Federer Foundation Programme Manager Job 2026: Apply to Lead Education Programmes in Malawi and Zambia

The Federer Foundation is inviting applications for a Programme Manager to support the implementation and coordination of its country programmes in Malawi and Zambia. The position is intended for an experienced programme management professional who can translate strategic priorities into coordinated activities, strengthen partnerships, monitor progress, support financial tracking, and contribute to high-quality reporting and adaptive learning.

Based in either Lusaka, Zambia, or Lilongwe, Malawi, the successful candidate will work closely with Country Directors, implementing partners, government counterparts, and other Foundation colleagues to support programmes focused on early and foundational learning.

The Foundation is seeking a proactive, solutions-oriented professional with a relevant undergraduate degree and approximately 5–7 years of relevant experience in programme management, programme support, education, development, or related fields.

Applications must include a CV and cover letter sent by email to talent@federerfoundation.org. The application deadline is 31 October 2026.

Overview of the Federer Foundation Programme Manager Job

• Organisation: Federer Foundation
• Position: Programme Manager
• Programme focus: Country programmes in Malawi and Zambia, with an emphasis on early and foundational learning
• Duty station: Lusaka, Zambia, or Lilongwe, Malawi
• Required education: Relevant undergraduate degree
• Experience required: 5–7 years in programme management, programme support, education, development, or related fields
• Application documents: CV and cover letter
• Application email: talent@federerfoundation.org
• Deadline: 31 October 2026
• Work eligibility: Applicants must be citizens of Malawi or Zambia, or have the right to live and work in either country.

This is a mid-level professional role combining programme coordination, partner engagement, monitoring and reporting, financial and administrative support, and collaboration across country teams.

About the Federer Foundation

Established in 2003, the Federer Foundation is dedicated to improving access to quality education. Its current work focuses particularly on early childhood education, an area the Foundation describes as significantly underfunded and often overlooked.

The organisation recognises early learning as an important foundation for children’s future learning and development. Its work seeks to expand access to early childhood education across six countries in Southern Africa and Switzerland.

The Foundation’s approach includes several interconnected areas:

• Early learning: Supporting interventions that strengthen children’s early learning opportunities.
• Data and evidence: Using information and evidence to inform programme decisions and improve implementation.
• Stakeholder mobilisation: Working with relevant stakeholders to support education priorities.
• Advocacy: Contributing to efforts that promote attention to early childhood education.
• Systems strengthening: Working with governments, communities, and other partners to support improvements in education systems.

The Foundation’s stated vision is that every child should have a strong start in life, be healthy and supported, and be ready to learn in child-friendly environments. It works with governments, communities, and other stakeholders to help make this possible.

Its organisational values include humility, respect, balance, integrity, care, reliability, partnership, and equity. The Programme Manager will be expected to reflect these values in professional conduct, decision-making, and relationships with partners and colleagues.

Purpose of the Programme Manager Position

The Programme Manager will support the effective delivery of the Federer Foundation’s Malawi and Zambia country programmes. The position provides day-to-day programme coordination, analytical support, and operational follow-through, helping turn strategic priorities into practical and well-organised implementation.

Working closely with the Country Directors, the Programme Manager will help ensure that activities are coordinated, partner relationships are maintained, programme information is documented, and reporting requirements are met on time.

The role also contributes to maintaining programme quality, tracking implementation progress, identifying challenges, and supporting adaptive learning across the country portfolios.

The position requires someone who can work independently while collaborating effectively with multiple stakeholders. The successful candidate should be able to manage competing priorities, identify potential delays or risks, follow through on agreed actions, and bring practical solutions to programme delivery challenges.

The role is also an opportunity to contribute to systems-focused education work and partnership-based programming, particularly in early and foundational learning.

Key Responsibilities of the Programme Manager

The job description groups the role’s responsibilities into programme delivery and coordination, partner engagement, monitoring and learning, financial and administrative support, and internal team coordination.

1. Programme delivery and coordination

The Programme Manager will help coordinate the day-to-day management of the Foundation’s Malawi and Zambia programme portfolios, supporting the Country Directors to ensure activities are delivered according to agreed priorities.

Key duties include:

• Supporting the Country Directors in coordinating and managing the country programme portfolios.
• Tracking implementation progress across partners and initiatives.
• Checking that activities remain aligned with agreed plans and timelines.
• Preparing programme workplans and implementation schedules.
• Supporting internal coordination processes to keep programme activities organised.
• Identifying implementation risks, delays, and other issues that may affect delivery.
• Flagging concerns early so the Country Director can discuss them and make decisions.

These responsibilities require strong organisation, attention to detail, and the ability to monitor multiple activities without losing sight of programme objectives. The successful candidate should be comfortable following up on action points, maintaining implementation schedules, and helping teams respond when activities are delayed or require adjustments.

