Senior Project Manager, AFIYA

Job Summary

The Senior Project Manager will support in the delivery of AFIYA objectives by providing programme management oversight to ensure effective programming. S/he will provide the programme management spine for AFIYA, ensuring that a complex, multi-country, multi-instrument programme is delivered with clarity, pace, and discipline, while retaining flexibility for adaptive management. Working closely with the Head of Delivery, the Senior Project Manager will support the tracking programme results, risks, and budgets across the AFIYA portfolio of projects. The role will help maintain oversight of programme performance and support timely, evidence-based decision-making across multiple workstreams and countries. S/he will also coordinate programme knowledge management activities, working closely with communications and advocacy teams, as well as external stakeholders, to support impact through effective influencing, advocacy, and strategic communication. The Accelerating Financial Resilience & Insurance for Young African Women in Agrifood Systems (AFIYA) program is a multi-country initiative that seeks to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable young women smallholder farmers and agri-preneurs across eight African countries. AFIYA complements and amplifies existing Mastercard Foundation country programs by embedding innovative insurance and financial inclusion solutions within established initiatives and trusted delivery channels. AFIYA’s core ambition is to enhance the financial security, climate resilience, and entrepreneurial capacity of young women in agriculture, enabling them to sustainably participate in and benefit from agrifood systems.

Job Details

Reports directly to - Head of Delivery, AFIYA  

Reports indirectly to - Principal, Innovation for Resilience

Contract Type - Full-time, Permanent

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ROLE REQUIREMENTS

1. Programme Planning & Coordination

• Lead the development and maintenance of a single, integrated AFIYA delivery plan covering all workstreams and countries, ensuring clear sequencing of activities, identification of dependencies, and visibility of key decision points across the programme lifecycle.
• Maintain a rolling 12–18 month forward delivery horizon, refreshed quarterly to reflect programme performance, emerging risks, contextual shifts, and adaptive management decisions.
• Ensure strong alignment between AFIYA strategic priorities, approved budgets, partner delivery plans, and implementation timelines, supporting realistic planning and effective resource utilisation.
• Provide end-to-end visibility of programme delivery progress, surfacing implementation risks, bottlenecks, and cross-workstream dependencies early to enable timely decision-making and course correction.
• Strengthen programme delivery discipline through structured planning cycles, milestone tracking, and clear reporting rhythms across countries and delivery partners.
• Support the Head of Delivery by ensuring that programme decisions are informed by credible, timely performance data, delivery insights, and forward-looking risk analysis.
• Coordinate planning and delivery interfaces across technical teams, country teams, implementing partners, to ensure coherent and efficient programme execution.
• Support adaptive programme management by ensuring delivery plans are living tools that respond to learning, evidence, and evolving programme priorities.

2. Delivery Cadence & Governance

• Design, institutionalise, and drive a clear and consistent programme delivery rhythm to strengthen accountability, visibility, and timely decision-making across AFIYA, including:
  • Weekly internal delivery check-ins focused on progress tracking, risk surfacing, and immediate priority actions
  • Monthly country performance reviews assessing delivery progress, financial performance, partner implementation status, and emerging risks and opportunities
  • Quarterly portfolio performance and decision reviews to assess strategic alignment, resource utilisation, delivery trajectory, and key investment or course-correction decisions
• Establish and maintain strong governance standards across programme forums, ensuring discussions are focused, decision-oriented, and aligned to programme priorities and outcomes.
• Prepare clear, concise, and decision-focused agendas, high-quality pre-read materials, and structured action trackers to support productive and efficient governance engagements.
• Ensure all decisions, actions, and agreed next steps are clearly documented, assigned to accountable owners, and systematically tracked to completion.
• Strengthen transparency and information flow by ensuring governance outputs are communicated to relevant stakeholders in a timely and accessible manner.
• Continuously review and refine delivery cadence and governance structures to ensure they remain fit for purpose, proportionate, and supportive of adaptive programme management.

3. Risk, Dependency & Decision Management

• Maintain a programme-level risk and dependency register covering delivery, financial, facility-related, reputational, and fiduciary risks.
• Proactively identify and surface emerging risks, bottlenecks, and trade-offs, escalating them to the Head of Delivery with clear options for resolution.
• Monitor critical dependencies across workstreams, countries, and implementing partners to ensure timely interventions and minimise delivery delays.
• Support structured, evidence-based decision-making by providing credible information, timely analysis, and actionable insights to the Head of Delivery, AFIYA.
• Ensure financial and operational decisions are aligned with programme priorities, dependencies, and strategic objectives, enabling coherent and efficient delivery across all AFIYA projects.

