Program Lead, Acumen Academy Pakistan

Acumen Pakistan is looking for an individual with minimum 8 years of work experience, to manage the delivery and growth of our Leadership Program in Pakistan. The role requires someone who has prior experience in leading programs related to leadership development, adult education, or facilitation.

About Acumen

We’re investors. A different kind of investor. We invest in people and companies working to solve problems for people living in poverty, investing in essential products and services that bring more opportunities, more choices to millions. To date, Acumen has positively impacted 501 million lives by investing $154M in 167 innovative, early-stage companies in Africa, Latin America, South Asia, and the United States. But investing clearly isn’t just about capital. It’s about investing in people. We’ve been investing in people for years. Connecting with over 1,500 emerging leaders in their own countries and engaging them in extended collective dialogue on what constitutes a “good society”, moral inquiry, and skill building.

About Acumen Academy
Acumen Academy is the world’s school for social change. We’re looking to support a new generation of social innovators and leaders with the character and competence to solve problems of poverty and build a world based on dignity. 

In Pakistan, we are thinking about the next chapter of our work, which includes continuing to strengthen and grow our flagship program, expand leadership programmatic offerings and support our ~200 alumni in their lifelong journey beyond the program year.

About the Role

The Pakistan Acumen Academy Program Lead will be responsible for building and leading different Acumen Academy programs in Pakistan. This includes the Acumen Fellows Program- a one-year leadership development program powered by Acumen Academy. Each year, the Fellows program selects ~20 local emerging leaders, and they can collaborate with like-minded individuals and develop new leadership skills that support the trajectory of their social impact work. In addition, the Academy also focuses on developing and executing thematic leadership programs, along with generating an audience for our growing online content.  The Pakistan Leadership Manager will report to the Acumen Pakistan Country Director.

This is an entrepreneurial position that involves a broad set of activities, including:

Lead the Fellowship Program Delivery

• Own the end-to-end learning and program delivery of Acumen Fellowship, the key flagship offering from Acumen Academy
• Facilitate seminars that create and hold space for reflection and absorption of the content
• Identify, recruit, select, integrate, and support all external trainers/speakers for the program
• Coach Fellows: provide feedback when sought; periodically conduct 1-on-1’s with Fellows as required; and provide written evaluations over the course of the year.
• Support recruitment and selection for all Pakistan fellows
• Oversee all day-to-day program operations and logistics
• Build an ecosystem of funders, supporters and advisors to contribute to the success and sustainability of the program

Community Management

1. Oversee development and rollout of programs and initiatives that will connect and support the Foundry – e.g. coaching/mentoring; community gatherings; local and global exposure; accessing capital and sharing best practices
2. Oversee Foundry Experience: actively monitor and support Fellows to absorb and apply the learnings in the context of their own initiatives, before and after the program.
3. Coaching: provide 1:1 coaching support to the Foundry, specifically focused on how to overcome any leadership gaps and challenges in the context of building more inclusive systems.

Fundraising and Partnerships

1. Support engagement of partners/prospects locally by managing grant reporting calendar; drafting reports for funders; writing quarterly partner updates; creating presentations for pitches to prospective funders
2. Own and manage relationships with key program partners
3. Establish new funding relationships for flagship programs as well as any new initiatives
4. Establish a strong community of supporters and Advisors who can provide you – and the Foundry – with ongoing support for the Leadership work in Pakistan

Impact Assessment

• Measure the efficacy of both the Fellowship program and new initiatives, at periodic intervals
• Synthesize feedback and scope of improvement and iterate all programming in Pakistan on an ongoing basis

Qualifications and Skills

• Minimum 8 years of work experience in a related field (preferably in education, training, fellowships and/or leadership development, entrepreneurship)
• Experience in group facilitation/training or classroom teaching is necessary
• Experience in fundraising for new ventures
• Experience setting up new ventures/programs in new markets is preferred but not required
• Coaching skills, including the ability to give constructive feedback effectively, and willingness to have difficult, courageous conversations in service of helping others grow awareness, strong listening skills and empathy
• Prior work experience in a fast-paced environment, ability to work efficiently against tight deadlines
• Familiarity and exposure to the field of social enterprise and poverty alleviation preferred
• A graduate/master’s degree in a related field (for example: education, psychology, leadership, etc.)
• Strong verbal & written communications skills, and comfort representing Acumen Academy initiatives externally

Deadline to apply: Candidates will be reviewed and interviewed on a rolling basis.