2. Partner engagement and support

Strong partnerships are central to the Programme Manager role. The successful candidate will work with implementing partners, government counterparts, service providers, and other relevant stakeholders in Malawi and Zambia.

Responsibilities include:

• Building and maintaining relationships with implementing partners and government counterparts.
• Coordinating regularly with partners and following up on agreed actions.
• Supporting partner onboarding and contracting processes.
• Managing routine communication and documentation related to partner activities.
• Organising partner meetings, learning sessions, and field visits.
• Preparing meeting agendas, briefing notes, and summaries.
• Ensuring that partners understand their reporting requirements and meet them.

This part of the role requires clear communication, professional relationship management, and a partnership-oriented approach. The Programme Manager must be able to coordinate stakeholders with different responsibilities while ensuring that information is shared and agreed activities move forward.

Experience supporting implementation partners, NGOs, or donor-funded programmes is specifically identified as relevant to the position.

3. Programme monitoring, data, learning, and reporting

The Programme Manager will support the collection, organisation, analysis, and documentation of information about programme implementation.

Key responsibilities include:

• Collecting, organising, and synthesising programme data.
• Reviewing programme reports and identifying useful learning insights.
• Working with monitoring, evaluation, research and learning (MERL) and programme colleagues to support monitoring processes.
• Contributing to adaptive learning discussions.
• Drafting internal reports and donor updates.
• Preparing presentations and learning briefs.
• Documenting lessons learned, implementation challenges, and good practices across initiatives.

The role requires someone who can work confidently with data and reports and communicate findings in a clear, practical way. The ability to summarise information, identify emerging issues, and support learning from implementation will be important.

Experience supporting monitoring, reporting, or learning processes is described as desirable in the job description.

4. Financial and administrative programme support

The Programme Manager will also support programme budgeting, expenditure monitoring, forecasting, and administrative processes in collaboration with the Country Director and finance colleagues.

Responsibilities include:

• Preparing inputs for programme budgets and forecasts.
• Monitoring programme expenditure and maintaining relevant tracking information.
• Tracking partner financial reports and milestones.
• Flagging budget variances or financial concerns for review.
• Assisting with procurement processes.
• Coordinating consultants.
• Supporting administrative requirements connected to programme delivery.

Candidates should be comfortable working with basic financial tracking and programme administration. The role calls for accuracy, good judgement, and timely communication when expenditure information or partner reports require follow-up.

The job description does not present the position as a standalone finance role. Instead, financial monitoring is part of the broader responsibility for ensuring effective programme coordination and delivery.

5. Internal coordination and team support

The Programme Manager will help maintain coordination between partners, country teams, and other Foundation colleagues.

This includes:

• Coordinating communication and follow-up between different stakeholders.
• Supporting internal planning processes.
• Helping organise meetings and track resulting action points.
• Contributing to a collaborative and learning-oriented team culture.
• Ensuring that day-to-day work reflects the Foundation’s values.

The position requires a balance between independent initiative and collaborative working. The successful candidate should be able to take responsibility for moving activities forward while keeping colleagues and partners informed.

Required Qualifications for the Programme Manager Job

The Federer Foundation has outlined specific educational, professional, and competency requirements for the position.

Educational qualifications

Applicants must have a relevant undergraduate degree. The job description identifies the following fields as relevant:

• Development Studies
• International Development
• Social Sciences, including Sociology, Economics, and Political Science
• Public Administration
• Public Policy

A degree in Education or Early Childhood Development is an advantage.

Candidates should demonstrate how their academic background relates to programme management, development, education, public policy, or another relevant field.

Professional experience

The Foundation requires 5–7 years of relevant experience in programme management, programme support, education, development, or related fields.

Relevant experience may include:

• Coordinating development programmes or projects.
• Supporting the implementation of programme activities.
• Working with implementing partners, NGOs, or donor-funded programmes.
• Tracking programme progress and ensuring activities remain aligned with agreed plans.
• Preparing reports, workplans, and implementation schedules.
• Supporting monitoring, reporting, or learning processes.
• Working with government stakeholders or in multi-stakeholder environments.

Exposure to early childhood development, education systems, or social sector programming is an advantage. Experience working with government institutions or coordinating multiple stakeholders is also considered beneficial.

The job description identifies experience with monitoring, reporting, or learning as desirable, rather than stating it as a separate mandatory requirement.

Organisational and coordination skills

The successful candidate should have strong organisational and coordination skills, with attention to detail and reliable follow-through.

These capabilities will be important for managing workplans, tracking activities, arranging partner meetings, following up on implementation issues, and keeping programme documentation up to date.

The role also requires the ability to prioritise competing tasks and maintain progress across several initiatives.

Analytical skills

Applicants should be able to synthesise information clearly and practically. This includes working with programme data, reviewing reports, identifying implementation challenges, and documenting lessons learned.

