Explore Program Coach (Nigeria, South Africa)

SCOPE OF WORK + OBJECTIVES CONTEXT 54 Collective exists to create a thriving African startup economy that drives prosperity across Africa. We are venture builders dedicated to solving some of Africa's biggest challenges and capitalising on its incredible potential by leveraging market and tech opportunities. We seek to build an ecosystem that supports authentic innovation and our goal is to be the best growth engine for entrepreneurs across Africa and beyond. We believe by supporting entrepreneurship and innovation, we will unlock employment opportunities and drive inclusive growth across the continent.
Since 2019, we have supported 50+ African ventures with investment capital alongside hands-on support backed by 40+, full-time, experts covering engineering, product development, growth, corporate partnerships and investment.54 Collective Entrepreneur Academy is seeking a dynamic and experienced Program Coach to join our team. This role is crucial in providing personalised support to aspiring entrepreneurs who join our 7-week Explore program, an entrepreneurship program where they learn how to refine their business ideas into tested investable business concepts. The Program Coach will guide aspiring entrepreneurs by evaluating project submissions and Explore Lab applications, focusing on the practical application of concepts, project viability, and market readiness. Using a provided rubric, the coach will assess business models, customer research, and pilot plans, offering constructive feedback to foster improvement. They will provide office hours for participant questions, engage actively with the community on WhatsApp and the LMS, facilitate discussions, virtual study groups, AMAs (Ask Me Anything) sessions and lead in-person workshops. The coach will share relevant content, conduct qualitative research through 1-on-1 interactions, and participate in review meetings to ensure alignment on evaluation criteria. Additionally, they will document participant progress, regularly report on community engagement, and provide insights for program improvements, contributing to internal and stakeholder reports.
Key Responsibilities Evaluating Explore Lab Applications: Evaluate projects based on real-world applications undertaken by participants to ensure the practical application of concepts they've learned.Ensure that participants' projects are viable and have a clear path to market by evaluating their business models, market research, and strategic plans.Assess participants' readiness to move into the testing and validation phase by reviewing their prototypes, pilot plans, and initial user feedback.Assess the feasibility, innovation, and potential impact of participants' business ideas and projects using the established evaluation rubric.Feedback Provision: Provide succinct but constructive feedback to participants to help them better develop their business ideas, addressing both strengths and areas needing improvement according to the evaluation rubric.Other Evaluation Responsibilities: Utilize evaluation rubrics that align with the program's objectives to ensure consistency and fairness in assessments.Collaborate with the team and other coaches and facilitators to discuss and align on evaluation criteria and best practices.Participate in review meetings to share insights and recommendations for program improvement based on evaluation outcomes.Document and report on participants' progress and outcomes for internal reviews and stakeholder reports.Coaching Participants: Evaluate project based on real-world projects that participants undertake to ensure practical application of concepts they've learned.Provide succinct but constructive feedback to participants to help them better develop their business ideas.Conducting office hours with program participants: Be available to participants during pre-defined periods to offer feedback and answer questions about the program content and project submissions, ensuring continuous support.Leading in-person and online workshops with program participants: Lead in-person and online workshops and group calls to help participants refine and improve their project work before submitting for grading.Conducting qualitative research: Collect feedback on participants' experiences of the program through multiple interactions, including 1-on-1 conversations and observations.Report findings and recommendations to the Program Implementation Manager to continuously improve the program based on participant feedback.Engage and lead community discussions and study groups: Initiate and facilitate community conversations centred on the topics being covered to foster a collaborative learning environment and encourage peer learning and support.Share relevant content, blogs, and resources on the community platform to provide ongoing support and information.Encourage participants to share their progress and successes within the community to build a supportive and motivating environment.Scope of work and Breakdown Pre-programOnboarding Description: Attend the onboarding meetings and activities. Understand the content and ensure you are clear with the coach's expectations.Objective: Coaches' feedback, readiness assessment, and clear understanding of the content.Expected Output: Coaches' feedback, readiness assessment, and clear understanding of the content.Frequency: One-off (1.5 weeks)Explore Lab and Business Model Application Evaluation Description: Review and evaluate participant submissions.Objective: Participant submission scores.Expected Output: Participant submission scores.Frequency: One-off (Full day engagement for 9 days)In-programIn-person workshops Description: Lead and facilitate in-person workshops and engage with participants on the most problematic topics within the content and help participants with where they're stuck in their assignments while facilitating peer-engagement and learning.Objective: Pre-workshop: Prepare training material – facilitation guides. Post-workshop: Debrief Notes. Share a brief narrative as per the template/guide shared including the progress, challenges, and support/guidance offered in the session, and any additional support required from other service providers.Expected Output: Pre-workshop: Facilitation guides. Post-workshop: Debrief notes.Frequency: 4 in-person Workshops (Full day engagement)Assignment grading (online) Description: Review and evaluate participant submissions.Objective: Participant submission scores.Expected Output: Participant grades assigned on the LMS, Feedback emails sent to participants through Thinkific.Frequency: 4 grading periods within the programOne-on-One and group coaching sessions & Community support (online) Description: Coach and engage with participants 1:1 to answer any questions they have regarding the content and assignments, agree on next steps, and follow up on previously discussed action points.Objective: 1:1 coaching notes.Expected Output: 1:1 coaching notes.Frequency: 30 minutes per business and around an hour for group coaching (Mandatory for coaches and on need basis for participants)Post ProgramCoaches Debrief Sessions Description: Engage with other service providers (coaches) to share business updates and requests or offer additional support for the businesses based on subject matter expertise facilitated by the Entrepreneur Academy Implementation Lead.Objective: Provide the client and the other service providers with a brief progress update, including progress made, challenges faced, and support needed per business.Expected Output: Provide the client and the other service providers with a brief progress update, including progress made, challenges faced, and support needed per business.Frequency: Once a week for duration of the programRetrospective session Description: Share feedback with the client to improve future cohorts.Objective: Share feedback based on insights with the client and proposed improvements where applicable.Expected Output: Share an overview of the allocated businesses progress to date as per the template shared.Frequency: Once, end of programPost Program Survey Description: To gather valuable feedback on the effectiveness of the coaching sessions.Objective: Help identify strengths and areas for improvement in the coaching process, measure the impact of the coaching on the entrepreneurs' progress, and ensure the program meets its goals of supporting and enhancing entrepreneurial success.Expected Output: Help identify strengths and areas for improvement in the coaching process, measure the impact of the coaching on the entrepreneurs' progress, and ensure the program meets its goals of supporting and enhancing entrepreneurial success.Frequency: Once, end of programQualifications At least 3 years of experience in market and customer research, prototyping, business modelling, end-to-end design of a new product/service, or a similar role supporting startups or SMEs.Actual entrepreneurial experience is highly desirable.Strong understanding of human-centred design (i.e. building with the customer in mind) and lean startup principles (i.e. constantly testing assumptions with customers) that can be applied to entrepreneurship.Exceptional analytical, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills.Excellent qualitative research skills.Verbal & written communication, interpersonal, and time management skills.Ability to work independently and as part of a team.Strong workshop facilitation skills are a plus.Equal Opportunity Employer Interested candidates should submit a resume, and any relevant work samples demonstrating their fit for this role to 54 Collective's recruitment team. We are hiring on a rolling basis. 54 Collective is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment with the best employees. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, communities, and industries, and are committed to having a team that is made up of diverse skills, experiences, and abilities.This role can be based in Johannesburg or Lagos.
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