Director of Programmes ( South Africa/Kenya)
Johannesburg, South Africa
AMI is looking for an ambitious and talented Director of Programmes (Impact), to lead end-to-end design and delivery of AMI’s tech-enabled business learning programmes, leveraging AMI’s existing products and methodologies to cost effectively delight clients and deliver on impact. Leading a multi-country team of Programme Managers, the Director of Programmes will own the full lifecycle of programmes for AMI’s Impact institutional business unit – from project scoping, technical solution design, through to implementation excellence, delivery oversight, client experience, and renewal.
This is a highly cross-functional role, working closely with technical and commercial teams to ensure AMI delivers the sector’s best business growth and job creation outcomes, even as we scale across the continent and diversify our range of partners. The successful candidate will blend operational rigour with best-in-class relationship skills and mature people management capacity. S/he will bring design insight and market knowledge from extensive work in enterprise or private sector development in Africa, and will be equally obsessed with impact evidence and client/learner delight.
Programme Delivery Oversight: Lead the build out of a scalable pan-African programme machine that delivers on impact metrics, within scope and budget - every time:
Provide overall oversight of project performance, ensuring delivery against scope, timelines, budgets, and outcomes.
Develop and refine dashboards and delivery systems to ensure real-time visibility of milestone progress, risks and bottlenecks, delivery quality, and financial performance.
Proactively problem-solve delivery challenges with project teams and escalate risks where needed.
Ensure on-time billing and revenue realization
Programme Design & Solutions
Draw on AMI’s existing products, data and internal knowledge to design tailored Solutions for clients and learners.
Convene AMI’s technical experts to inform the design process, driving a collaborative process with ultimate accountability for outcomes.
Serve as an SME and skilling sector expert to help programme teams make rapid decisions
Work with technical and innovation teams to surface programmatic insights, feeding these insights back into AMI’s model and products
Work with product and innovation teams to assess new programmatic designs/solutions for potential translation into replicable products
Implementation Process Design & Governance
- Take AMI’s processes to the next level as we scale. Define and document:
delivery governance structures,
meeting cadences,
escalation pathways,
touchpoints with other teams
Embedding of AI tools for efficient programme design and delivery
Ensure consistent, high-quality execution across projects while allowing for contextual flexibility.
Embed agile, learning-oriented delivery practices where appropriate.
Implementation Team Leadership & Capability Building
Work with the MD – AMI Impact to define the implementation team structure as we scale
Directly line manage and develop Senior Project Managers (SPM), with oversight of a larger delivery team
Coach and continuously develop the delivery team in:
solutioning and design for SME & skilling programmes
project management best practices,
client communication,
risk management,
and delivery excellence.
Build a strong delivery culture focused on accountability, learning, and continuous improvement.
Client Relationship Management & Renewal
Co-own senior client relationships with other senior leaders.
Represent AMI at a senior level at client meetings and public events.
Develop a senior client coverage plan to ensure consistent engagement with priority donors and partners.
Meet regularly with a defined portfolio of senior clients to:
understand experience and evolving needs,
surface risks and opportunities early,
and translate insights into action for delivery teams.
Lead efforts to improve client experience and renewal rates, feeding lessons into solution design and delivery processes.
Business Development & Donor Engagement Support
Work with Partnership team to maintain and improve AMI’s excellent renewal rate, expanding partnerships and programme scope for greater impact and growth
Support BD teams on technical scoping and proposal development where required
At times review and/or author key technical sections of proposals, inception reports, and strategic deliverables.
Requirements
Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree in a relevant field preferred.
15+ years of progressive professional experience, including a minimum of 5 years in a senior leadership role with direct people management responsibility.
Proven track record in development or strategy consulting, product management, programme delivery, or complex client service environments.
Demonstrated experience designing and delivering large-scale, technology-supported impact programmes across multiple geographies or contexts.
Strong background in enterprise or private sector development programmes and/or large-scale skills development initiatives in Africa.
Deep understanding of SME and MSME ecosystems and development-funded programming across the African market.
Exceptional relationship management skills — equally effective with internal teams, senior clients, and external partners.
Data-driven and process-oriented, with a proven ability to translate analytical insights into practical, scalable action.
Grounding in design thinking and human-centred approaches to programme and product development.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage and influence diverse stakeholders at all levels.
High integrity, personal resilience, and a collaborative, empowering leadership style.
Benefits
Why join us
A high-impact, diverse and ambitious team with common values:
Be the best: We work really hard, are proud of what we do, and love delighting our clients with quality.
Own it: We step up to the task, never pass the buck and hold ourselves accountable for delivering results.
Push the limits: We ask why, embrace failure and try new things. We never settle.
Do what’s right: We act with integrity, confront dishonesty, treat people fairly and strive to contribute to the greater good
Always care: We don’t do ego – it’s always ‘team before me’. We are kind, we celebrate each other’s success, and we care enough to give honest feedback.
A dynamic office & team life:
Modern offices
Regular team social events.
Regular learning and coaching opportunities
A hybrid working mode