The Opportunity:

Dovetail Impact Foundation invests time, treasure, and talent in organizations that promote human flourishing. We support highly effective interventions in the far reaches of the world that tackle challenges of poverty with integrity, ingenuity, and scale. More information available here.

Our role is to steward the resources entrusted to us by partnering with and serving those doing the hard, daily work of leading a nonprofit or social enterprise that profoundly impacts others. We cannot do our work without these partners, and our approach is one of humility and honor in walking alongside these partners. We are high-touch funders, aiming to work closely with our portfolio organizations to be as helpful as possible, providing the capital, capacity, and care necessary for them to thrive. We are a small, entrepreneurial team with the energy and expectations of a larger, high-functioning organization. We work fast and anticipate excellence because the people we serve deserve our very best.

Job Summary

The Program Manager supports the execution and delivery of  our Acceleration Portfolio program. We launched the Acceleration Program in 2021 based on the conviction that, while the future of Africa's development is best driven by high potential, locally-led organizations, these organizations were often not accessing the necessary funding to scale impact because they were disconnected from the strategic funder network and often too early stage for funders like us. 

The aim for the Acceleration program is to provide tangible, timely and well-coordinated value to participating organizations; increase the number of high potential, locally-led organizations with access to the networks and resources required to realize their ambitions; and prime them for potential financial support from Dovetail and other peer foundations.

The Program Manager is responsible for the day-to-day coordination and execution of the Acceleration  program, translating program strategy and design into clear communication, consistent delivery, and a high-quality experience for participating organizations. This role works closely with the Director, coaches, and internal team members to ensure the program operates smoothly and supports meaningful organizational progress over time. 

Key Result Areas: The Acceleration Portfolio Manager will deliver the following key results:

Pipeline & Selection: Manage consistent, well-coordinated selection processes aligned with program criteria and timelines

• Own the end-to-end selection process for Catalyst and Ascent cohorts, coordinating application intake, review and final cohort selection in alignment with program criteria and timelines

• Prepare and manage reviewer materials and evaluation frameworks to support consistent, high-quality assessment of candidate organizations

• Maintain clear visibility into the candidate pipeline, tracking organizational progress and ensuring accurate records across program systems

• Coordinate applicant communications and leadership review materials, ensuring a transparent, well-organized selection experience from application through onboarding

• Support preparation of selection summaries and cohort profiles to inform leadership review and downstream onboarding

Program Delivery: Ensure participating organizations experience a predictable, high-quality Acceleration Program. Deliver timely, and well-executed value to our Acceleration Portfolio partners.

• Coordinate the end-to-end delivery of the Acceleration Program, ensuring workshops, coaching sessions, 1:1 engagements, and quarterly reviews are well-prepared and executed on schedule

• Coordinate coaches and internal contributors to ensure program delivery is aligned and cohesive across cohorts and capability domains

• Ensure a high-quality participant experience, maintaining clear communication and consistent engagement across all program touchpoints

Progress & Growth Tracking: Maintain accurate, decision-ready visibility into participant engagement and progress 

• Track participant deliverables, milestones, and feedback across cohorts and capability domains

• Document key insights from 1:1 conversations and interactions with participants, partners, and consultants

• Maintain program data used for dashboards, reporting and program reviews

• Ensure the program team has access to clear and up-to-date information on participant engagement and progress

Program Operationalization: Support a repeatable, well-owned delivery model through disciplined use of systems and workflows 

• Coordinate program activities using shared tools and systems (e.g. Asana, Airtable, Google Workspace)

• Work within established workflows and operating rhythms to support consistent program delivery

• Support coordination and handoffs across internal team members, consultants and program phases

• Contribute to strengthening program systems and documentation as the Acceleration Program continues to evolve

Program Guide: Serve as the primary relational guide for participating organizations and translate organization insight into program learning and improvement 

• Serve as a primary point of contact for cohort participants, maintaining a strong understanding of each organization’s context and development stage

• Help organizations navigate the program journey by clearly communicating program goals, milestones and expectations

• Provide timely guidance and follow-up to support engagement and completion of program requirements

• Conduct regular 1:1 conversations with participating organizations

• Synthesize insights from partner engagement and share them with the program team to inform program learning and improvement

Responsibilities and Duties:

• Coordinate execution of the Acceleration Program in alignment with program strategy, objectives and timelines

• Coordinate application and onboarding processes for new program participants

• Coordinate engagement with consultants including scheduling, preparation and follow-up

• Support monitoring, evaluation and reporting through timely data collection and documentation

• Prepare logistics and materials for workshops, coaching sessions, quarterly reviews and convenings

• Document key interactions with participating organizations and share insights that inform program learning

• Support smooth transitions for organizations graduating into the Scale Portfolio by ensuring documentation and handoff materials are complete

Travel:

• Make site visits to select, high-performing organizations. Attend relevant conferences. Expect to travel ~ 20% of the time, with 3-4 international trips per year. 

Qualifications: 

• 6-8 years of relevant experience, including successful partner or client relationship management. 

• Demonstrated program and project management experience with high capacity to drive multiple projects simultaneously, with immediate and long-term deadlines. 

• Demonstrated experience and skill with data analysis and information synthesis, often with imperfect or incomplete information.

• Social sector acceleration, capacity building, entrepreneurship or investment experience strongly preferred. 

• International experience and cross-cultural fluency required.

• Excellent, proactive executive level written and verbal communication skills.

• MBA or advanced degree in a relevant field preferred.

• Ideal candidate is an “inbox zero” person. 

• Excellent computer skills, including the Google suite (Google Docs, Sheets, etc.), Excel, Powerpoint, Zoom, and Salesforce. 

• Be a person of faith; Dovetail Impact Foundation is a non-sectarian Christian foundation that invests time, treasure, and talent in organizations that promote human flourishing regardless of race, religion, creed or any other status. Our full-time team members draw strength and unity from a common commitment to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Accordingly, the foundation asks applicants seeking to join us to: 

• Identify as a follower of Jesus, affirming the beliefs put forth in the Apostles and Nicene Creeds; 

• Be animated by the call to '‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment and the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37, 39) 

• Demonstrate their participation in and commitment to cultivating a broad and diverse community of all those contributing to the work of renewal in the world, regardless of their faith. 

Extra Credit: 

• Fundraising experience. 

• Sector-specific experience in one or more of the Foundation’s focus areas: health, education, justice, or livelihoods. 
  

To apply, submit the following by email to apply@dovetailimpact.org

• Resume or CV 

• A cover note (under 500 words, please) which answers one of the following questions (note, we are assessing writing for clarity & conciseness): 

  • Why is this role a good next step for your career journey? 

  • What are 1-2 essentials for your next role? 

  • Why are you interested in exploring if this role at Dovetail is a fit for you?