of policy champions at national level without prescribing external agendas.
• Passion to use evidence to drive better decision making.
• Dedication to having a tangible impact on improving people’s lives.
• Willingness to understand partners’ contexts and political constraints and to be non-prescriptive.
• Discipline to complete projects independently.
• Ability to collaborate well with external partners.

Other

• Our office is in Central London.
• The position is full-time; physical attendance in our office is required on all working days.
• Equal opportunities employer.
• Compensation based on experience.

Interested applicants should email a cover letter describing the applicant’s interest and relevant experience, together with a full current CV, to humanresources@bigwin.org. Please include “Program Director” in the subject line.