3. Adaptive Management Support

• Ensure milestones and budgets are treated as adaptive tools, enabling the programme to pivot and respond effectively to emerging information, risks, and changing contexts.
• Facilitate structured learning and reflection sessions across workstreams and countries, encouraging evidence-based discussions and collaborative course-correction where needed.
• Proactively monitor assumptions underpinning programme design and delivery; trigger timely decision-making conversations when assumptions are no longer valid or when emerging issues could impact outcomes.
• Support the integration of lessons learned into planning, prioritisation, and resource allocation to strengthen programme resilience and maximise development impact.
• Foster a culture of adaptive management within the programme, encouraging teams and partners to respond constructively to change while maintaining alignment with strategic objectives.

Carry out any other duties or special assignments as assigned by the Management.

COMPETENCIES
Competencies describe the key behaviours that drive success in all of FSD Africa’s roles, regardless of technical specialism. They have been derived from systematic research correlating performance with personal attributes. 

Competency Levels 

• Level 1: Basic
• Level 2: Foundation   
• Level 3: Specialist
• Level 4: Senior Specialist      
• Level 5: Leading Expert          
• Level 6: Executive

This position requires competency at Senior Specialist Level for all the competencies listed below:

ESSENTIAL FOUNDATIONS
Commitment & Alignment
Demonstrates commitment to serving our partners and alignment with the values and vision of FSD Africa
Change & Challenge
Has a strong sense of ownership that leads to learning, self-starting, taking initiative, driving change and leading development
 

ACHIEVEMENT COMPETENCIES
Situational Awareness & Thinking
Thinks clearly and intentionally, analysing information objectively, understanding issues, solving problems, and making decisions
Drive for results
Is keenly motivated to achieve goals & act with accountability to deliver quality results
 

PEOPLE COMPETENCIES
Relationships & Collaboration
Discerns and appreciates the values, viewpoints, or abilities of others; effectively reconciles different interests and displays emotional intelligence
Communication & Influencing
Deliberately adjusts behaviour to accommodate others; communicates clearly, confidently, and appropriately to influence others
 

Requirements

PERSON SPECIFICATIONS

Qualifications and Education

• Master’s degree and 9 years of experience or Bachelor’s Degree and 11 years of experience in Project Management, Finance, Economics, Business or a related field.

Essential Experience, Knowledge, and Skills

• At least 10 years’ experience managing or supporting complex, multi-country development programmes
• Demonstrated experience with adaptive, market-systems or financial-inclusion programmes
• Strong ability to synthesise complex information and communicate clearly to senior stakeholders
• Proven judgement in risk identification and escalation
• High comfort operating in ambiguity and fast-moving environments
• Strong capability in planning, forecasting, and tracking project performance across multiple workstreams
• Ability to analyse complex project information, exercise sound judgement, and provide clear, actionable recommendations
• Experience preparing management reports, dashboards, and insights for senior stakeholders to inform decision-making
• Demonstrated business partnering skills, supporting project or programme teams with guidance and advice to optimise delivery
• High proficiency in project management tools, reporting platforms, and Microsoft Excel
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, able to explain financial information clearly
• Effective organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities

Desirable

• Experience in development finance or donor-funded environments
• Knowledge of value for money and financial accountability principles
• Experience working with multicultural or geographically dispersed teams
• Experience working on programmes involving financial instruments (funds, facilities, guarantees)
• Familiarity with donor reporting and governance requirements at Board level
• Experience working in or across African markets 

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity: 

FSDAi is committed to building a diverse organization and a climate of equity and inclusivity.  We strongly encourage applications from candidates who can demonstrate that they can contribute to this goal.

Equal Opportunity Employer: 

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability status. We will ensure that all applicants are provided a fair chance to compete for available job opportunities.

About Company

FSD Africa

https://fsdafrica.org/

FSD Africa is a specialist development agency working to help make finance work for Africa’s future. Based in Nairobi, FSD Africa’s team of financial sector experts work alongside governments, business leaders, regulators, and policymakers to design and build ambitious programmes that make financial markets work better for everyone. FSD Africa Investments, provides early-stage, risk-bearing, catalytic and patient capital to inventive commercial organisations in order to stimulate capital flows in support of green economic growth benefiting people and planet. Established in 2012, FSD Africa is incorporated as a non-profit company limited by guarantee in Kenya. It is funded by UK aid from the UK government.