Director, Higher Education Strengthening at MasterCard

The  Director,  Higher  Education  Strengthening  is  responsible  for  leading  the  delivery  of  the  HECSI platform objectives, overseeing the design and implementation of an assigned portfolio of collaboratives.
Collaboratives bring university partners together with the aim to accelerate transformation of a particular sector (or area of work) where there is a critical need for advanced human capital development in Africa and contribute to our Young Africa Works Goals.    
Reporting to the Executive Director of HECSI, the Director drives growth, impact, and strategic execution. Working closely with other sub-platform leaders, the role ensures alignment with the platforms integrated strategy and roadmap. The Director will lead the development and execution of initiatives that strengthen
higher  education  collaboratives  and  partnerships  driving  institutional  strengthening  agendas.  They protect and support the building and promoting of HECSI and the overall Foundation brand.
Universities are well-positioned to advance Young Africa Works due to their unique concentration of talent,  ability  to  train  the  leaders  of  the  future, mission  to  develop  and  leverage  knowledge  to  spur innovation, and imperative for community service. The Foundation has an opportunity to leverage the power of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) as sites of knowledge exchange, community collaboration, and cross-sector partnerships to collectively address shared challenges.

WAYS YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE

Stewardship and Leadership of the Collaboratives

• Ensure  success  and  impact  of  each  collaborative  through  supporting  partners  with implementation,  collaboration,  integration,  and  innovation  across  strategic  priorities  / thematic areas:
• Serve  as  an  ambassador  of  the  work,  internally  and  externally  and  represent  the Foundation;
• Support  the  development  of  a  robust  monitoring  framework  to  assess  impact  and synthesize learning by working closely with Impact Colleagues;
• Building  and  ensure  timely  execution  of  communication  strategies  by  working  closely with our Public Affairs and Communications team;
• Establish shared learning venues for organization-wide learning by working closely with Directors and Sector Heads;
• Support partners in reviewing and managing the budgets and ensure spending
• adjustments or budget modifications are done as necessary.

Partnership and Collaborative Management     

• Build proposals with universities and research institutions to enable the outcomes and objectives of the Collaboratives;
• Support partners with ongoing reporting, feedback, and learning;
• Develop,  build,  and  maintain  relationships  with  cross  functional  teams  and  other countries;
• Establish and strengthen relationships with leadership in each partner organization;
• Facilitate  integration,  collaboration,  and  convening  relevant  actors  to  drive  impact  at scale;
• Enable a strong governance structure and learning framework – as the Collaboratives move from proposal development to implementation, a key next step is to develop and agree  to  a  governance  structure  and  impact  framework.  This  includes  an  Executive Steering  Committee,  a  Network  Implementation  Committee,  and  additional  facilitation and learning roles to support with day-to-day activities, monitoring, and learning.

People Leadership

• Effectively  leading  colleagues  ensuring  a  high  quality  of  work,  safeguarding  and alignment with Foundation values;
• Drive oneness by building a supportive and collaborative work environment;
• Support a team of program and operation staff within a matrixed environment;
• Support performance management for the team and for direct and indirect reports;
• Maintain high levels of engagement amongst team driving oneness and deepening the culture of the Foundation and growing team members.
• Embedding and clarifying the Foundation’s performance management system, rewards, capacity and career management.
• Foster an inclusive work environment that values diversity and promotes equal
• opportunities.
• Create strategic insights for action.

Policy and Thought Leadership

• Support  the  shaping  of  policy  and  participate  in  influencing  decision  makers  across  the ecosystem, drawing on our expertise and insights, with a particular focus on strategic priorities and target groups as necessary
• Contribute relevant perspectives to the Foundation’s thought leadership priorities based on the body of work under one’s purview
• Disseminate learnings from HECSI and the portfolio of collaboratives

WHO YOU ARE

• BSc./ Master’s/MBA or PhD in a relevant field such as international development, education, public policy or another related field.
• At least Fifteen (15) years’ experience in the private/ development sector, passionate about education and Africa who has demonstrated experience in building a new initiative or transformed an existing initiative into something even more impactful.
• Extensive leadership experience in managing complex programs or initiatives, preferably in the field of education or youth development.
• Proven ability to think in a strategic, transformative way, able to conceptualize initiatives/processes that will drive large scale change.
• Proven experience effectively engaging with technical experts to build communities of practice.
• Possess excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills with the ability to articulate information to a variety of constituents across cultures.
• French language and/or local language skills are an asset.
• Proven track record of building and managing strategic partnerships.
• Strong understanding of higher education systems, particularly in Africa.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Innovative and entrepreneurial individual who can develop new or creative approaches to problems while inspiring others on the team.
• Drive to continually experiment and innovate, building and leveraging best-in-class expertise and learnings.
• Commitment to the value of co-creation, employing deep listening and authentically inclusive approach.
• Demonstrated success in building and managing high performing teams.
• Expertise working with development, political and social issues across Africa.
• Demonstrated financial management experience including preparation and management of budgets and contracts.
• Skilled communicator and influencer, from executive through to technical levels and external constituencies, know how to navigate ambiguous environments and are comfortable at managing up and beyond hierarchy.   
• Ability to build and engage teams.
• Effectively develop, lead, and provide strategic direction to a diverse team of leaders across multiple countries.