Analytical ability will help the Programme Manager support evidence-informed decisions and contribute to adaptive learning across the country portfolios.

Communication and relationship management

Strong written and verbal communication skills are required. The Programme Manager will prepare reports, donor updates, briefing notes, presentations, and learning documents while also communicating regularly with partners, government counterparts, and colleagues.

The role requires someone who can work collaboratively with different stakeholders and maintain professional relationships based on respect, reliability, and partnership.

Financial and administrative confidence

Candidates should be comfortable working with data, reports, and basic financial tracking. This is relevant to budget monitoring, expenditure tracking, forecasting, partner financial reporting, procurement support, and consultant coordination.

Initiative and problem-solving

The Foundation is seeking a proactive, solutions-oriented self-starter who takes initiative and brings a strong bias toward action.

The successful candidate should be comfortable working independently, identifying ways to improve how work is done, and responding constructively to challenges. Curiosity, innovative thinking, sound judgement, and the ability to manage multiple tasks are important to the role.

Working Style and Organisational Values

The Programme Manager is expected to reflect the Federer Foundation’s values in everyday work and professional relationships.

The job description highlights several ways of working:

• Humility and respect: Engaging colleagues, partners, and stakeholders with care and respect.
• Partnership: Building relationships that support coordinated programme delivery.
• Practical implementation: Turning plans and strategies into concrete actions.
• Long-term thinking: Connecting day-to-day activities with broader education and systems priorities.
• Learning and improvement: Supporting reflection, iteration, and shared problem-solving.
• Initiative: Identifying challenges and pursuing practical improvements.
• Independent judgement: Taking responsibility for moving work forward while knowing when to raise issues for discussion.
• Integrity and equity: Reflecting the Foundation’s stated values in decisions and conduct.

These expectations suggest that the role is suited to a professional who combines operational discipline with collaborative working and an interest in improving programme implementation.

Duty Stations: Lusaka, Zambia, or Lilongwe, Malawi

The position is based in one of two locations:

• Lusaka, Zambia
• Lilongwe, Malawi

The role supports programme delivery across both the Zambia and Malawi portfolios. Applicants should be prepared to work with the relevant Country Directors and stakeholders connected to the two country programmes.

The vacancy specifically states that it is open only to citizens of Malawi or Zambia, or individuals who have the right to live and work in these countries. Applicants should review their work eligibility before applying.

The announcement does not specify a salary range, employment duration, relocation assistance, or whether remote working arrangements are available. Prospective applicants should not assume these details and may consult the Foundation for clarification if necessary.

How to Apply for the Federer Foundation Programme Manager Job

Interested and eligible candidates are asked to submit two documents:

1. A current CV outlining relevant education, work experience, skills, and programme management responsibilities.
2. A cover letter explaining the applicant’s suitability for the role and how their experience relates to the Foundation’s requirements.

Applications should be sent by email to:

talent@federerfoundation.org

Before applying, candidates should ensure that their CV and cover letter clearly demonstrate relevant experience in programme management, programme support, education, development, partner coordination, reporting, or related areas.

Applicants may wish to highlight experience that relates directly to the role, such as:

• Coordinating programme activities and implementation schedules.
• Working with NGOs, implementation partners, government counterparts, or donor-funded programmes.
• Supporting monitoring, reporting, data organisation, and learning.
• Tracking budgets, expenditure, partner reports, or programme milestones.
• Preparing workplans, reports, briefing notes, and presentations.
• Managing competing priorities and identifying solutions to implementation challenges.

These are recommendations for presenting relevant experience; the Foundation’s stated application requirement is to email a CV and cover letter.

The vacancy states that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Application Deadline

The deadline for the Federer Foundation Programme Manager vacancy is 31 October 2026.

Interested applicants should prepare their CV and cover letter and submit them to talent@federerfoundation.org before the closing date. Applicants should ensure they meet the education, experience, and work eligibility requirements before submitting their applications.

For more job opportunities visit: https://opportunitiesforyouth.org/?s=jobs

Conclusion

The Federer Foundation Programme Manager vacancy offers an opportunity for an experienced development or programme management professional to support education programmes in Malawi and Zambia. The role combines programme coordination, partner engagement, monitoring and reporting, adaptive learning, financial tracking, and administrative support, with a particular connection to the Foundation’s work in early and foundational learning.

The Foundation is seeking applicants with a relevant undergraduate degree, 5–7 years of relevant experience, strong organisational and analytical skills, and the ability to work independently and collaboratively. Experience with implementing partners, NGOs, donor-funded programmes, education, or social sector initiatives will be relevant to the position.

The role is based in Lusaka or Lilongwe and is open to citizens of Malawi or Zambia, as well as individuals who have the right to live and work in either country.

Eligible candidates should submit their CV and cover letter to talent@federerfoundation.org by 31 October 2026. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.