Assistant Manager, A&R Programmes at FSD Africa

Job Summary

• The Assistant Manager will work closely with the Senior Manager, Adaptation & Resilience Programmes, and the Senior Project Manager, AFIYA, to provide day-to-day programme management, reporting, and coordination support for the AFIYA programme – a multi-country programme funded by the Mastercard Foundation to expand access to gender-intentional agricultural insurance and complementary financial services for young women smallholder farmers and agri-preneurs.
• The Assistant Manager is the engine room of AFIYA's programme management function.
• This means keeping AFIYA's project tracking systems current and accurate (Monday.com), maintaining the reporting calendar and compiling inputs for Mastercard Foundation and internal management reports, maintaining budget-versus-actuals (BVA) trackers across the programme budget, and coordinating operational inputs from implementing and delivery partners across AFIYA's continental activities and country-level implementation (Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal in phase 1). In doing so, the Assistant Manager enables the Senior Manager and the AFIYA programme team to focus on programme delivery, partner management, and impact.
• The Assistant Manager also supports monitoring, evidence, and learning across the programme, working with the Development Impact team and delivery partners to ensure that data required for AFIYA's results framework and resilience measurement is collected, validated, and reported on schedule. While line management of the A&R Programme Assistants and Analysts sits with the Senior Manager, the Assistant Manager supports the day-to-day coordination of Assistants allocated to AFIYA, helping to track workload, maintain quality standards, and ensure consistent use of FSD Africa's templates, processes, and project management tools.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ROLE REQUIREMENTS

Programme Operations & Reporting Support

Support the operational management infrastructure for the AFIYA programme, ensuring reporting, tracking, and coordination tasks are delivered accurately and on time:

• Maintain the AFIYA reporting calendar, tracking all reporting obligations including Mastercard Foundation narrative and financial reports, internal management reports, and partner reporting deadlines; flag upcoming deadlines and coordinate timely inputs.
• Keep Monday.com (or equivalent project management platform) current and accurate as the single source of truth for AFIYA project status, milestones, deliverables, and risk flags across continental and country-level workstreams, including data entry, quality checks, and routine updates.
• Compile and quality-assure inputs from the AFIYA programme team, implementing and delivery partners, and country workstreams for progress updates, risk registers, and milestone reports, ensuring submissions are complete and on schedule.
• Prepare first drafts of funder and internal reports for review by the Senior Manager and Senior Project Manager, ensuring consistency with FSD Africa's templates and the Mastercard Foundation's reporting requirements.
• Support the development and maintenance of standardised templates and processes for AFIYA project reporting, risk escalation, and operational coordination.
• Liaise with the Finance & Operations, Development Impact, and Corporate Services teams on routine operational and administrative matters for the AFIYA programme.

Workplan, Milestone & Delivery Tracking

Maintain comprehensive, accurate visibility of AFIYA workplans, milestones, and deliverables across continental activities and country implementation:

• Keep AFIYA workplan and delivery trackers current and accurate across all programme components, from planning through to completion, covering both continental activities and country-level implementation.
• Collect and verify progress data from the AFIYA programme team and delivery partners on a regular cycle, ensuring trackers reflect the latest status, expected milestones, and delivery timelines.
• Track programme milestones and deliverables against the approved workplan and results framework, flagging delays or risks to the Senior Manager and Senior Project Manager in a timely manner.
• Support the preparation of programme governance documentation, including materials for steering and oversight meetings, by compiling accurate status and supporting data.

Budget Monitoring & Financial Administration

Support effective budget management across the AFIYA programme, in compliance with FSD Africa policies and Mastercard Foundation grant requirements:

• Maintain budget-versus-actuals (BVA) trackers across the AFIYA programme budget on a monthly basis, covering FSD Africa-managed activities and partner disbursements, preparing variance analysis for review by the Senior Manager and flagging discrepancies early.
• Liaise with the Finance & Operations team to reconcile programme expenditure, track partner disbursements and financial returns, and support accurate forecasting.
• Support the preparation of resourcing plans, procurement plans, and budgets for AFIYA activities and workstreams.
• Support compliance with the Mastercard Foundation's financial reporting requirements, assembling documentation and following up on outstanding items.

