Expression of Interest – Impact Consultant, Special Programs

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.

UNDERSTANDING & MEASURING IMPACT  

The Foundation has developed a comprehensive strategy for understanding and measuring Impact through a more holistic approach. In this context, Impact spans from the effects that our investments trigger directly in creating work opportunities, upwards to the significant changes and outcomes derived from the influence that the Mastercard Foundation Programs have on the institutional and system level changes in policies, practices and larger investments that open-up for expanded impact, at scale, on youth employment. 

Working with young women and men in Africa represents a unique opportunity to develop, implement, and learn from programming and influencing activities in ways that value African and Indigenous ways of being and knowing. Impact measurement and the associated narratives will be guided by youth-focused lenses and located within the nexus of nationally owned strategies and global best practices and thought leadership. The methodologies, tools and insights throughout this journey will be determined and co-created in partnership with youth and other Indigenous vectors of knowledge in communities and countries where we work.

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

We are building our talent pipeline for Impact, Research & Learning career opportunities that may arise in the future. By submitting your profile, you are expressing your interest for a future consultancy (1 year) role in Programs Impact Support & Advisory. We will review your profile when such opportunities become available.

The roles will be based in one of our offices in Africa (Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda, or Ethiopia).

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Consultant will develop and implement the partner-level Impact Measurement Framework, ensuring program outcomes align with the Foundation’s strategic goals. S/he will support the Head of Impact in onboarding and realigning program partners on the Impact strategy and approach, identifying opportunities for review, assessment, and evaluation to ensure the Foundation’s strategic initiatives within this thematic area deliver measurable contributions to continental development goals.

WAYS YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE

• Collaborates with program teams to formulate strategic, measurable, and evaluable outcomes for specific programs and partnerships aligned with the Foundation’s shared outcomes.
• Guides the development and implementation of impact assessment processes to inform strategic decision-making and program development.
• Ensures partner measurement approaches align with the Foundation’s impact and program strategies.
• Supports program design by analyzing root causes and barriers to creating opportunities for dignified and fulfilling work for young women and men, advising on setting intentional goals and strategies.
• Translates intentional goals into measurable outcomes aligned with the Foundation’s shared measures and outcomes, contributing to the creation of work opportunities and employment outcomes for young women and men.
• Develops and implements holistic, contextually relevant, and culturally rooted methodologies and instruments for impact assessment, measurement, learning, and research activities.
• Expands understanding of impact measurement and narration with youth-focused lenses, ensuring data privacy and confidentiality.
• Analyzes data on progress against targets and provides data quality accompaniment on partners’ quarterly impact monitoring reports and annual impact reviews.
• Contributes a perspective to impact measurement that privileges the generation of impact insights and narratives resonating with local/Indigenous cultures and ways of knowing.
• Oversees external functional Impact Partner Organizations (IPOs) activities, supporting impact monitoring and verification activities at the program level.
• Develops and implements strategies, tools, and events to strengthen dialogue with key government and private sector stakeholders, highlighting the impact of the Foundation’s Program strategy.
• Documents and provides visibility for impact and outcome figures, trends, and programs’ contributions within and across platforms and collaborative networks of institutions.
• Works with program teams to identify targets for partner engagement and leads activities to craft and promote impact and measurement narratives that illuminate these targets and progress towards them.

WHO YOU ARE

• Post-graduate degree and/or equivalent experience and training is an asset.
• 10+ years of experience working with the private and non-profit sectors, particularly with state and non-state actors in Evaluation, Reviews, and Impact.
• 3+ years of public policy experience, especially with national institutions responsible for planning, policy formulation, and implementation.
• At least five years’ experience living in Africa and/or working with young people women in Africa.
• Membership in national professional networks and authorities as applicable.
• Experience in research and evaluation, with technical expertise in mixed research methods, tool design, validation, and data analysis.
• Knowledge of research methods for gathering data and insights among Indigenous communities, youth, and other vulnerable groups using appropriate cultural lenses and perspectives.
• Experience establishing institutions for accountability and learning to enable effective program implementation and impact for investments in education, employment, and/or empowerment of young men and women.
• Experience navigating policy, research, review, evaluation, MEL processes, and understanding big data management with government, mandated, and academic or research institutions.
• Strong familiarity and experience leading the development of M&E policies nationally and supporting their implementation in national and regional contexts, including building the capacity of state and non-state actors in the evaluation sector.
• Experience applying various tech-enabled tools for data collection, analysis, reporting, and communication.
• Experience in participatory approaches and a demonstrated commitment to gender inclusion and youth engagement.
• Deep familiarity with education systems and/or systems for transitioning young people from training and formal education into work.
• Experience working with institutions to boost their use and application of technology, institutional change mechanisms, and youth-focused solutions to achieve learning, teaching, skills development, and employment outcomes at scale in African contexts.
• Experience working with national, regional, and/or international institutions responsible for data collection, analysis, and reporting on education and work outcomes and impact.
• Deep knowledge of local research and evaluation methods.
• Strong language, culture, and identity/affiliation with Africa.
• Skills and competency in developing tools and methods for measuring Outcomes and Impact within nationally mandated institutions.
• Understanding systems thinking and a solid ability to develop and test theories of change and associated practice tools relevant and appropriate for Indigenous communities.
• A dynamic thinker with practical experience in stakeholder engagement and policy influencing, including community-based organizations, governance councils/commissions, regional and national government, and the private sector.
• High tolerance for ambiguity and change, with the ability to adapt to changing priorities within a fast-paced work environment and a “roll up the sleeves” attitude.
• Strong problem-solving skills combined with a track record of pivoting in response to opportunities and challenges.
• Possess professional maturity, sensitivity to different cultures, and impeccable integrity that exemplify The Foundation’s values

Deadline for submitting an Expression of Interest application is July 22, 2024.

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.

For more information and to sign up for the Foundation’s newsletter, please visit http://www.mastercardfdn.org/
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