The Role
Lead the Programme Management Unit, oversee 4-5 staff, ensure donor compliance and contract management, guide planning, budgeting, reporting, monitoring, dashboards, and risk mitigation across multiple countries while supporting strategic decisions and stakeholder coordination.
Summary Generated by Built In
**About Us
**Light for the World is a global development organization. We empower people with disabilities and enable eye health services in low-income countries. Over the last three decades, we have strengthened health systems, enabled inclusive education, and amplified the voices of people with disabilities. We focus on the poorest and hardest to reach because that’s where we can have the biggest impact.
We Can Work is an eight-year regional programme implemented by Light for the World in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. It aims to enable 1,000,000 young women and men with disabilities across Africa to access dignified work by driving systems and mindset change, strengthening agency, and promoting inclusive economic development in partnership with OPDs and key stakeholders.
Light for the World is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from people of diverse backgrounds and experiences.
**
Place of work:** Austria, Ethiopia, Kenya or Uganda
\- A work permit for one of these countries is required!
Employment Type: Full time, until 2030
Starting Date: March 2026
Salary: annually EUR 50.000,00 based in Austria, market rates apply elsewhere
**
About the role
**The Programme Manager leads the Programme Management Unit, overseeing a team of 4–5 staff and ensuring strong contract management, compliance, planning, reporting, and performance monitoring. The role strengthens programme systems, ensures donor alignment, supports data-driven decision-making, and contributes to strategic leadership as part of the We Can Work Management Team.
Tasks
* Lead and manage the Programme Management Unit (PMU) by directly supervising 4–5 staff and fostering a collaborative, inclusive and high-performing team culture.
* Oversee partner coordination and operational processes, including safeguarding, safety and security, travel, and compliance-related matters across multiple countries.
* Maintain strategic oversight of all partner and donor contracts, ensuring full compliance with Mastercard Foundation requirements and internal policies.
* Identify, assess and mitigate contractual and compliance risks, advising the We Can Work Management Team on risk exposure and mitigation strategies.
* Lead annual planning and budgeting processes, ensuring alignment between work plans, financial forecasts and programme targets in close coordination with Finance and Technical Teams.
* Ensure high-quality and timely donor reporting, overseeing the coordination, drafting and submission of narrative and financial reports.
* Develop, standardize and continuously improve programme management tools and systems, creating dashboards and analytics that enable evidence-based decision-making.
* Monitor overall programme performance, analyse progress against KPIs and budgets, and initiate corrective measures where implementation is off track.
* Actively contribute to the We Can Work Management Team, providing briefings on programme management and financial matters to support strategic decisions.
* Represent and coordinate the programme internally and externally, engaging with donors, partners and cross-functional teams to ensure alignment and effective programme delivery.
Requirements
* Strong commitment to the vision, mission and values of We Can Work and Light for the World.
* Proven leadership experience, with a participatory and inclusive management style based on trust and influence.
* Extensive hands-on experience managing large, multi-country institutional grants and complex contract management systems.
* Strong knowledge of programme planning, reporting and budget management in line with donor requirements.
* Demonstrated ability to establish effective working relationships in multicultural and multi-country environments.
* Master’s degree (or equivalent) in international development, business administration, project management, finance, or a related field.
* Excellent analytical, writing and verbal communication skills, with strong attention to data quality.
* Full professional proficiency in English; French is an asset.
* Willingness and ability to travel regularly to programme locations (reasonable accommodation will be provided where needed).
* Extensive experience in managing large-scale economic empowerment programmes in Africa is highly desirable.
Benefits
* You join a highly motivated team, appreciating your experience and eager to jointly shape Light for the World’s monitoring and steering mechanisms.
* We are offering an outstanding opportunity to bring about change through an international development organization with strong expertise and a growing profile.
* We are committed to giving our colleagues space to explore new directions, test new ideas and to excel as individuals through and with their team.
* We emphasize a good work-life-balance, have flexible working hours and Home-Office opportunity.
* We are a professional team that strives towards continuous development. We believe in participatory leadership and expect you to contribute your expertise and ideas. We believe that learning from mistakes is an important way of developing and put emphasis on our culture of learning.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and place a high value on diversity and inclusion in our organization. We welcome and encourage applications from all people regardless of national origin, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation or gender identity, and we very much welcome applications from people with disabilities.
For any questions related to accessibility and inclusion at Light for the World, please do not hesitate to contact us.
**Light for the World is a global development organization. We empower people with disabilities and enable eye health services in low-income countries. Over the last three decades, we have strengthened health systems, enabled inclusive education, and amplified the voices of people with disabilities. We focus on the poorest and hardest to reach because that’s where we can have the biggest impact.
