Program Lead, Education and Skills (6 months Contract)

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 Programs Lead looking to increase your impact, read on!

THE OPPORTUNITY 

Reporting to the Country Programs Head, the Program Lead will be responsible for development and implementation for a portfolio of education and skilling/TVET programs aligned with Foundation’s Young Africa Works priorities. This role provides expertise and interacts with senior levels of partner organizations and ecosystem stakeholders to advance the development and delivery of the Foundation’s country strategy.

WAYS YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE 

• Lead the development and co-creation of education and skilling /TVET interventions.   
• Engage with mandated stakeholders and young people to co-create opportunities linking/ enabling young people completing skilling /TVET programs access to dignified and fulfilling work. 
• Integrate impact considerations to ensure the needs of young women and young people in general are addressed within the program design.  
• Collaborate with Country Program team in development of strategies relevant to Young Africa Works and their interlinkages to education and skilling/TVET. 
• Lead implementation of portfolio of education and skilling /TVET interventions. 
• Extract, capture and communicate details to elaborate progress and learnings from programs.  
• Collaborate with Country Program team to leverage synergistic opportunities to enhance Impact/outcomes of Young Africa Works programs.
• Provide skills and workforce development expertise to support the Foundation colleagues leading programming across the relevant economic sectors and value chains. 
• Represent the Foundation’s interest in program governance activities to provide oversight or elevate and leverage learnings. 
• Work with implementation partners and beneficiaries to contribute towards systematic learning and reflection processes to enable continuous adaptive management of the program. 
• Collaborate and guide implementation partners in identifying and overcoming barriers to team effectiveness by sharing knowledge and learnings and offering insights and solutions to challenges.
• Provide perspective and expertise on emerging issues and trends in Education and Skilling/TVET space and keep abreast of developments.
• Identify challenges and opportunities in the Education and Skilling space relevant to all relevant economic sectors in Rwanda.
• Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders at country and global-level, communities of practice.
• Lead matrixed/cross functional team in myriad of activities related to co-design and implementation phase. 
• Supervise colleagues and/junior staff experts by providing coaching and necessary support for success.  

WHO YOU ARE

• Bachelor’s degree in education, economics or a youth development or a related field.
• Relevant professional qualification and a member of a relevant professional body.
• Minimum of ten (10) years’ relevant experience in a similar organization with three (3) at supervisory level.
• Strong understanding of issues, challenges, and trends in and design and implementation of TVET in Rwanda.
• Program development and execution in the non-profit or public sectors with a focus on Secondary Education/ TVET and workforce development training.
• Skills or workforce development program development and execution, focused on low-income youth.
• Demonstrated ability to lead diagnostic and analytic work as well as project design, partner identification and implementation.
• Experience working with or in partnership with non-profit, private, or public sectors, particularly in a role relating to skills development in Rwanda.
• Command of quantitative and qualitative education and labour market analysis techniques.
• Excellent project management skills, including multi-stakeholder projects with senior levels of government and the private sector.
• Knowledge of skills and workforce development aligned with one or more growth sectors (e.g. agri-food systems, hospitality, manufacturing, construction, creative industries) would be an asset.
• Knowledge in skills and workforce development financing approaches would be an asset.
• Solid experience and knowledge in skills development issues surrounding vulnerable groups (e.g. rural young women, refugee or displaced youth, youth with disabilities etc.)
• Flexible, adaptable, and able to execute a range of job duties and changing priorities.
• Possess excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills with the ability to articulate information to a variety of constituents across cultures.
• 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 February 15, 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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