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Position: Program Coordinator: Hardware Portfolio
Group: Engineering Sustainable Development
Location: Full-time, Remote (East Africa – Kenya preferred)

ASME’s Engineering Sustainable Development group is looking for a passionate Program Coordinator based in East Africa to join their Hardware team. This involves supporting their work with the hardware impact innovation ecosystem including the ISHOW accelerator.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Program Specialist (Hardware Portfolio), the Program Coordinator (Hardware Portfolio) shall provide program development and coordination across ASME’s hardware-led social innovation portfolio. This currently includes, ASME ISHOW accelerator and IDEA LAB incubator as well as programming currently under development intended to advance the hardware-led social innovation ecosystem in target regions (East Africa, India, United States).

The Program Coordinator will execute the development, implementation, and evaluation of these programs and any new initiatives of the ASME Hardware portfolio. This will involve design and implementation of existing programs and new initiatives in alignment with strategic priorities. Specifically, the Program Coordinator will assist with program and event execution, impact
measurement and management and delivery of strategic initiatives to enhance the effectiveness and reach of ASME’s social innovation programs. They will lead the planning and execution of the same including conducting various administrative and logistical tasks, and undertaking efforts to build the ASME Hardware community.

This role presents an opportunity to directly contribute to advancing innovation on a global level and addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while tackling pressing global challenges. This position allows you to network with experts in hardware innovation, gaining insights and support to enhance your skill set. You’ll be joining a small, fast-paced team to build competency in the ASME Hardware Portfolio’s design, engineering, and review (DER) process, equipping you with valuable experience that can accelerate your career in the field of engineering and social innovation. Overall, this role not only empowers you to make a meaningful impact but also fosters your development as a professional in the innovation space.

Principal Accountabilities

Program Development

Responsibilities include:

• Contributing to the ongoing development of ASME’s hardware social innovation ecosystem strengthening programming, including the East-Africa-focused pilot in 2025 and further iterations and scaling across target regions.
• Developing approaches and structures to duplicate successes and where appropriate consolidate programming across ASME’s hardware portfolio.
• Continuous refinement and improvement of existing programming according to learning from Impact Measurement and Management systems.
• Supporting with preparation of proposals and other relevant documentation/materials for funding applications and partnership development

Program & Event Execution

Provide comprehensive support for the IDEA LAB, ISHOW and Ecosystem-strengthening programs, including the regional ISHOWs, ISHOW Bootcamp, Idea Lab incubator and Ecosystem-strengthening pilot, to innovators, domain experts, and support staff/contractors. Coordination, Logistic and Administrative Support responsibilities, all to be conducted in alignment with program schedules, timelines and milestones, include:

• Supporting with recruitment/identification, application review and onboarding for innovators, experts, and facilitators.
• Serving as the primary point of contact for program participants, ventures, industry experts, and other program stakeholders.
• Facilitating communication and collaboration with and amongst all stakeholders to ensure program success.
• Organizing and scheduling meetings and preparing materials in support of mentorship, trainings, workshops, reflection/feedback sessions, and other program activities.
• Tracking innovators’ progress, capturing recommendations made during events, and managing actions and recommendations from experts.
• Ensure smooth operation of all program-related events and activities, including making necessary arrangements for virtual or in-person events as appropriate.

Impact Measurement & Management Support

Assist with ASME’s Impact Management Metrics initiatives for the ASME Hardware programs. This includes:

• Data collection, synthesis, refinement, and analysis to measure ASME’s SROI
• Creating data visualizations / presentation slides and developing talking points to effectively communicate our initiatives and impact to existing partners/funders as well as attract new funders.
• Collaborate with marketing and ecosystem partners to track and enhance application growth and identify potential sponsors and experts.
• Conduct reflection sessions to consolidate and share learning within the hardware team and across the Engineering Sustainable Development department.

Continuous Improvement & Community Building

• Contribute to continuous improvement of documentation and processes for efficiency and quality.
• Leverage knowledge from similar programs and groups to enhance and promote ASME’s thought leadership.
• Platform Transition Management: Finalize the transition of ASME Hardware digital systems from primarily in GSuite and Typeform to primarily in Airtable for managing task tracking, expert recruitment, applications, application review, CRM and data management.
• Serve as an ambassador for Entrepreneurs, sharing insights and fostering connections within the entrepreneurial community, managing connections and collaboration between program alumni and ecosystem stakeholders.

Key Qualifications

Necessary

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Innovation, other aligned fields or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 2-3 years of experience in program coordination or related roles, preferably in a hardware incubator or accelerator environment.
• Strong organizational and project management skills with experience facilitating successful outcomes.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to support a range of activities and adapt to evolving program needs and priorities managing multiple tasks.
• A passion for supporting entrepreneurs and fostering innovation.
• Proficiency in English
• Technical Proficiency: Familiarity with GSuite, Microsoft 365, or equivalent.

Preferred

• Experience in hardware development, social innovation/startup ecosystems, project coordination/management and in-person/event management all helpful.
  • Certification in project management or a related field
• Strong skills in creating impactful presentation materials.
• Knowledge of impact measurement metrics and experience in data analysis.
• Experience with meeting facilitation and relationship management with various parties/stakeholders.
• Technical Proficiency: Familiarity with GSuite and Microsoft 365 with knowledge of AirTable, Typeform, and AI tools (such as Microsoft Co-Pilot) or other equivalent tools used for project and data management and AI-based efficient program delivery.

Work Schedule & Hours

This position is remote and can be performed from a home office (or work-from-home basis). However occasional travel to attend/support execution of in-person events will be required. Working hours will be discussed and determined with the supervisor based on project needs, with flexibility to accommodate different time zones. Evening hours (EAT) may be required to attend meetings scheduled in US time zones.

ASME’s Hardware Social Innovation Portfolio

Turning an idea into a market-ready solution is often a complex process. The ASME ISHOW serves as an international accelerator for hardware-led social innovation, welcoming individuals and organizations that aim to bring physical products to market with a positive social and environmental impact—aligning with ASME’s mission of advancing engineering for the benefit of humanity. Each year ISHOW supports a global cohort of ventures through a holistic program that addresses the complexities of scaling in frontier markets focusing on integrating design and engineering diligence into the social and environmental innovation space, while championing hardware innovators.

ASME Idea Lab incubates idea and concept-stage innovation, supporting a small cohort of hardware social innovators in the first steps of their journey towards market, providing them access to mentors and guidance that enables them to progress to the next stage.

These programs both match innovators and ventures with experts, training and resources to help them advance their product development and move their innovation forward. Learning from this approach and the networks established while delivering these programs is currently being applied to a new program track seeking to strengthen hardware social innovation ecosystems in East Africa, India and the United States. After an initial phase of research and human-centered design, this program is currently entering its pilot year, during which we will be exploring, testing, analyzing and iterating on programming that helps address ecosystem needs, creating new partnerships and increasing connectivity amongst entrepreneurs, industry experts and other ecosystem stakeholders. This will be piloted in East Africa.