Senior Programme Manager – Mental Health

The Science for Africa Foundation is an experienced team of scientists, professionals, and African and global partners dedicated to advancing science in Africa.

The Senior Programme Manager will provide senior leadership across various aspects of mental health, including research excellence, lived experience, policy engagement, innovation, implementation, and sustainable systems and financing. The position entails leading programme design and strategy, overseeing performance, grants, and partnerships, guiding programme teams, strengthening resource mobilization and strategic alliances, and representing the Foundation in high-level scientific, policy, and sector engagements. This role aims to strengthen the mental health ecosystem and translate evidence into policy and practice, ensuring robust governance, accountability, learning, financial stewardship, and sustainability. The SFA Foundation values Respect, Accountability, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Excellence, seeking individuals who embody these principles.

1. Lead the development and implementation of the Mental Health Research and Development Strategy, defining annual priorities and action plans.
2. Provide strategic direction for research excellence, lived experience integration, policy engagement, innovation, implementation, and sustainable financing.
3. Identify emerging mental health priorities, evidence gaps, opportunities, and risks across Africa, advising senior leadership on appropriate responses.
4. Ensure programme alignment with SFA Foundation strategy, scientific priorities, funder commitments, and continental agendas.
5. Contribute evidence and sector intelligence to organizational strategy, cross-programme planning, and scientific leadership.
6. Lead the comprehensive design of new programmes and workstreams, including problem analysis, theories of change, results frameworks, delivery models, budgets, and governance structures.
7. Manage complex, multi-component programmes throughout their entire lifecycle, from concept to close-out.
8. Oversee the planning, implementation, performance, and evaluation of the mental health programme, ensuring agreed outcomes, quality standards, timelines, and budgets are met.
9. Supervise programme workplans, budgets, implementation schedules, risk registers, performance frameworks, and governance arrangements.
10. Prioritize programme activities, allocate resources, and manage interdependencies across programmes, grants, and strategic initiatives.
11. Monitor programme performance and initiate corrective actions for delivery, quality, risk, financial, or strategic issues.
12. Ensure robust documentation, accountability, and decision-making within the programme.
13. Provide strategic oversight for initiatives that promote rigorous, innovative, ethical, and African-led mental health research.
14. Support interdisciplinary and multi-country research collaborations and funding mechanisms addressing key mental health challenges.
15. Encourage the generation, synthesis, and utilization of evidence to inform policy, practice, and investment decisions.
16. Enhance knowledge translation through publications, policy briefs, conferences, and learning platforms.
17. Support the development of regional evidence and data systems for understanding mental health trends and priorities.
18. Integrate the meaningful participation of persons with lived experience (PWLE) in programme design, implementation, governance, funding, and evaluation.
19. Strengthen mechanisms for PWLE representation in advisory structures, grant review processes, and community validation.
20. Promote safe, meaningful, and equitable PWLE participation, supporting their capacity development as co-researchers, advocates, and policy influencers.
21. Ensure programmes are African-led, context-relevant, and responsive to Africa’s cultural, social, and political realities.
22. Promote inclusive and participatory approaches to reduce stigma and strengthen responsive mental health systems.
23. Lead strategic engagement to bridge mental health research and policymaking, collaborating with scientists, PWLE, policymakers, governments, and communities.
24. Support collaborative policy platforms for co-creating evidence-informed solutions.
25. Facilitate the translation of research into actionable strategies at national and African Union levels, integrating mental health into broader health and development frameworks.
26. Provide strategic oversight for innovation and implementation initiatives, including digital health, AI, and community-based psychosocial care.
27. Promote cross-sectoral integration of mental health into education, climate adaptation, humanitarian response, and other development sectors.
28. Identify approaches with potential for adaptation, scale, and sustainable implementation.
29. Build and maintain senior-level relationships with governments, research institutions, funders, philanthropic organizations, private sector actors, civil society, lived-experience organizations, and mental health networks.
30. Represent SFA Foundation in high-level technical forums, conferences, policy platforms, and strategic partnership engagements.
31. Identify and pursue opportunities for programme growth, co-funding, strategic collaboration, and resource mobilization.
32. Lead or contribute to concept development, proposal writing, donor engagement, and partnership negotiations.
33. Strengthen South–South collaboration and engagement with the African diaspora to facilitate knowledge exchange and global partnerships.
34. Provide strategic oversight for mental health grant-making and grant programmes across the entire grant lifecycle.
35. Ensure appropriate due diligence, institutional capacity assessment, grantee performance management, and technical support.
36. Oversee programme budgets and resource utilization, ensuring financial stewardship, value for money, and compliance.
37. Identify and manage strategic, programme, operational, and reputational risks, ensuring timely mitigation and escalation.
38. Ensure compliance with SFA Foundation policies, funder requirements, ethical standards, and governance arrangements.
39. Establish and oversee programme-level monitoring, evaluation, and learning approaches to track outputs, outcomes, impact, and strategic contribution.
40. Utilize evidence, data, and learning for adaptive management, programme decisions, and continuous improvement.
41. Ensure high-quality management, donor, board, and strategic reporting on progress, risks, learning, and impact.
42. Promote the documentation and dissemination of lessons, good practices, evidence, and knowledge products.
43. Track progress against strategic indicators covering research excellence, innovation, implementation, policy engagement, lived-experience participation, and sustainability.
44. Lead, coach, mentor, and develop programme managers and staff, fostering a high-performance, inclusive, and collaborative culture.
45. Set clear expectations, accountabilities, and performance objectives, supporting staff development and succession planning.
46. Provide strategic and technical guidance to programme teams, promoting effective delegation, prioritization, and decision-making.
47. Collaborate with Finance, MEAL, Communications, Human Capital, and other professional services for integrated programme delivery.
48. Promote cross-programme learning, knowledge sharing, and collaboration across SFA Foundation.