Partner Coordination & Compliance Support

Support effective coordination of AFIYA's implementing and delivery partners, ensuring partners are onboarded, briefed, and compliant with programme requirements:

• Support partner onboarding processes, including due diligence documentation, contracting follow-ups, and integration of new partners into AFIYA's reporting and tracking systems.
• Help ensure implementing and delivery partners (including insurtechs, insurers, reinsurers, and research and delivery organisations) are briefed on reporting expectations, data collection requirements, quality standards, and compliance with risk management and accountability requirements, following up on outstanding items.
• Coordinate the collection of partner reports and deliverables, tracking submission status and quality-assuring inputs before consolidation.
• Support the organisation of partner meetings, workshops, and programme events, including scheduling, logistics, preparing materials, and capturing actions and follow-ups.
• Coordinate inputs and follow-ups with consultants engaged on AFIYA programme management tasks.

Monitoring, Evidence & Learning Support

Support the collection, validation, and management of programme data required for AFIYA's results framework and resilience measurement:

• Work with the Development Impact team and delivery partners to coordinate the collection of monitoring data against AFIYA's results framework, including outreach, adoption, and resilience indicators.
• Quality-assure and validate data submissions from partners, flagging gaps or inconsistencies and following up on corrections.
• Maintain AFIYA's programme data and documentation electronically, ensuring records are complete, current, and audit-ready.
• Support the preparation of learning products, case studies, and evidence summaries drawing on programme data and partner reporting.

Team Coordination & Quality Support

Support the smooth functioning of the AFIYA programme team and the Programme Assistants allocated to AFIYA:

• Support the Senior Manager in tracking the workload and task allocation of Programme Assistants and Analysts allocated to AFIYA, flagging capacity constraints and bottlenecks.
• Help maintain consistent quality standards across the Programme Assistants and Analysts' work on AFIYA, including adherence to FSD Africa's templates, reporting formats, procurement procedures, and record-keeping requirements.
• Support the induction and training of Programme Assistants and Analysts in AFIYA's project administration processes and the use of project management tools.
• Work collaboratively with the AFIYA programme team, the wider A&R pillar, and cross-functional teams to ensure smooth information flows and effective coordination.

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 Foundation Level for all the competencies listed below:
PERSON SPECIFICATIONS

Qualifications and Education

• Relevant Master's degree and 3 years of experience or Bachelor's degree from a recognised university and 4 years of experience, working in programme management, development finance, financial sector development, or a related field.
• Excellent skills in written and spoken English.

Essential Experience, Knowledge, and Skills

• Practical experience in programme or project management support within a complex, multi-stakeholder environment, including managing reporting deadlines and coordinating inputs across teams.
• Strong data management and organisational skills, with demonstrated ability to maintain project tracking systems, workplan trackers, and reporting trackers to a high standard of accuracy.
• Experience supporting funder reporting cycles for grant-funded programmes (experience with philanthropic funders such as the Mastercard Foundation desirable), including narrative and financial reporting.
• Good skills in data analysis, financial tracking (budget versus actuals), and budget administration, with strong attention to detail.
• Strong coordination skills, with the ability to manage multiple deadlines simultaneously and follow up systematically across diverse workstreams.
• Proficiency with project management tools (Monday.com, MS Project, or equivalent) and strong skills in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.
• Ability to manage data and documentation electronically and work effectively with digital platforms and tools.
• Excellent communication skills; a collaborative team player.

Desirable

• Experience working in inclusive or agricultural insurance, climate finance, adaptation finance, or financial sector development in Africa.
• Experience supporting gender-intentional or youth-focused programming.
• Experience coordinating implementing partners across multiple countries.
• Experience of working in a multi-cultural environment.
• Experience working with funders, including knowledge of grant compliance policies and procedures.
• Willingness to experiment with AI tools and experience leveraging AI for programme management, reporting, and analysis.
• Languages: French would be a strong asset (AFIYA phase 1 includes Senegal); other local African languages an advantage.