Programme Manager – Tunisia – Women’s Entrepreneurship Programme

About SPARK

SPARK is an international non-profit organization that develops higher education and entrepreneurship to empower young, ambitious people to lead their conflict-affected societies into prosperity. For more than 30 years, SPARK has worked across the Middle East, Africa and Europe to improve access to quality education, strengthen entrepreneurship ecosystems and support the creation and growth of sustainable businesses. Through partnerships with universities, business support organizations, financial institutions, private sector actors and governments, SPARK contributes to economic resilience, job creation and inclusive private sector development. Today, SPARK implements programmes in more than fifteen countries and works with a broad range of institutional donors, governments and private sector partners to create opportunities for young people and entrepreneurs.

About the Women’s Entrepreneurship Programme

Women’s Entrepreneurship Programme is a multi-year regional initiative implemented by SPARK to strengthen women’s entrepreneurship ecosystems in Tunisia and Tunisia.

The programme seeks to improve the performance, sustainability and inclusiveness of organizations supporting women entrepreneurs while expanding access to high-quality business development services, finance, markets and entrepreneurial networks for women-led enterprises. Working in close partnership with local ecosystem actors, the programme promotes locally owned solutions, institutional capacity strengthening and innovative approaches that contribute to more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems.

The programme combines institutional strengthening, technical assistance, partnership development, grants and ecosystem collaboration to create lasting impact for women entrepreneurs and the organizations that support them.

Position Summary

SPARK is seeking an experienced, entrepreneurial and highly motivated Programme Manager to lead the implementation of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Programme in Tunisia. We are looking for an inspiring leader with a strong commitment to women’s economic empowerment and gender-transformative entrepreneurship development, capable of translating this vision into practical, high-quality programme implementation and lasting systemic change.

The Programme Manager will provide strategic and operational leadership for the programme in Tunisia, ensuring high-quality delivery, effective stakeholder engagement and strong coordination with programme partners, government institutions, women’s organizations and entrepreneurship ecosystem actors.

The successful candidate will play a support role during the inception phase, establishing implementation systems, building strategic partnerships and representing SPARK nationally while promoting more inclusive and gender-transformative entrepreneurship ecosystems that enable women entrepreneurs to start, grow and scale sustainable businesses.

Purpose of the Position

The Programme Manager is responsible for providing strategic, managerial and operational leadership to ensure successful implementation of the programme in Tunisia. Specifically, the Programme Manager will:

• Lead the successful delivery of programme objectives and expected results in Tunisia.
• Build and maintain strategic partnerships with government institutions, entrepreneurship support organizations, women’s organizations, private sector actors, financial institutions and development partners.
• Ensure effective planning, implementation, monitoring and adaptive management of programme activities.
• Oversee the management of programme partners and grant recipients while ensuring quality standards and compliance requirements are met.
• Lead the country programme team and foster a collaborative, high-performing working environment.
• Represent SPARK nationally and contribute to positioning the organization as a trusted partner in entrepreneurship ecosystem development and women’s economic empowerment.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Programme Leadership

• Lead the overall implementation of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Programme in Tunisia, ensuring timely and high-quality delivery of all programme components.
• Translate programme objectives into realistic annual work plans, implementation schedules and operational priorities.
• Ensure effective coordination between programme components, consultants, in-country partners and SPARK Headquarters.
• Promote adaptive management by continuously assessing programme performance and recommending improvements based on evidence and lessons learned.
• Ensure that programme implementation remains responsive to the evolving needs of women entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship support organizations.
• Anticipate implementation risks and proactively identify practical solutions to maintain programme momentum.
• Ensure programme activities consistently contribute to sustainable and measurable impact.

Support of the Inception Phase

• Coordinate the successful delivery of all inception phase activities within agreed timelines.
• Support the mobilization and coordination of international and national consultants.
• Support with country assessments, ecosystem mapping exercises and stakeholder consultations.
• Facilitate consultations with government institutions, ecosystem actors and women’s organizations to validate programme priorities.
• Support the development and localization of programme implementation tools and operational procedures.
• Contribute to the preparation of annual implementation plans and country roadmaps.
• Support the establishment of programme governance and coordination mechanisms.
• Ensure effective communication between the Tunisia team and SPARK Regional Program Director and Headquarters throughout the inception phase.

