Organization: Mastercard Foundation
Location: Addis Ababa | Accra | Dakar | Kigali
Grade: Consultancy – Consultant – Contractors Agreement
Occupational Groups:
Development Cooperation and Sustainable Development Goals
Innovations for Sustainable Development
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Closing Date: 2024-05-30
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 Social Impact professional looking to increase your impact, read on!
THE OPPORTUNITY
Reporting to the Director, Impact – Pan African Programs (PANA), the Consultant will develop and manage assigned thematic areas in the Impact Workstream for Pan-African Programs. S/he will design strategic direction, implement impact measurement approaches, and enhance the Foundation’s Impact function and capabilities. The role contributes to shaping strategies, portfolios, and initiatives at the Pan-African level, aligned with the Foundation’s Young Africa Works and Impact Strategies, prioritizing transformative change, and amplifying the voices of young women and men in Africa. This leadership role encompasses people leadership, capability development, and achieving Workstream results.
The Pan African Program comprises thematic areas such as the Digital Economy, Entrepreneurship Development, Agrifood Systems, Climate, Health Workforce Development, and Gender. Also, it encompasses the programming concept of Entrepreneurship+, which aims to foster a systems orientation across Pan-African programs and contribute to an entrepreneurial economy in Africa.
The successful candidate will be based in any of our offices in Africa (Ethiopia, Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, or Uganda).
WAYS YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE
Leads the co-creation, with relevant members of the Impact and PANA teams, of evidence-informed impact planning, an impact measurement and evaluation approach, roadmap, and work plans for the assigned PANA thematic area(s).
Coordinates with relevant Directors and Heads to develop synergies and coherence across programming and impact work.
Develops, guides, and manages the work of Impact Partner Organizations (IPOs) in designing and implementing impact measurement plans from strategy to partner level.
Provides technical expertise and leadership in the development of impact measurement and narrative frameworks in line with the requirements of the Workstream and the Foundation’s aspirations and values.
Oversees the implementation of relevant evaluative practices and develops new approaches to elevating the voices and interests of young women and men and African stakeholders more broadly in reviews and evaluations.
Synthesizes evidence and insights to improve the performance of thematic programming and implementation towards transformative impacts.
Fosters a conducive environment for collaboration with the PANA team to establish evidence-informed design and refine thematic-related strategies, portfolios, and partner initiatives.
Works closely with the Director Impact PANA, Impact Global Advisors, members of the PANA, Country, and Impact teams, and IPOs to advance thinking, methods, narratives, and dialogues on using impact work to understand, promote, and assess systemic and transformative change.
Provides technical impact expertise and advice on thematic-related impact matters to relevant Directors and Heads of the PANA team.
Advises the Director, Impact —Pan-African Programs, on approaches to and progress in specific PANA thematic areas and their implications for the Impact team’s work.
Stays abreast of state-of-the-art advances in relevant fields such as Digital Economy, Agrifood systems and climate, Entrepreneurship and Gender Impact, and Health workforce development thematic areas.
Develops capacities, tools, and approaches consistent with the Foundation’s Impact Strategy and advances thinking and methods for assessing impact with an African orientation.
Develops or connects with consortia or networks of advisors, think tanks, IPOs, and other relevant partners to support Workstream priorities.
Ensures the curation and sharing of highly relevant resources supporting the Workstream’s work.
Serves as the Foundation’s Impact focal point in continental and global platforms relevant to the Workstream and contributes to the advancement of thematic impact work in relevant external forums and networks.
Attracts and builds a talented team of African specialists for the Workstream.
Develops a nurturing yet high-performance-oriented Workstream team culture with effective performance management processes to ensure the delivery of goals.
Develops processes for and manage the effective implementation of the work plans for the Workstream.
Collaborates with IPOs, the Impact team, the Program, and Operations colleagues to develop a learning approach and processes, ensuring that evaluative findings and evidence inform decisions at partner, thematic, Country, Pan-African, and Foundation levels.
Integrates insights around decolonization and African-rooted evaluation in the work of the Workstream.
Continuously evolves the Workstream to meet requirements, assesses existing capacities, and fills emerging gaps.
Tests, refines and scales new approaches to impact work, including in evaluations, in line with the Foundation’s aspirations and values.
Recruits and onboards relevant IPOs and provides oversight for implementing their agreed scope of work.
WHO YOU ARE
A master’s or PhD degree in International Development, Measurement and Evaluation, or any of the Foundation’s thematic areas or special areas of interest.
A minimum of 15 years of full-time work experience in measurement, evaluation, and other impact-related work in complex programming and development contexts, preferably in Africa; in strategy and program planning and management; and/or in planning, programming, and investment in relevant areas of entrepreneurship, inclusive markets, financial inclusion, IMM, etc.
A minimum of 5 years of senior management experience in the international development, philanthropy, or impact investment sectors, including strong experience working at the regional or pan-African level and with governments, mandated institutions, and private sector actors.
An astute people leader with at least 5 years of experience in a senior management role in an African context, with proven experience attracting, onboarding, developing, and engaging diverse teams in multiple locations in different contexts and cultures.
Significant proven leadership in areas related to the PANA Program thematic and cross-cutting priorities, with a good understanding of cross-border and cross-regional contexts in Africa. Experience in Digital Economy and/or Health Workforce Development is an added advantage.
Experience in establishing relevant Pan-African programs and/or evaluation strategies.
Experienced in leading cross-cultural, high-achieving teams that are collaborative, motivated, and focused on achieving impact.
Social impact measurement background with demonstrated expertise in both quantitative and qualitative research or evaluation methods and tools.
Understands systems thinking and how to work towards systemic and, ideally, transformative change, using multiple practices and insights related to systems-level change, including the value of foresight and trends scanning.
Understands how to embed evidence-informed planning and adaptive management in programming and impact work.
Comfortable with using techniques such as systems-informed and transformational theories of change; landscape/context mapping; root cause and leverage point analysis; network, power, and influence mapping; and intersectional analysis to understand how different population segments experience systemic change.
Experienced in providing guidance in facilitating the development and design of programmatic strategies, including theories of (transformative) change and their application in impact work.
Understands state-of-the-art technical subject matter relevant to the work of the Workstream and can innovate based on mastery of specific areas of interest.
Excellent networks of connections to high-quality persons and organizations in Africa and beyond relevant to the work of this position.
Deep sense of curiosity and clear efforts to stay abreast of state-of-the-art developments in the field.
Innovative and entrepreneurial mindset. Comfortable and highly effective when faced with ambiguity and/or complexity. Ability to think broadly and formulate and develop new or creative approaches.
Flexible and learning-oriented, able to turn lessons learned into actionable strategies and to experiment with and prototype effective approaches and solutions to emerging challenges.
Outstanding interpersonal, communication, relationship-building, and facilitation skills.
A relationship builder who creates strong and productive relationships across organizational functions. Partners with others and is adept at addressing conflict.
Strong problem-solving skills combined with a track record of pivoting in response to opportunities and challenges.
Inspires meaning and purpose and contributes to others’ success. Exhibits optimism working with others to create and communicate a compelling vision for evaluation and impact.
Has leadership presence and communicates with clarity, confidence, and conviction.
Experience in facilitating multi-stakeholder and participatory processes is an added advantage.
Demonstrated commitment to vulnerable and marginalized African populations and youth voice and agency.
Strong commitment to sustainability, equity, and social inclusion in both technical and management contexts.
Sincere and committed to working across cultures with respect and insight.
Unquestionable integrity, discretion, trust, and humility. Deep listening capabilities.
You have a commitment to Mastercard Foundation’s values and vision.
Deadline for Applications is May 30, 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.
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