Project Overview

Our client is seeking an experienced Senior Programme Manager to provide interim leadership of REGEN-Africa, an ambitious multi-country programme focused on mobilising finance for regenerative agriculture and sustainable forestry across seven African markets. This is a full-time maternity cover assignment from approximately September 2026 to April 2027, requiring someone who can rapidly take ownership of a complex programme during a critical development and capital mobilisation phase.

The consultant will provide both strategic and operational leadership across programme design, blended finance, fundraising, financial institution engagement, technical workstreams and stakeholder management. The ideal profile combines significant programme leadership experience with strong knowledge of climate or sustainable finance, blended finance and African financial markets, and the credibility to engage senior stakeholders including governments, DFIs, donors, investors and financial institutions.

Key Activities

• Provide overall strategic and operational leadership of the REGEN-Africa programme.
• Manage an integrated programme plan across multiple interconnected workstreams.
• Shape and refine programme strategy as requirements and opportunities evolve.
• Coordinate the end-to-end project proposal and approval process with potential funders.
• Oversee legal, institutional and investment structuring workstreams.
• Coordinate governance and alignment across internal teams, Investment Committee, senior leadership and Board.
• Manage and provide strategic direction to external consultants and technical advisers.
• Quality assure key technical outputs and ensure consistency across workstreams.
• Oversee fundraising and capital mobilisation strategy and investor engagement.
• Support progression of the investment pipeline towards first close.
• Oversee engagement with banks and NBFIs participating in the programme.
• Ensure market feedback informs Investment Facility design and financial products.
• Manage senior relationships with governments, regulators, development partners, donors, investors and financial institutions.
• Identify and proactively manage programme risks, dependencies and delivery challenges.
• Ensure effective handover and continuity at the beginning and end of the assignment.

Your Background

Essential

• 8–10+ years' relevant professional experience.
• Strong background in climate finance, sustainable finance, blended finance, financial sector development, development finance or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience working across African markets.
• Proven experience leading complex, multi-country and multi-stakeholder programmes.
• Experience coordinating multiple teams, advisers and concurrent workstreams.
• Strong understanding of blended finance and investment facility design.
• Knowledge of catalytic capital, financial intermediaries and/or fund structures.
• Experience working with banks and NBFIs.
• Experience managing major donor or multilateral climate/development finance proposal and approval processes.
• Strong strategic and analytical capability.
• Experience quality assuring complex technical outputs.
• Senior stakeholder management experience across governments, DFIs, donors, investors and financial institutions.
• Ability to operate autonomously and take ownership within a fast-moving environment.

Desirable

• Regenerative agriculture experience.
• Agriculture finance.
• Sustainable forestry or forestry finance.
• Nature finance.
• Experience developing large-scale, multi-country programmes.
• Fundraising and capital mobilisation experience.
• Investment facility structuring experience.
• French language skills.
• Experience working in East or Southern Africa.