Partnership Development and Stakeholder Engagement

• Establish and maintain strong working relationships with relevant ministries, public institutions and local authorities.
• Build strategic partnerships with Business Support Organizations (BSOs), Innovation Support Organizations (ISOs), women’s organizations, financial institutions, universities and private sector actors.
• Identify opportunities for strategic partnerships that increase programme impact and sustainability.
• Represent SPARK at national conferences, workshops, policy dialogues and ecosystem events.

Grant Portfolio Oversight

• Support the design and implementation of competitive calls for proposals.
• Coordinate outreach activities to ensure broad participation from eligible organizations.
• Support the assessment and selection of partner organizations in collaboration with technical committees.
• Oversee programme implementation by grant recipients, ensuring compliance with contractual obligations and programme objectives.
• Ensure effective coordination between technical assistance activities and grant implementation.
• Promote learning and knowledge sharing among in-country partners.
• Support the identification and mitigation of implementation risks associated with partner performance.

Programme Quality, Monitoring and Adaptive Management

• Monitor implementation progress against annual work plans and programme targets.
• Promote evidence-based decision making and adaptive management.
• Ensure programme activities contribute to measurable and sustainable outcomes.
• Work closely with the MEL Advisor and MEL coordinator to strengthen programme learning and performance management.
• Review implementation progress and identify corrective actions where necessary.
• Promote innovation and continuous improvement across programme implementation.

Team Leadership

• Provide day-to-day leadership, guidance and coaching to programme staff.
• Promote teamwork, accountability and professional development.
• Delegate responsibilities effectively while ensuring high-quality delivery.
• Conduct regular performance reviews and provide constructive feedback.
• Foster a culture of integrity, inclusion and continuous learning.

Financial Oversight and Resource Management

• Lead the preparation of annual operational plans and country implementation budgets in close coordination with SPARK Africa Hub/Headquarters.
• Monitor programme expenditure against approved budgets and work plans, ensuring timely implementation and efficient use of resources.
• Review budget forecasts and expenditure trends, identifying potential risks and proposing corrective actions where required.
• Ensure that programme implementation complies with SPARK’s financial procedures, donor requirements and internal control systems.
• Review partner budgets, work plans and financial reports in collaboration with finance and programme teams.
• Support the preparation of programme revisions and budget reallocations where necessary.

Risk Management, Compliance and Safeguarding

• Ensure compliance with SPARK’s internal policies and procedures, including procurement, financial management and grant management requirements.
• Promote a culture of accountability, integrity and transparency across the programme team and in-country partners.
• Ensure that safeguarding, prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), fraud prevention and ethical conduct are integrated into programme implementation.
• Support internal and external audits, evaluations and donor monitoring missions.
• Ensure that programme documentation is complete, accurate and maintained in accordance with organizational requirements.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Master’s degree in International Development, Business Administration, Economics, Public Policy, Social Sciences or another relevant field.
• Minimum 8 years of progressively responsible experience managing complex donor-funded development programmes.
• Demonstrated experience managing multi-stakeholder programmes involving government institutions, civil society organizations, private sector actors and development partners.
• Strong understanding of entrepreneurship development, private sector development, innovation ecosystems and business support services.
• Demonstrated experience working on programmes promoting women’s economic empowerment, gender transformative initiatives, entrepreneurship or inclusive economic development.
• Experience supervising programme teams and managing multidisciplinary professionals.
• Demonstrated and outstanding experience working with competitive grant mechanisms, partnerships and institutional capacity strengthening programmes.
• Strong planning, coordination and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Experience working with international donors and applying results-based management approaches.
• Excellent communication, facilitation and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent report writing skills in English and French
• Experience working with Dutch-funded, European Union or other major bilateral donor programmes.
• Experience working with national policy dialogue processes relating to entrepreneurship, SME development or women’s economic empowerment.
• Existing professional network within Tunisia’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Languages

Applicants must demonstrate:

• Fluency in French (written and spoken).
• Professional proficiency in English (written and spoken).
• Fluency in Arabic.

How to apply?

Interested candidates are invited to submit the following documents :

• A cover letter outlining their motivation and demonstrating how their qualifications and experience meet the requirements of the position.
• An up-to-date Curriculum Vitae (CV), including the contact details of at least three professional references.

Applications must be submitted no later than 31st August 2026 through https://vacancy.sparkonline.org/Tab1/LoadProfileFromVacancy/694

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

SPARK is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We encourage qualified women, persons with disabilities, and candidates from diverse backgrounds to apply. Recruitment and selection are conducted in accordance with SPARK’s safeguarding, integrity, and equal opportunity policies.

If you have not received a reply, we regret to inform you that we have continued with other candidates.