Head, Climate Action, Pan African 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 CANADA PROGRAMS AT THE FOUNDATION

The Foundation has begun working within Canada in partnership with Indigenous communities and post-secondary institutions to listen, learn, and best understand how we can act in meaningful ways. The EleV strategy was co-created with Indigenous communities, young people, and partners to enable 30,000 Indigenous youth to complete their education and transition to dignified work aligned with their values and aspirations.

As reflected in Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, education is a key driver of improved socio-economic well-being. Through building partnerships with Indigenous communities, we look to expand our initiative ultimately helping to support a generation of transformative Indigenous young leaders who will be change agents within their communities. We believe that by setting a bold target, we will encourage engagement across sectors and create momentum that will elevate the strengths and opportunities of Indigenous youth. In keeping with our approach, Indigenous communities and young people will be the drivers of this transformation. The program will promote innovations to address longer-term systemic change to achieve economic prosperity and social well-being within Indigenous communities.

The EleV team oversees current and emerging partnerships related to Indigenous education. Consistent with our overall vision and Youth Africa Works strategy, we will share learnings and opportunities to connect across the work of the Foundation. While operating in distinct contexts, the centrality of youth voice and vision, affirmation of culture and identity, and priority to enhance community capacity for self-determination are common threads upon which our work is strengthened and reinforced.

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. 

If you are a seasoned climate change expert ready to build something new and increase your impact, read on!

THE OPPORTUNITY

Reporting to the Director, Agriculture Pan African Programs, the Head, Climate Action Pan African programs will take the lead in the implementation and adoption of The Foundation’s enterprise-wide Climate Action strategy across the enterprise. A multi-faceted strategy, The Foundation’s work in Climate Action seeks to build resilience, foster innovation, and empower young women and men seize opportunities in Africa’s emerging green economy – all with the overarching goal of scaling our ambition as articulated in the Young Africa Works strategy.

The successful candidate will be based in any of our 7 listed offices in Africa (Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana or Senegal). 

WAYS YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE

• Play a key role in driving The Foundation’s thrust on climate resilience and green jobs by implementing the Climate Action framework across all Foundation programming platforms.
• Develop new regional and Pan-African partnerships with a variety of organizations beyond the established to create additional impact opportunities. This will include the creation of collaboration platforms and networks to enable the scaling and acceleration of Climate Action programs.
• Partner with the Country Heads to provide timely and context aligned support for the implementation of Climate Action programs in the country portfolios in support of Young Africa Works.
• Support country and regional teams to regularly collect and collate learnings from Climate Action related program implementation.
• Synthesize, socialize, and integrate learnings from continental, regional and country programs to feed into future development/co-creation processes.
• Ensure country and regional teams have tangible access to technical expertise in Climate Action.
• Represent the Foundation and its overall Climate Action strategy as a spokesperson at key conferences, workshops and media events and build relationships with senior figures within donors, foundations, private sector, and governments to build awareness and strengthen the brand and public profile of the Foundation and its programs.
• Lead, manage, motivate, and develop staff in the Agrifoods & Climate Action thematic team and ensure they have clear objectives and accountabilities against which individual and team performance is assessed on a regular basis.
• Provide functional leadership to country focused staff to ensure they have a complete understanding of objectives and approaches aligned with the enterprise level Climate Action strategy.
• Collaborate with colleagues across functions and countries as well as senior leadership to deliver the Foundation’s Climate Action related work.

WHO YOU ARE

• 12-15 years of experience in climate action and a related field e.g. agriculture, energy, with 5 years of experience leading and managing a team in a multi-cultural, multi-country context.
• Demonstrated expertise in the design and development of large, complex, multi-country climate action programs.
• A strategic and entrepreneurial mindset. Experience in initiating new operations, preferably in the Climate Action space.
• Skilled communicator and influencer, from executive through to technical levels and external constituencies, entrepreneurial and pro-active, knows how to navigate ambiguous environments and is comfortable at managing up and beyond hierarchy.
• Experience in public policy with proven experience in effectively engaging and collaborating with high-level government officials, key partners, media, business leaders and other network influencers.
• Demonstrated and established networks and relationships in Climate Action.
• Experience with public speaking at conferences and other forums including media interaction. Formal media training would be an asset.
• Fosters a positive spirit of collaboration in a complex, and rapidly evolving environment.
• Results orientation, an eye for detail and pragmatic decision maker.
• Possess professional maturity, sensitivity with different cultures, and impeccable integrity that exemplify The Foundation’s values.
• Demonstrate a commitment to Mastercard Foundation’s values and vision.

 Deadline for Applications is July 8th 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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