Program Lead, Education & Skills 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.
• If you are an Education & Skills Program Lead professional ready to build something new and increase your impact, read on!

The Opportunity

• Reporting to the Country Head, Nigeria, the Program Lead, Education & Skills will work collaboratively with other Foundation staff such as country team members and other colleagues at the Foundation with focus on agriculture; gender; youth engagement; digital economies, MSME growth, Scholars Program, etc. in the design and implementation of programs that contribute to deliver Young Africa Works strategy.
• The candidate will initiate and manage assessments to identify evolving needs and priorities in the education sector; through development of new project ideas, proposals and budgets. She  /  he will provide expertise to help identify constraints that prevent education and workforce systems from functioning effectively at the country level.
• She / he will support the development and design of coherent education and skill development programs aligned with nationally identified priorities and Foundation strategies that respond to the needs of young people and the private sector. She / he will ensure cross cutting themes of Child Safeguarding and Gender are fully incorporated into all education programme development and implementation. In addition, she / he will assist in the design and implementation of a portfolio of Education focused partnerships and draw insights on key questions in the Foundation’s learning agenda.

Ways You Can Contribute

• Identify issues and trends that affect the quality of secondary education, TVET and Tertiary Institutions, as part of the Foundation’s country strategy and program development processes.
• Assist in identifying skill and workforce development gaps, issues and trends that affect education and economic development during the Foundation’s country strategy and program development processes.
• Provide skills and workforce development expertise to support Foundation colleagues’ design and management of programs in Nigeria and other priority countries as required.
• Support and / or Manage current or future programs as appropriate, distilling learnings for the country which may include facilitating implementing partner coordination, reviewing narrative and financial reporting, undertaking regular partner / site visits and distilling learnings for the country teams as well as wider Foundation staff.
• Lead the adaptation of the Foundation’s programming and learning related to secondary and tertiary education and to specific country contexts, leveraging country diagnostics and learning from our portfolio of partners.
• Identify and engage with potential implementing partners for country-based Secondary Education / TVET programming / Tertiary Education and support the development of program proposals.
• Participate in Secondary Education / TVET / Tertiary Education partner coordination working groups, task forces and other meetings where relevant.
• Build and maintain relationships with partner organizations, government representatives and other key stakeholders at the country-level, communities of practice and global stakeholders.
• Support the design and delivery of appropriate mechanisms to monitor effectiveness and impact of skills development interventions.

Who You Are

• Graduate degree in Education, Economics or a youth development-related field.
• Minimum 7-10 years of relevant experience leading program interventions with partner organizations / grantees; education sector experience is desirable.
• Strong understanding of key issues, challenges and trends in secondary education / TVET / Tertiary education in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Program development and execution in the non-profit or public sectors with a focus on Secondary Education /  TVET / Tertiary education and workforce development training.
• Skills or workforce development program development and execution, focused on low-income youth, and incorporating one or more of: work-based and experiential learning approaches; upskilling or reskilling; assessment and credentialing; digitally-enabled delivery; career counselling; soft skills training; entrepreneurship skills training; labour market and skill gap assessments.
• Knowledge of, and experience designing and implementing, best practices in TVET.
• Command of quantitative and qualitative education and labour market analysis techniques.
• Solid familiarity with the key organizations, development partners, donors, international organizations and other actors relevant to TVET in Africa is an asset.
• Demonstrated ability to lead diagnostic and analytic work as well as project design, partner identification and implementation.
• Excellent project management skills, including multi-stakeholder projects with senior levels of government and the private sector.
• Experience working with or in partnership with non-profit, private or public sectors, particularly in a role relating to skills development in Africa.
• Knowledge of skills and workforce development aligned with one or more growth sectors (e.g. agri-food systems, hospitality, manufacturing, construction, creative industries, digital economy) 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, refugees or displaced youth, youth with disabilities etc.).
• Demonstrated written, presentation and spoken communication skills in English. Ability to speak any of the Nigerian local language(s) would be an asset.
• Proactive, engaged and a self-starter.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Is willing to travel up to 30 – 40% when required.
• 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.
• You have a commitment to Mastercard Foundation’s values and vision.