Data & Technology Manager, Acumen East & West Africa

Acumen is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Impact Data and Technology Manager with at least 8 years of work experience to provide Data, System Operations and Technology leadership at a regional level for Green RISE (Resilient Impact through Sustainable Entrepreneurship) Africa. 

About Green RISE Africa
Green RISE Africa is a program being implemented by Acumen in partnership with the MasterCard Foundation. It is focused on creating 443,000 dignified and fulfilling work opportunities for young people — with 70% being young women — across Sub-Saharan Africa. The program operates across four pillars:

1. GROW — Partnering with Entrepreneurship Support Organisations (ESO's) to provide practical training and mentorship to nano and micro entrepreneurs in 7 countries (Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone)
2. BUILD — Training and mentoring 320 young climate leaders via a Green Entrepreneurship Fellowship
3. ACCELERATE — Supporting early-stage entrepreneurs through structured readiness and scale-readiness programs
4. SCALE — Identifying and scaling 35+ high-impact enterprises across the continent

This role will be based out of Acumen's office in Nairobi or Lagos with the expectation to work in office 3 days a week. Remote from other geographies is not an option.

About Acumen
Acumen is a global force of entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists, and social innovators working together to build a world based on dignity. We were founded by Jacqueline Novogratz on the radical idea that business, when cultivated with moral imagination, can break the cycle of poverty. We invest in transformational companies, build sustainable markets, and prepare leaders with the tools they need to create a more just and inclusive future. Since 2001, we have scaled companies and shaped markets in some of the hardest-to-reach communities on the planet, impacting over half-a-billion lives. To learn more visit acumen.org.

About the Role

As the Data and Technology Manager you will be responsible for designing, building, maintaining, and continuously improving the systems and technology platforms that support the programmatic MEL (Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning) framework under Green RISE Africa. This is a systems and technology role: you will NOT be responsible for designing or carrying out MEL itself. Your focus is building and running the technology that enables the MEL team to collect, manage, quality-assure, and report on data.

You will report to the Associate Director of Impact, Green Rise Africa. 

The technology stack and solutions Acumen is leveraging include, but are not limited to:

• Salesforce as the central record for grant management, impact capture and reporting
• FormAssembly
• Google Suite
• AI-powered tools and enterprise solutions

Over the grant’s implementation we expect the role to focus on continual identification of system, data, and data management, and reporting improvements.Candidates must be well-versed in Salesforce applications,  have highly technical proficiency with data and software solutions, and a growing skills base in the use of AI.  This role will work closely with the Impact Manager: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning. The Impact Manager: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning will focus on MEL framework design and implementation and adaptive learning. Additionally, you will work closely with other Impact & Insight staff based in the UK and in East and West Africa. 

The post holder is expected to travel occasionally within the region. 

Accountabilities include: 

Systems to support  Green RISE Africa’s MEL framework

• Lead in managing, developing and improving the Green Rise Africa technology stack to support programme implementation
• Translate the MEL team’s requirements (MEL plan, data collection plan, data management plan, quality assurance protocols, and results framework) into the systems that operationalise them.
• Configure and maintain data collection, management, and reporting tools used to report to the MasterCard Foundation.
• Lead in the continued development of the technology platform to support partner reporting 
• Work collaboratively with the Impact Manager: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning to build quarterly reporting processes, automated reports, infographics, and data visualisations on key metrics and KPIs (including financial KPIs for companies), for sharing with a range of stakeholders 
• Collaborate closely with the Finance team to quality assure and integrate finance data with impact data 

Programme data management 

• Ensure that data is collected, managed, maintained, and up-to-date across our grants management system 
• Liaise with the Compliance and Legal team to ensure we are following best practices on data consent, use, management, retention, reporting, protection and security approaches. 
• Integrate data from a range of  sources ensuring alignment to MEL reporting systems  
• Be the point person for data extraction, system access, and reporting infrastructure requests

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Set up and co-develop internal Knowledge Management system for the programme
• Work closely with the Programme Insights team to to build and maintain the systems and workflows through which lessons are captured and knowledge management processes are followed.
• Work closely with the Programme Insights team to ensure qualitative data is managed in line with best practices. 
• Actively support any programmatic evaluations that are required by donors by ensuring all data needs are met

Capacity building - team and partners

• Build capacity of team members on how to use technology solutions for MEL implementation, including training and learning sessions
• Build capacity of partner organisations on how to report with the programme’s technology solutions 
• Develop training materials and training sessions to upskill staff and partners with a range of skills in this space
• Support lower capacity organisations to develop their own internal reporting systems in line with programmatic needs 
• Site visits to monitor partner data management and reporting systems
• Quarterly reporting on data quality from partners

Skills and qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software or Data Engineering, or a related field; an advanced degree or equivalent hands-on systems experience is an advantage
• Salesforce certification required or strongly preferred (e.g., Salesforce Administrator); Advanced Administrator, Platform App Builder, or Data Cloud Consultant certification an advantage
• At least  8 years of professional experience in a similar role - developing and maintaining a technology stack, including at least 3 years of experience in developing and managing data systems, MEL databases, and reporting tools
• Working knowledge of how MEL, grant management, and reporting data are structured and used to translate MEL and donor requirements into system design.
• Hands-on Salesforce configuration experience (i.e. capable of building custom objects and fields, flows and automations, validation rules, permission sets, and reports and dashboards)
• Experience integrating systems and data sources (i.e., APIs, forms tools, etc.)
• Track record of maintaining, documenting, and improving a live system over time, including change management, troubleshooting, data quality controls, and managing external build partners or vendors
• Experience working in multi-country, matrix-managed environments
• Experience in gender and youth programmes or working with private sector partners
• Familiarity with Power BI, Airtable, Claude or similar tools
• Permanently authorised to work in Kenya or Nigeria 

Location: Nairobi (East Africa) or Lagos (West Africa)  

Acumen is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, age, differential ability, race, religion, sexual orientation, or background.

Applications will be reviewed and interviews scheduled on a rolling basis.

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