1. Hold a PhD in Public Health, Psychology, Psychiatry, Mental Health, Global Health, Social Sciences, International Development, Health Policy, Research, or a related discipline.
2. A relevant professional qualification or certification in Programme Management, Research Administration, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mental Health, Grant Management, Leadership and Management, or a related field is an advantage.
3. Possess at least ten (10) years of relevant experience in mental health, research and development, public or global health, programme management, or grants management.
4. Demonstrate a proven track record of designing and leading complex, multi-component programmes in Africa.
5. Experience designing programmes from concept stage, including developing theories of change, results frameworks, delivery models, and budgets, and leading their implementation through to evaluation.
6. Experience leading multi-year, multi-country, or multi-partner programmes with interdependent workstreams, ideally including grant-making and strategic partnerships.
7. Experience in a senior programme leadership role, including line management of programme managers and multidisciplinary teams.
8. Strong understanding of mental health research, systems, policy, and practice in African contexts.
9. Expertise in programme design and management, including theory of change, results framework development, strategy, planning, budgeting, and risk and performance management.
10. Demonstrated ability to translate research and evidence into policy, practice, and programme decisions.
11. Strong grant management, donor engagement, and resource mobilization capabilities.
12. Excellent strategic thinking, analytical, problem-solving, negotiation, and decision-making skills.
13. Outstanding stakeholder engagement, influencing, communication, writing, and presentation skills.
14. Strong understanding of participatory approaches and the meaningful engagement of persons with lived experience.
15. Ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary, multicultural, and geographically diverse environments.
16. Strong financial oversight, judgment, prioritization, and organizational skills.
17. Demonstrated commitment to African-led, evidence-based, and context-relevant approaches.
18. Provides strategic leadership and translates programme vision into clear priorities, accountabilities, and measurable outcomes.
19. Builds and sustains trusted senior relationships with funders, governments, researchers, partners, and communities.
20. Leads through influence, evidence, and values, operating effectively at both strategic and operational levels.
21. Develops people through coaching, mentoring, delegation, feedback, and clear accountability.
22. Demonstrates sound judgment, integrity, resilience, and discretion in complex and changing environments.
23. Drives cross-functional collaboration, learning, innovation, and continuous improvement.
24. Promotes inclusive leadership and the meaningful participation of persons with lived experience.