Partner Success Manager

ALX Africa; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 350,000 - 520,000; Part time

Job summary

ALX Africa is seeking a seasoned Partner Success Manager to drive successful execution of partner agreements from signature through completion. You will own the partner relationship, translate agreements into clear delivery plans, coordinate cross-functional teams, manage timelines, and report progress to ensure measurable outcomes.

This is a 10-month contract-based, freelancing role focused on talent and entrepreneurship outcomes.

Qualifications

• 4-5+ years in programme/project management, partner success or related delivery roles.
• Experience managing cross-functional teams and external stakeholders.
• Experience in talent development, employment or youth-focused programmes is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Translate signed partner agreements into delivery plans with milestones, KPIs and timelines.
• Coordinate internal teams and external stakeholders to deliver activities and outcomes.
• Manage changes to scope, timelines or deliverables and document them.
• Own programme close-out, ensuring all reporting and deliverables are completed.
• Track participant progression and ensure outcomes are achieved across the journey.

Skills

Programme management

Partner management

Account management

Stakeholder coordination

Project delivery

Job description

ALX Africa, a non-profit organisation under the ALX Foundation, is dedicated to unlocking the potential of Africa's digital future. Formerly part of Sand Tech Holdings, we've embarked on an independent journey to provide world-class tech skills training and career acceleration programmes. Our mission is to bridge the digital divide, upskill and re-skill talent, and create a generation of innovative leaders. By 2030, we aim to empower 2 million Africans to secure sustainable tech careers.

With hubs in 8 cities across Africa and counting, we provide safe access to quality learning and a dedicated network of expert instructors. Our innovative programmes equip learners with the practical skills and knowledge needed to succeed in today's rapidly evolving tech industry. Through a combination of rigorous coursework, industry partnerships, and hands-on projects, we prepare our students for in-demand roles in software engineering, data science, and cybersecurity.

Our impact thus far:

• 347k+ graduates since 2020
• 31k youth starting own ventures
• 60k youth in jobs created by entrepreneurs

Employment: 10-month contract | 1 October 2026 - 31 July 2027

Role Summary

The Partner Success Manager is responsible for the successful execution of partner agreements from signature through to completion.

This role owns the partner relationship while, critically, ensuring that everything agreed is translated into a clear delivery plan and executed to a high standard. The role will coordinate delivery across internal teams and external stakeholders, manage timelines and deliverables, track performance against agreed outcomes, and ensure partners receive consistent communication and reporting throughout the engagement.

This is an execution-heavy role: own the agreement, drive the delivery, manage the partner and ensure the outcomes are delivered.

Manage a portfolio of 1-3 partner relationships, depending on the size, complexity and strategic importance of each initiative. Larger, more complex partnerships will require deeper day-to-day programme management and stakeholder coordination, while smaller initiatives may allow the role to manage a broader portfolio.

The role will manage partnerships focused on talent and entrepreneurship outcomes, ensuring that participants move successfully through the agreed customer journey and that the partnership delivers measurable economic outcomes.

Typical Partnership Scope

The core journey is:

Depending on the partnership, this may also include an entrepreneurship pathway:

The Partner Success Manager is responsible for ensuring the activities, stakeholders and deliverables required at each stage of the journey are coordinated and executed effectively.

This includes:

• Recruitment & Selection: Coordinating agreed recruitment and selection activities to ensure the right participants are identified, selected and onboarded against programme requirements.
• Skills: Ensuring participants are successfully enrolled, engaged and progressing through the agreed learning experience.
• Work Readiness: Coordinating career preparation, professional skills, CV/profile development, interview preparation and other agreed readiness interventions.
• Placement / Self-Employment: Driving the coordination of employer, recruitment, client and opportunity pipelines to support agreed employment, freelance, contract or self-employment outcomes.
• Business Readiness: Where applicable, coordinating the support required to prepare participants to develop and operate viable businesses.
• Venture Development: Where applicable, coordinating entrepreneurship support from venture development through to income generation and business growth.
• Retention & Progression: Ensuring agreed post-placement or post-programme support, tracking and interventions are delivered to support sustained outcomes and progression.
• Monitoring & Tracking: Maintaining accurate visibility of participant progress, programme milestones, deliverables and outcomes throughout the partnership, and ensuring data is available for reporting.
• Partner Outcomes: Ensuring the partner has clear visibility of progress and that agreed impact and outcome targets are achieved, evidenced and communicated.

