Skills Development Specialist (SDS) at Adam Smith International

Tracking Code: 1184-112
Location: Kano
Position Type: Full-Time/Regular

Programme Background
Mafita is a large-scale, six-year youth employment programme operating in Nigeria’s northern states, funded by Department for International Development (DFID) and implemented by Adam Smith International. Through a combination of innovative skills development and job creation interventions, Mafita will support over 30,000 marginalised young people to find employment or become entrepreneurs by 2021.

Within the above scope, Mafita is mandated to support the economic empowerment of Northern Nigerian women, whose economic disenfranchisement has direct and adverse impacts on the country’s economic prosperity and development at the national, regional and community levels. Through its work, Mafita seeks to support women to access economic resources both directly by supporting women’s entrepreneurship, employment and access to finance, and indirectly by creating a more enabling environment for women.

Safeguarding:

• Mafita is committed to meet its legal and moral responsibility to ensuring the safety and welfare of its staff and beneficiaries
• This includes protecting them from any form of exploitation, abuse, harassment or violence (which includes that of a sexual nature).

Areas of Responsibility

• The Skills Development Specialist manages the Apprenticeship and Community Skills Development Centre (COSDEC) skills development interventions in the State with the support of the State Coordinators to ensure access, quality and relevance of training as well as continuous monitoring of activities at state level

Main Tasks

• Oversees and facilitates all Mafita Apprenticeship and COSDEC skills development interventions activities in the state
• Acts as a liaison between Mafita Apprenticeship and COSDEC Units, training institutions, Master Craft Person (MCPs), trade associations, clusters and State Agencies on skills development matters
• In consultation with Intervention Managers and in collaboration with Cluster Development Specialist facilitates identification, selection and strengthening of MCPs and beneficiaries and trade associations on skills delivery including assessment
• Facilitates and monitors on regular basis the quality and relevance of training provided in the Mafita skills development interventions (Apprenticeship & COSDEC).
• In close consultation with Trade Associations, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), COSDECs and MCPs, ensures relevant and quality training delivery, formative and summative assessment and ensure timely reporting in the correct format.
• Facilitates the collection and validation of Mafita beneficiaries and trainers daily attendance for onward submission to MRM Unit in Kano for update
• In close consultation with COSDECs, Trade Associations (TAs), MCPs, and FSTs ensures compliance of minimum standards through continuous monitoring and evaluation (tracking of training delivery, drop out.
• In collaboration with the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Units, facilitate assessment and verification of COSDEC and Apprenticeship beneficiaries, building of learner’s portfolios and tracking of achievement of competencies for all apprentices, keeping data of learner’s result)
• Facilitate database development of COSDECs, TAs, state agencies and medium and large corporations and beneficiaries
• Monitor attendance of beneficiaries at COSDECs and Apprenticeship sites and report to MRM through the Intervention Managers
• Supports the development and implementation of capacity development plans for relevant staff of line ministries, COSDEC Trainers, FSTs staff cluster champions, MCPs and TAs.
• Supports COSDECs, TAs and MCP cluster locations to prepare for accreditation by NBTE and awarding bodies as training centres
• Facilitates the selection of foundation skills training centers in the state for the Apprenticeship unit
• Advises the COSDEC and Apprenticeship Intervention Managers on support packages needed at the skills development locations for continuous improvement
• Receive, deal with and report grievances relating to trainees, trainers and other stakeholders at State level
• Provides weekly, monthly and quarterly progress report on skills delivery for COSDEC and Apprenticeship
• Liaises with the COSDEC, TVET and Apprenticeship Intervention Managers, and state on the implementation of the skills programmes in the interventions
• Conducts any other tasks as assigned by the Skills Lead and/or Intervention Managers.
• Reporting – You will also be required to adhere to all reporting requirements (both scheduled and ad hoc) regarding your team as communicated to you by the Project Management Unit (PMU)
• Meeting deadlines on all assigned tasks.

Required Skills:

• University Degree (preferably in Education)
• Experience in Skills development would be an advantage
• Good presentation/communication skills
• Good command of Microsoft package
• Must be willing to travel
• Familiar with local and regional context/environment.