Senior Programme Manager

Location: Old Road Campus Research Building, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford, OX3 7DQ

We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Programme Manager to lead the delivery of the Africa Pandemic Sciences Collaborative, a transformative partnership with the Science for Africa (SFA) Foundation and Mastercard Foundation. This high-profile initiative aims to strengthen Africa’s pandemic sciences ecosystem by supporting emerging scientific leaders, advancing research and innovation, and enhancing pandemic preparedness and response capabilities across the continent. Funded at over $72 million, the Collaborative represents one of the University’s most significant global capacity-strengthening programmes and offers a unique opportunity to contribute to meaningful and lasting impact in global health and research leadership.

In this role, you will provide oversight of all aspects of the Collaborative, ensuring that programme objectives, milestones, and deliverables are achieved effectively and on schedule. The role will involve establishing and maintaining robust governance, planning, monitoring, and reporting structures, while coordinating activities across multiple partners, institutions, and workstreams. You will work closely with SFA Foundation, Mastercard Foundation, and internal University stakeholders to manage resources, monitor budgets, mitigate risks, and ensure compliance with donor terms and conditions. You will also support high-level stakeholder engagement, facilitate collaboration across geographically dispersed teams, and contribute to the long-term sustainability, visibility, and impact of the programme.

To be successful in this role, you will have substantial experience managing large-scale, complex programmes involving multiple stakeholders, ideally within higher education, global health, research, or international development environments. You will demonstrate strong leadership, organisational, and financial management capabilities, alongside experience in programme governance, donor compliance, strategic reporting, and partnership management. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills are essential, with the ability to build effective relationships with funders, institutional partners, and multidisciplinary teams across international contexts. Experience working within African research, health, or capacity-strengthening settings would be highly advantageous, as would a strong understanding of equitable global partnerships and collaborative programme delivery.

Applications for this vacancy should be made online and you will need to upload a supporting statement and CV. Your supporting statement must explain how you meet each of the selection criteria for the post using examples of your skills and experience. Please restrict your documentation to your CV and supporting statement only. Any other documents will be requested at a later date.

This position is offered full time on a fixed term contract for 36 months, and is funded by Mastercard Foundation Collaborative.

Only applications received before 12 midday on 3 June 2026 will be considered. Interviews will be held on 11 June 2026.

Please quote 186416 on all correspondence.