Specific Responsibilities

Own Partner Agreement Execution

• Translate signed partner agreements into clear delivery plans, milestones, KPIs, timelines and accountabilities.
• Ensure every contractual deliverable has a clear owner and is actively tracked through to completion.
• Coordinate internal teams and external stakeholders to deliver agreed activities and outcomes.
• Manage changes to scope, timelines or deliverables and ensure these are appropriately documented.
• Identify delivery risks and gaps early and drive resolution.
• Own programme close-out, ensuring all contractual deliverables and reporting requirements are completed.

Own the Participant / Beneficiary Journey

• Coordinate delivery across the agreed journey - from Recruitment & Selection through Skills, Work Readiness, Placement / Self-Employment, Retention & Progression, through to Monitoring & Tracking.
• Ensure handovers between each stage are clearly defined and effectively managed.
• Track participant progression through the journey and identify bottlenecks, drop-off points and delivery gaps.
• Work across recruitment, programme, operations, placement and other teams to ensure participants receive the agreed experience and support.
• Where entrepreneurship forms part of the partnership, coordinate delivery across Business Readiness, Venture Development, Income / Business Growth and Retention & Progression.
• Ensure participant and programme data is accurately captured throughout the journey.

Manage Partner & Delivery, Stakeholders

• Serve as the primary day-to-day contact for assigned partners.
• Build strong, trusted relationships while maintaining clear accountability for agreed deliverables.
• Establish appropriate meeting, communication and escalation rhythms with partners and internal stakeholders.
• Coordinate employers, recruitment agencies, clients, ecosystem partners and other external stakeholders where required to deliver outcomes.
• Communicate progress, challenges, risks and changes proactively.
• Manage expectations and resolve issues before they escalated.

Own Monitoring, Reporting & Outcomes

• Maintain a clear view of programme performance against agreed milestones, KPIs and outcomes.
• Track the conversion and progression of participants across the journey - from recruitment through to economic outcomes.
• Produce accurate and timely partner reports, programme updates and performance reviews.
• Ensure outcomes are supported by reliable data and evidence.
• Identify underperformance and work with relevant teams to develop and implement corrective actions.
• Capture lessons learned and use performance insights to improve programme execution.

Drive Partner Success, Retention & Growth

• Ensure partners have visibility of delivery, progress and impact throughout the engagement.
• Build confidence through consistent execution, communication and delivery against commitments.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen the partnership based on performance, outcomes and partner priorities.
• Support renewals, extensions and future opportunities by demonstrating successful delivery and impact.
• Feed delivery insights back into the Partnerships and Commercial teams to strengthen future proposals and partnership design.

Success Measures

• 100% of agreed deliverables completed on time
• 100% of active agreements have documented delivery plans, owners and timelines
• All partner reporting was delivered accurately and on schedule
• Delivery issues identified and addressed proactively
• High partner satisfaction and strong renewal/extension rates
• Clear internal accountability for every partner commitment

Skill Requirements

• 4-5+ years' experience in programme/project management, partner success, client/account management, partnerships, or programme delivery.
• Experience working with corporates, foundations, NGOs, employers, recruitment partners or ecosystem organisations, with the ability to manage relationships and coordinate delivery across multiple stakeholders.
• Experience in talent development, employment, entrepreneurship or youth-focused programmes, with an understanding of the participant journey from recruitment through to skills development and economic outcomes.
• Proven ability to take a signed agreement from commitment through to execution and close-out, managing deliverables, timelines, dependencies and outcomes.
• Strong project management and organisational skills, with exceptional attention to detail, follow-through and ability to manage multiple workstreams.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate across multiple teams and stakeholders, hold people accountable to commitments, and keep delivery moving.
• Strong relationship management skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships while maintaining clear expectations and accountability.
• Comfortable working with KPIs, programme data, trackers and reporting, using data to monitor progress, identify gaps and drive corrective action.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to provide clear partner updates, performance reports and escalations.
• Highly proactive and solutions-oriented, with the ability to identify risks early, resolve issues and escalating effectively.

Person Specification/Attributes

• Courage: Willingness to speak up, challenge the status quo, and embrace new challenges.
• Humility: Openness to learning, seeking help when needed, and a focus on serving others.
• Adventure: A passion for setting ambitious goals, tackling difficult tasks, and finding joy in the journey.
• Initiative: Proactive problem-solving, a sense of ownership, and a willingness to go above and beyond.
• Resilience: The ability to bounce back from setbacks, persevere through challenges, and emerge stronger.
• Leadership: Ability to coach, guide, and develop others while driving results.

Employment Type

This role is a freelancing role.

Work Hours

This is a full-time freelance engagement. You will be required to work from the hub at least 2 days per week.