We Can Work is an eight-year regional programme implemented by Light for the World in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. It aims to enable 1,000,000 young women and men with disabilities across Africa to access dignified work by driving systems and mindset change, strengthening agency, and promoting inclusive economic development in partnership with OPDs and key stakeholders.
Light for the World is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from people of diverse backgrounds and experiences.
**
Place of work:** Austria, Ethiopia, Kenya or Uganda
\- A work permit for one of these countries is required!
Employment Type: Full time, until 2030
Starting Date: March 2026
Salary: annually EUR 50.000,00 based in Austria, market rates apply elsewhere
**
About the role
**The Programme Manager leads the Programme Management Unit, overseeing a team of 4–5 staff and ensuring strong contract management, compliance, planning, reporting, and performance monitoring. The role strengthens programme systems, ensures donor alignment, supports data-driven decision-making, and contributes to strategic leadership as part of the We Can Work Management Team.
Tasks
* Lead and manage the Programme Management Unit (PMU) by directly supervising 4–5 staff and fostering a collaborative, inclusive and high-performing team culture.
* Oversee partner coordination and operational processes, including safeguarding, safety and security, travel, and compliance-related matters across multiple countries.
* Maintain strategic oversight of all partner and donor contracts, ensuring full compliance with Mastercard Foundation requirements and internal policies.
* Identify, assess and mitigate contractual and compliance risks, advising the We Can Work Management Team on risk exposure and mitigation strategies.
* Lead annual planning and budgeting processes, ensuring alignment between work plans, financial forecasts and programme targets in close coordination with Finance and Technical Teams.
* Ensure high-quality and timely donor reporting, overseeing the coordination, drafting and submission of narrative and financial reports.
* Develop, standardize and continuously improve programme management tools and systems, creating dashboards and analytics that enable evidence-based decision-making.
* Monitor overall programme performance, analyse progress against KPIs and budgets, and initiate corrective measures where implementation is off track.
* Actively contribute to the We Can Work Management Team, providing briefings on programme management and financial matters to support strategic decisions.
* Represent and coordinate the programme internally and externally, engaging with donors, partners and cross-functional teams to ensure alignment and effective programme delivery.
Requirements
* Strong commitment to the vision, mission and values of We Can Work and Light for the World.
* Proven leadership experience, with a participatory and inclusive management style based on trust and influence.
* Extensive hands-on experience managing large, multi-country institutional grants and complex contract management systems.
* Strong knowledge of programme planning, reporting and budget management in line with donor requirements.
* Demonstrated ability to establish effective working relationships in multicultural and multi-country environments.
* Master’s degree (or equivalent) in international development, business administration, project management, finance, or a related field.
* Excellent analytical, writing and verbal communication skills, with strong attention to data quality.
* Full professional proficiency in English; French is an asset.
* Willingness and ability to travel regularly to programme locations (reasonable accommodation will be provided where needed).
* Extensive experience in managing large-scale economic empowerment programmes in Africa is highly desirable.
Benefits
* You join a highly motivated team, appreciating your experience and eager to jointly shape Light for the World’s monitoring and steering mechanisms.
* We are offering an outstanding opportunity to bring about change through an international development organization with strong expertise and a growing profile.
* We are committed to giving our colleagues space to explore new directions, test new ideas and to excel as individuals through and with their team.
* We emphasize a good work-life-balance, have flexible working hours and Home-Office opportunity.
* We are a professional team that strives towards continuous development. We believe in participatory leadership and expect you to contribute your expertise and ideas. We believe that learning from mistakes is an important way of developing and put emphasis on our culture of learning.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and place a high value on diversity and inclusion in our organization. We welcome and encourage applications from all people regardless of national origin, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation or gender identity, and we very much welcome applications from people with disabilities.
For any questions related to accessibility and inclusion at Light for the World, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Skills Required
- Valid work permit for Austria, Ethiopia, Kenya or Uganda
- Master's degree or equivalent in international development, business administration, project management, finance, or related field
- Proven leadership experience with participatory and inclusive management style
- Extensive hands-on experience managing large, multi-country institutional grants and complex contract management systems
- Strong knowledge of programme planning, reporting and budget management aligned with donor requirements
- Demonstrated ability to establish effective working relationships in multicultural and multi-country environments
- Full professional proficiency in English
- Excellent analytical, writing and verbal communication skills with attention to data quality
- Willingness and ability to travel regularly to programme locations
- Experience supervising a small team (4-5 staff) and fostering collaborative team culture
- French language skills
- Extensive experience in managing large-scale economic empowerment programmes in Africa
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The Company
What We Do
Light for the World is an international NGO dedicated to advancing disability rights and eye health. The organization works to create an inclusive society by breaking down barriers to health, education, and employment, specifically supporting people with eye conditions and disabilities in exercising their rights across Africa and other regions through global development and humanitarian action.
