Senior Programme Manager

About Foundervine

Today, Foundervine stands as one of the largest and most active accelerator ecosystems, successfully designing and delivering business and investment readiness programmes that empower entrepreneurs. Our track record includes collaborations with leading organisations such as Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Sainsbury’s, Google, and the UK Government.

At Foundervine, you’ll be joining a small but dynamic team at a pivotal moment in our mission, creating a collaborative and results-driven culture where every team member plays a meaningful role. Our mission to transform society by making innovation accessible to anyone, anywhere, is what fuels us to deliver our best work every day. Behind the scenes, we operate with the energy, agility, and expertise of a much larger organisation, despite our lean team size. With a strategic presence in the UK, Ghana and soon in the US, we are deeply connected to our core values: action, impact, inclusion, innovation, courage, and integrity.

A Culture of Support and Development

At Foundervine, we are more than just colleagues, we are a team that genuinely cares about one another. We prioritise well-being, collaboration, and continuous learning ensuring that our team feels valued and empowered. Through regular check-ins, cross-team collaboration, and knowledge-sharing sessions, we create an environment where ideas thrive.

We understand that life happens beyond work, which is why we strive to provide flexibility, especially where it's most needed, ensuring that no one has to choose between professional success and personal well-being. At Foundervine, we don’t just focus on what we’re building, we focus on how we build it and who we build it with. You’re not just an employee, you’re part of something bigger! 🚀

The Opportunity

This is a newly created senior role based in Ghana, the first of its kind at this level within our Ghana operations. This hire is designed to strengthen senior leadership within the Programmes function.

We are looking for someone who can lead from the ground up - setting the standard, building a culture of ownership and proactivity, thinking strategically about how programmes serve founders and clients, and operating with credibility both internally and externally.

This role sits within a well-established Programmes team and reports to the Programmes Operational Lead. These roles form the senior programme leadership layer that holds delivery quality, client relationships, and team development across the function.

What You Will Own

Programme delivery and quality

You own the end-to-end delivery of your assigned programmes - from design through execution to impact reporting. You are accountable for delivery quality, client satisfaction, risk management, and compliance with contractual obligations. Problems are surfaced and solved at your level. You escalate only what genuinely requires a decision above your authority.

• Lead programme design using design thinking and project management best practice
• Own scope, timelines, budgets, and risk for all assigned programmes
• Ensure Central Projects Office (CPO) governance processes are followed and challenge where they are not
• Maintain programme documentation, Asana discipline, and reporting cadences without prompting
• Identify and resolve delivery risks before they become client issues

Client and stakeholder management

You are the senior face of Foundervine on your programmes. You build and maintain client relationships with confidence, manage expectations proactively, and understand the commercial context of each engagement.

• Own day-to-day client relationships for assigned programmes
• Lead handover processes from BD to delivery and ensure programme briefs are clear and complete
• Manage communications with external partners, sponsors, facilitators, and experts
• Flag relationship risks early and resolve them at your level where possible
• Contribute to BD conversations and proposal development where relevant

People leadership

You line manage Programme Associates and Programme Managers on your programmes. You set the standard for what good looks like and hold the team to it.

• Provide regular 1:1s, clear feedback, and structured development for direct reports
• Foster ownership and accountability in junior team members - coach rather than rescue
• Identify development needs and escalate to Programmes Operational Lead where support is needed
• Contribute to performance reviews, onboarding, and team culture

Strategic contribution

You are not just a delivery manager. You bring insight about what is working, what is not, and what needs to change - at programme level and function level.

• Feed structured learning from programmes back into programme design and ways of working
• Contribute to the redesign of the programmes function by bringing a practitioner's view
• Identify opportunities for programme improvement, process innovation, and operational efficiency
• Support CPO with data and insights for reporting and strategic decision-making

What We Are Looking For

You will have:

• A proven track record of managing programmes end-to-end with full accountability for delivery, risk, and client outcomes
• Strong client and stakeholder management experience -- you know how to build trust and manage expectations at a senior level
• People management experience -- you have line managed before and know how to develop junior talent without creating dependency
• Commercial awareness and a clear understanding of what it means to deliver against a contract
• Proactivity as a default -- you identify and act on risks before they are flagged to you
• Operational rigour -- Asana, documentation, reporting cadences are non-negotiable for you, not a burden
• Strong written and verbal communication across internal and external audiences

Desirable:

• Experience delivering accelerator, cohort, or impact programmes
• Familiarity with the UK or international social enterprise funding landscape
• PMP or equivalent project management certification
• Experience working within a distributed or multi-geography team

Technical Requirements

• Proficiency with Asana or equivalent project management tool (non-negotiable)
• Comfortable with Notion, Slack, Gmail, Zoom
• Experience with CRM tools such as HubSpot or Salesforce (desirable)
• 3+ years of programme or project management experience at a senior level
• 2+ years of people management experience
• 2+ years of client or account management experience

What to Expect

• A direct reporting line to the Programmes Operational Lead with clear escalation routes
• A well-established delivery team that needs stronger in-country senior leadership
• A function undergoing deliberate redesign - your input will shape how it develops
• A role that is genuinely senior, not a PM with an upgraded title
• Real authority, real accountability, and real opportunity to build something

Diversity and Inclusion Statement

Our mission is to welcome everyone regardless of age, sexual orientation, gender, pregnancy, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, skin colour, marital status or parental status. We celebrate and support diversity, and we are committed to ensuring equal opportunities for employees, partners, contractors, and applicants. If you need assistance or require reasonable adjustments during the application or interview process, please contact us @Foundervine, at your earliest convenience.