Head, Workforce Development

ABOUT MASTERCARD FOUNDATION

Mastercard Foundation seeks a world where everyone has the opportunity to learn and prosper. Through its Young Africa Works strategy and Canadian EleV program, the Foundation works with partners to ensure that millions of young people, especially young women, access quality education, financial services and dignified work. Mastercard Foundation was established in 2006 through the generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company. The Foundation is independent with its own Board of Directors and CEO.

THE WORK AT THE FOUNDATION

We are currently in an exciting period at the Mastercard Foundation as we intensify the implementation of the Young Africa Works strategy, aiming to empower 30 million young people throughout Africa to access dignified and fulfilling employment.

To ensure the Foundation's accessibility to our partners and program participants, we have established offices in Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Uganda. These offices provide strong in-country support for the implementation of Young Africa Works. We collaborate with governments, the private sector, educators, and other funders to enhance the quality of education and vocational training, equip young individuals with the necessary skills for the workforce, expand access to financial services for entrepreneurs and small businesses, and facilitate connections between job seekers and meaningful employment opportunities.

Our values serve as our guiding principles, transcending and surpassing all other considerations. We wholeheartedly encourage you to bring your bold ideas, curiosity, and expertise to your work.

If you are an experienced Workforce Development professional looking to increase your impact, read on!

THE OPPORTUNITY

Reporting to the Country Director, Ethiopia, the Head of Workforce Development will lead Education, Skills & Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Transition, Youth Engagement & Inclusion and Youth-led grassroot solutions work streams at the country office to advance towards the full realization of Young Africa Works in Ethiopia Strategy. S/he will ensure the development and implementation of partnerships, design and execution plans, within the Workforce Development unit, and their alignment with the country roadmap as well as with enterprise level priorities including those outlined in the Foundation’s Scholars Program, Education, Transition, Inclusion and Youth Engagement frameworks. Some of the key areas of focus to this role include the development of contextually relevant, innovative and effective approaches to improve the quality and relevance of secondary/TVET, and skilling/upskilling young people, young women, and those young people who have challenges to access opportunities due to displacement, where they live and because they are differently abled to enable them to access dignified and fulfilling work.  

WAYS YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE

• Identifies opportunities to create impact through developing interventions in the education and skills sector in alignment with the country roadmap.
• Identifies collaboration opportunities within existing partner network and potential new partnerships that are relevant to country specific circumstances.
• Set goals and targets with respect to Workforce Development including transition (e.g., internships, fellowships, job placement, entrepreneurship activities, and further higher education) and monitor and report on progress, attainment and learning.
• Leads the integration of education & skills initiatives with other programs including transitions, youth engagement & inclusion, youth-led grassroot solutions and ensure alignment with the vision articulated in the country roadmap.
• Drive the development and execution of programmatic approach and framework to facilitate synergy, strategic coherence, and alignment in areas of education, skilling, school to work transition, and preparation and placement of young people in work anchored on the country road map.
• Provide technical leadership to ensure the country program and partnerships address the current and emerging needs of young people, especially young women.
• Set up and utilize genuine and comfortable forums to drive engagement and solicit input from young people (networks/groups), especially young women.
• Support Country Programs colleagues during co-creation of partnerships to ensure the youth ‘lens’ is captured and addressed in the approach taken around; (i.) Educations/Skilling, (ii.) Access to Finance and (iii.) Digital enablement
• Support implementing partners to build effective youth engagement and outreach mechanisms that keep young women and men as the focal point in their approach.
• Drive inclusion, ensuring that all entrepreneurship and transition programs and inputs consider the specific constraints of young people with different needs.
• Facilitates innovations and local solutions to engage young people, young women and those with different needs, and to unlock opportunities in emerging economic sectors.
• Manages relationships with senior leaders of stakeholders such as educational institutions, mandated public offices, ministries and youth led organizations.
• Supports development of Workforce Development unit budget and Country program budget in line with policies & processes.
• Supports in preparation of communications related to Workforce development unit towards internal & external contacts for approval in a timely manner.
• Determines internal and external meetings involving the Country program’s partners in relation to Workforce development.
• Coaches and mentors, the team within the Workforce Development unit and beyond
• Drives and inspires technical excellence within the team.
• Leads the team to deliver results in line with Foundation goals and KPIs.

WHO YOU ARE

• A master’s degree in relevant field including Education, Management, Economic Development or related social sciences field and sold relevant experience.
• Minimum 15 years of experience in a similar or related role in a fast-paced environment with local and multinational experience.
• Excellent operational skills covering education policy and education planning, and ability to lead complex policy and strategy dialogue.
• Excellent leadership and supervisory skills with established track record managing teams.
• Ability to influence dialogue and policy and its use in other sectors without direct control or authority.
• Excellent prioritization and managerial skills.
• Demonstrated in-depth experience and track record of results and successfully working across educational practices, disciplinary and institutional boundaries.
• Excellent interpersonal and excellent communication skills.
• Good partnership experience, including involving multiple stakeholders – both public and private.
• Excellent writing and presentation skills yet with perfect critical and analytical skills.
• Strong sense of strategy, including ability to prioritize and exit some activities.
• Flexible, adaptable, agile, and able to execute a range of job duties with multiple deadlines and changing priorities.
• Proven excellence in verbal, written, and presentation skills with the ability to articulate information to a variety of constituents across cultures and to distill complex information and data into accessible conversation and written pieces.
• Possess professional maturity, sensitivity with different cultures, and impeccable integrity that exemplify the Foundation’s values.
• You have a commitment to Mastercard Foundation’s values and vision.

Deadline for Applications is September 14, 2023.

Mastercard Foundation (the “Foundation”) values and respects your privacy. By submitting an application for this opportunity, you hereby agree to the Foundation’s collection, use and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with its Privacy Policy (available at https://mastercardfdn.org/privacy/). Please note that the Foundation may share your personal information with third-party agencies that support the Foundation’s recruitment activities, and such third-party agencies may contact you directly regarding this opportunity. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Foundation’s Privacy Officer at the address indicated in its Privacy Policy.

The Mastercard Foundation values the unique skills and experiences each individual brings to the organization and we are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and accessible environment for everyone.

Completion of satisfactory business references and background checks are essential conditions of employment.

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