Program Manager (French speaking)

About the role

Type : Full-time contractor (hours negotiable) Location : Remote, based in Sub-Saharan Africa (Africa time zones) Language Requirements : French fluency required Reports to: Head of Growth OpenFn is the digital public good for public service automation & AI orchestration. Our platform automates data exchange and digital workflows so that governments and NGOs can deliver public services more efficiently, achieve interoperability across fragmented systems, and scale critical public services across health, humanitarian, and government programs. Our team, Open Function Group, the primary steward of this open-source platform, is a lean, fully-remote team of integration specialists, solution architects, and implementation consultants working across 40+ countries. We are not making marginal improvements to already comfortable lives. We are building the infrastructure that allows governments to function, clinics to operate, and vulnerable populations to access services they depend on. The role We need a remote, relationship-driven, commercially-minded Program Manager who is genuinely technically fluent, someone who can speak credibly about our platform, integrations, and data workflows with technical and non-technical stakeholders alike, to keep our existing customers happy, engaged, and growing, and to help us stand up program management as a function for the very first time. We are hiring our first Program Manager to own and grow relationships with OpenFn’s existing customers as we transition to a subscription model built around packaged product-and-services bundles. As our first Program Manager in this market, you will own the full portfolio of existing subscription customers and be accountable for their retention, satisfaction, and growth. You will be the trusted advisor customers turn to, the person who makes sure they are getting real value from OpenFn, and the internal owner of the commercial health of each account. OpenFn is a genuinely technical product: our customers use it to build integrations, move data between systems, and automate complex digital workflows. You do not need to be an engineer, and you will not be doing hands-on implementation work; we have solution architects and implementation consultants for that. But you do need to be technically fluent: able to understand how customers use the platform, hold a credible conversation with their technical teams, spot when something is going wrong, and know when to bring in a specialist. That technical credibility is what will make you a genuine trusted advisor rather than just a point of contact. Because this is a foundational hire, you will both build and execute. You will not inherit a mature playbook; you will help create it, establishing the processes, cadences, and tooling that a strong program management function depends on, while carrying a live book of business from day one. Own & grow customer relationships Serve as the primary point of contact and trusted advisor for a portfolio of existing subscription customers Build strong, multi-threaded relationships across each customer organization, from day-to-day users through to senior decision-makers Develop and maintain account plans that map each customer’s objectives to the value OpenFn delivers Plan and lead Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and other regular check-ins Bring technical fluency to the relationship Develop a strong working understanding of the OpenFn platform and how each of your customers uses it Hold credible, substantive conversations with customers’ technical teams about their integrations, data workflows, and use cases Translate fluently between customers’ technical staff and their non-technical decision-makers Spot technical adoption risks early, and know when to bring in solution architects or implementation consultants Drive retention & expansion Own gross and net retention for your portfolio, and be accountable for renewals Forecast renewals accurately and manage the end-to-end renewal process Proactively identify at-risk accounts and lead recovery plans before they churn Identify and pursue opportunities to grow accounts, including tier upgrades and cross-sell of additional services Negotiate renewals and expansions in line with our pricing and packaging model Deliver value & coordinate delivery Ensure a smooth handoff from sales and implementation into ongoing program management Monitor product usage and adoption, and work with customers to close gaps and deepen engagement Act as the voice of the customer internally, channeling feedback to our product and services teams Coordinate with support and implementation teams to meet SLA commitments and deliver project-based work Manage escalations, bringing the right internal people together to resolve issues quickly Build the program management function Establish the playbooks, cadences, and health-scoring approach that will let program management scale as OpenFn grows Maintain accurate account data, activity, and forecasts in our CRM, and report on core retention/growth metrics to leadership Help migrate existing customers from legacy project-based arrangements onto the new subscription model Required Qualifications 3-7+ years of experience in account management, customer success, or a related customer-facing commercial role at a SaaS or subscription business A proven track record of retaining and growing a portfolio of customers, including owning renewals, forecasting, and driving upsell or expansion Experience managing customers for a technically substantive product, with a demonstrated ability to get up to speed on how a product actually works Genuine technical fluency: comfort discussing concepts such as APIs, integrations, data exchange, and workflow automation, and the ability to translate between technical and non-technical audiences Strong relationship-building skills, with the ability to earn trust with both technical users and senior stakeholders Experience running customer cadences such as QBRs, service reviews, and success planning Hands-on proficiency with a CRM, and a data-informed approach to managing account health and forecasts Fluent, professional-level English and French communication skills (written and verbal), with the ability to work effectively across a distributed, multicultural team A self-starter mindset suited to a foundational role where you build as well as execute, and the ability to work from home or a shared office space with fast, stable internet, preferably in a country located in Sub-Saharan Africa (Africa time zones) Preferred Qualifications Experience helping a business (or its customers) transition from project or services-based revenue to a subscription model A technical background (e.g. a computer science degree, or prior experience in engineering, technical support, solutions, or implementation), including hands-on experience with integration tooling, data pipelines, or APIs Experience managing government, NGO, public sector, or other international customers, ideally within the digital public goods or open source ecosystem Working knowledge of CRMs such as Salesforce or Odoo Additional language skills relevant to our customer base (e.g. Spanish, Portuguese) Experience selling and/or delivering complex digital transformation, business process transformation, or data integration projects Financial compensation includes a base salary plus variable pay tied to the retention and growth (upsell and expansion) of your portfolio. Total pay is commensurate with experience, per OpenFn’s Equal Pay for Equal Work framework; the detailed variable-pay mechanics are shared during the interview process. N.B.: Selling to NGO and government customers, we don’t offer Silicon Valley pay scales, but high quality of life and fair, transparent, and competitive compensation is important to us. Flexible working schedule We’re fully remote, with team meetups across Europe and Africa (our last three were in Kigali, Cape Town, and Dakar) Exposure to the hottest industry and technology trends and leading health, humanitarian, and government digital transformation interventions in the sector Opportunity for leadership and advancement; you will be a key contributor to our company’s strategy and direction The opportunity to shape our strategy and impact millions of lives through our open source software in a small, mission-driven organization