Lead, Regional Strategy & Planning - Scholars Program at MasterCard

The Work at the Foundation

• We have entered a very exciting time at the Foundation as we scale up our operations across Africa to realize our Young Africa Works strategy. Our role at the Mastercard Foundation is to be a catalyst. Our Young Africa Works strategy focuses on working with others to spur systemic change so young people have the opportunity to find work that is dignified and fulfilling.
• The Foundation has opened offices in Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Uganda, building a broader leadership presence in Africa to develop specific strategies that support youth employment.  Within a country, we work with governments, the private sector, educators and other funders to improve the quality of education and vocational training, prepare young people for the work force, expand access to financial services for entrepreneurs and small businesses, and connect job seekers to dignified and fulfilling work.
• We are ambitious and driven. Our values transcend and rise above everything else as our guide. We encourage you to bring your bold ideas, curiosity, and expertise to your work. We laugh at ourselves and with each other. We are a team. Our journey together makes our impact even more meaningful.

The Opportunity:

• The role serves the Head of Scholars Program to support overall coordination, effectiveness and execution follow through of regional work program.
• The incumbent leads regional strategic alignment, planning, coordination, business performance (against strategic KPIs) monitoring, processes management, reporting and operational support.
• The incumbent will be required to effectively coordinate and work collaboratively across the Foundation e.g., with programs teams, Regional Heads of Programs as well as Strategy and Planning, Strategic Operations, Finance, Impact etc.

Ways You Can Contribute
Regional Planning and Coordination:

• Partner with the Head of Scholars Program and the Strategy and Planning team to support the development of regional planning, prioritization and reporting aligned to enterprise-wide strategy and governance.
• Coordinate with Head of Scholars Program to align, support and track translating regional plans into tangible workplan(s) including the identification of resourcing requirements to support delivery
• Lead the execution of routines and coordination of governance and ways of working including, committee meetings, workshops and other regional convenings.
• Lead cross regional collaboration & programmatic integration - link activities across Regions, Functions, Countries and Thematic areas and programs.
• Provide support to the Head of Scholars Program on operationalization efforts including training, change management and communications

Business Performance Management:

• Develop and manage integrated plans and dashboards to track and report regional business performance against strategy, objectives, KPIs and impact measures. This will include partnering and liaising with regional impact team.
• Coordinate tracking against progress and achievement of aggregated milestones at level of Head of Scholars Program through ensuring regular status reporting (liaising with regional heads, programs, impact and financial colleagues).
• Identify, document, assess, monitor, report and escalate as appropriate, all dependencies, risks, issues, and decisions to the Head of Scholars.

 Project Management Office Leadership:

• Work with multiple enterprise functions and regional teams to prioritize projects in line with regional, functional and enterprise strategy.
• Act as the Project Manager for ‘special’ regional and functional projects as assigned by the Head of Scholars Program; lead workstreams balancing scope, time, cost, geography, and quality.
• In coordination with strategic operations as relevant, develop and embed project management processes and routines.
• Actively engage stakeholders to ensure projects are on track and provide problem-solving support as needed and in liaison with strategic operations staff.
• Ensure completion of deliverables and effectively closing out projects through transition documentation and lessons learned.
• Link in and partner with the Strategic Operations team regarding operational excellence and Enterprise-wide projects.

Process Management and Quality Assurance:

• Review and as needed develop detailed workflows to support process (re)design, and/or improve existing processes, partnering with relevant colleagues including Country Program Coordinators, Integrated teams and other Functions. This will include performance reporting (manage coordination amongst program, impact and finance staff).
• Develop and document workflows, tools, and accountability frameworks (RACI/RAPID) as required in the Office of the Head of Scholars, coordinating housing information in relevant knowledge repository.
• Lead program system implementation for the region coordinating with country offices (Fluxx, business analytics, etc.).
• Roll out regional programme quality assurance and effectiveness initiatives as guided e.g. peer review processes.
• Act as the point of contact with the Strategy & Planning Function on all matters related to the Scholars Program.

Who You Are

• Ten (10) years’ experiences in strategy planning and implementation including program project management experience and performance management.
• Experience leading and managing complex projects across multiple functions and countries.
• Demonstrated experience applying strategy, planning and PMO methodologies for planning, risk management and reporting.
• Experience synthesizing and analyzing information/multiple data sources. Focus on execution and attention to detail.
• Advanced knowledge of strategy, planning and project management best-practice tools and processes tools and MS Office Suite.
• Highly developed communication skills; articulate verbally and in writing; ability to synthesize information into well-summarized documentation or presentations.
• Strong executive presence, comfortable interacting with and presenting to all levels of management.
• Strong team player who can partner well with the rest of the team and critical partners in the rest of the organization.
• Comfortable with uncertainty and possess the flexibility to co-create with dynamic, cross-functional teams to deliver integrated solutions.
• Detail-oriented, methodical and process-oriented to consistently and effectively produce and deliver high quality results on time. Results driven mindset.
• Strong collaborator and relationship builder who can establish trust, respect and credibility to co-create solutions across a range of stakeholders.
• A highly analytical problem-solver and critical thinker who can define root cause, evaluate alternatives and find solutions effectively.
• Possess a 'client' focus mindset which enables effective business partnering and issue resolution.
• Flexible to travel to Country offices within Africa and Canada, as required.
• A team player, self-starter, and resourceful with the ability to work within a constantly changing and ambiguous environment with minimal supervision and resilience.
• Agile, 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.
• Highly Proficient is all MS Suite core applications: Word, PowerPoint, Projects, Excel etc.
• Prior team management experience and cross functional collaboration.
• Committed to Mastercard Foundation’s values and vision.