Healthcare Venture Manager

ABOUT ALU

ALU provides higher education for a higher purpose. Our students declare missions, not majors.
They develop the real-world skills to take on the world’s most pressing challenges. And they take ownership of their learning from day one through our peer and student-led approach – because ALU believes in the power and agency of young people to start shaping the future right now.
Together with a world-class faculty and staff, our students are igniting a ripple of positive impact across Africa and the world.

HOW WE WORK

As a high-growth start-up, the ALU Team works in starkly different ways to traditional academic bureaucracies. We approach education from first principles, empower individuals to design, test, and implement creative new ideas, and work closely together to craft transformative learning experiences. We are deeply passionate about our students and excited by the challenge of building something entirely new.

The African Leadership University is committed to ensuring the safety and Well-being of all students under our care. As part of this commitment , we have a comprehensive safeguarding policy in place , which outlines our Zero-tolerance approach to any violation of safeguarding.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Health Venture Manager (HVM) is a core staff member under ALU’s Africa Higher Education Health Collaborative, funded by the Mastercard Foundation. This role is responsible for driving the Health Entrepreneurship (HENT) pillar, one of three pillars within the Health Collaborative and will directly contribute to creating sustainable, job-generating, mission-driven ventures in Africa’s health sector.

The HVM will lead the implementation of ALU’s health venture incubation efforts, including managing the venture fund, coordinating the ALX Health Accelerator, and supporting venture showcases and events such as the FemStem Hackathon. This position ensures the HENT deliverables are executed on time, within scope, and aligned with broader ecosystem-building and impact goals.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES

Program Responsibilities

• Venture Lifecycle Management

  •   Design and implement processes that support ventures from ideation through acceleration to scale.
  •   Manage the Health Venture Fund, including application design, review and selection, MOU and compliance management, disbursement, and impact assessment.
  •   Ensure fund utilization aligns with donor requirements and risk management protocols.
  •   Collaborate with ALU teams and external partners, such as the University of Toronto’s Health Innovation Hub (H2i), to deliver high-impact venture acceleration programming.

  Accelerator and Fellowship Oversight

  •   Oversee the planning and delivery of the ALX Health Accelerator and Health Venture Fellowship.
  •   Organize masterclasses, sector deep dives, mentorship sessions, and Demo Days.
  •   Ensure accelerator and fellowship activities are aligned with ALU’s BEL curriculum and mission-based learning approach.
  •   Support fellows post-graduation to refine their ventures, access networks, and prepare for scale and investment readiness.

  Mentorship Program Development

  •   Design and manage a structured mentorship framework to support both students and alumni founders.
  •   Recruit, train, and manage a diverse pool of mentors and sector experts.
  •   Pair ventures with appropriate mentors, track engagements, and assess mentorship impact.

  Event Coordination and Hackathon Leadership

  •   Plan and execute pillar events including venture showcases e.g. hackathons, PAC sessions.
  •   Lead end-to-end coordination of venture showcases, including venue, logistics, panelist engagement, tech setup, branding, and participant outreach.
  •   Develop and distribute communication materials such as impact reports, posters, videos, and promotional content.
  •   Ensure all events are inclusive, professionally executed, and aligned with the branding of ALU and the Health Collaborative.

  Equity and Inclusion

  ·   Apply a gender-responsive and youth-focused lens across all programs, ensuring equitable access and tracking participation among underrepresented groups.

Operational Responsibilities

• Data Management and Impact Reporting

  •   Build and maintain dashboards to track venture progress, mentorship outcomes, fund usage, and program KPIs.
  •   Collect and analyze both qualitative and quantitative data to inform decision-making and adaptive program design.
  •   Generate timely and insightful reports for ALU leadership, the HENT PAC, and Mastercard Foundation stakeholders.
  •   Track the long-term outcomes of both student and alumni ventures, including employment creation and community impact.

  Digital Platform and Ecosystem Tools

  •   Ensure supported startups create and maintain robust FutureList profiles and receive website-building support.
  •   Manage ALU’s contributions to the broader Collaborative digital ecosystem, ensuring content is updated, accurate, and reflective of the venture pipeline.

  Budget Oversight

  •   Develop and manage budgets for venture programming, including accelerator, fellowship, hackathon, and fund-related expenses.
  •   Ensure responsible financial planning, timely procurement, and reporting in line with institutional and donor policies.

  Program Documentation and Learning

  •   Capture learnings from program implementation to inform internal reflection, course correction, and future scaling.
  •   Document feedback from students, mentors, partners, and Collaborative peers to build institutional knowledge.

Strategic and External Responsibilities

• Stakeholder Engagement

  •   Serve as ALU’s primary contact for the Health Entrepreneurship Pillar, engaging with the PAC, Collaborative institutions, donors, and innovation ecosystem stakeholders.
  •   Provide regular updates to the HENT PAC and contribute to cross-institutional alignment within the Health Collaborative.
  •   Represent ALU in health innovation forums, partner meetings, and Collaborative convenings.

  Cross-ALU Coordination

  •   Work closely with ALU’s academic teams, mission curation, and student development units to integrate entrepreneurship programming with student learning journeys.
  •   Ensure entrepreneurship initiatives reinforce ALU’s institutional priorities and support broader educational outcomes.

  Opportunity Development and Ecosystem Visibility

  •   Proactively identify new opportunities for venture support, partnerships, and ecosystem engagement.
  •   Build visibility for ALU’s health entrepreneurship work across Africa by developing external partnerships and contributing to thought leadership efforts.

  Alumni Engagement and Retention

  •   Maintain strong relationships with alumni entrepreneurs and integrate them into ongoing programming as mentors, speakers, or showcase participants.
  •   Track alumni venture outcomes and engage them in peer learning and visibility opportunities.

   

 

REQUIREMENTS

Essential:

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as Public Health, Business, Innovation, or Entrepreneurship.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in entrepreneurship support, startup incubation, or innovation program management.
• Demonstrated experience working with or within early-stage ventures, preferably in a health or social impact context.
• Deep understanding of the entrepreneurial life cycle: from ideation to funding and scale
• Strong project management skills with a proven ability to manage multiple workstreams.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trust with diverse stakeholders.
• Analytical mindset with experience in monitoring and evaluation, using data to track progress and inform decision-making.
• Comfortable working independently in fast-paced, high-accountability environments.

 

Desired:

• Master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., MPH, MBA, MSc Innovation or Development Practice).
• Direct experience founding a venture or working as a senior team member at a startup.
• Familiarity with health systems, digital health, or health innovation ecosystems in Africa.
• Experience coordinating accelerator programs, fellowships, or entrepreneurship competitions.
• Strong financial acumen: comfortable reviewing budgets, assessing business models, and providing light-touch advisory on startup operations.
• Confident facilitator, capable of running workshops, moderating panels, or mentoring founders.
• Cultural fluency and sensitivity, particularly in pan-African or international collaborative environments.