Program Partner, Education & Skills Job-Mastercard Foundation

Job Title: Program Partner, Education & Skills

Organisation: Mastercard Foundation

Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda

About US:

Mastercard Foundation is guided by its mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion for people living in poverty. One of the largest foundations in the world, it works almost exclusively in Africa. It was created in 2006 by Mastercard International and operates independently under the governance of its own Board of Directors.

Job Summary: Reporting to the Lead Education and Skills, the Program Partner Education and Skills will be responsible for engaging partners for successful program design and implementation. He/She will support the development of the Country Strategy and work with partner organizations to develop and co-create new education and skills programs in alignment with the Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy for the Country. The role manages a portfolio of Education & Skills programs and partnerships to ensure achievement of country strategy.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Provide support and contribute to the ongoing definition and development of the Country Strategy and expansion.
Collaborate with Program Leads / Partners to review proposals, develop strategic outcomes and program roadmaps.
Engage partners to collect feedback on country roadmap and strategy.
Contribute to evolution in thinking and new approaches needed to get to scale.
Provide support to partners to ensure successful implementation of programs, and that the intended impact is achieved.
Provide support and/or manage current and future programs as appropriate, including reviewing periodic narrative and financial reporting and data collection, facilitating partner coordination, undertaking partner site visits, and distilling program learning for the country teams as well as wider Foundation staff.
Track program progress and collaborate with colleagues in Impact and Design and Learning to collect and validate data and learnings.
Provide support in identifying and engaging with potential implementing partners for country-based Secondary Education/TVET/HEI programming and support the development of program proposals. This includes conducting due diligence of potential partners and contributing to project design and proposal development.
Raise programmatic issues to Country Program Lead / Program Lead and Country Head as they arise and leverage Foundation resources to resolve.
Identify issues and trends that affect the quality of secondary education TVET, and HEIs as part of the Foundation’s Country Strategy and program development processes.
Provide support in the adaptation of the Foundation’s existing Leaders in Teaching programming and learning related to secondary education to the country context, leveraging country diagnostics and learning from our portfolio of partners.
Provide support to the design and delivery of appropriate mechanisms to monitor effectiveness and impact of education and skills development interventions.
Build and manage relationships with implementing partners in conjunction with Country Program Lead / Program Leads.
Build and maintain relationships with government representatives and other key stakeholders at the country-level.
Participate in Secondary Education/TVET/HEI stakeholder coordination working groups, task forces and other meetings where relevant.
Provide support in identifying skill and workforce development gaps, issues and trends that affect education and economic development during the Foundation’s country strategy program development and implementation processes.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

Graduate degree in education, social work, economics, or a youth development-related field.
Education, skills or workforce development program development and execution.
Knowledge of, and experience designing and implementing, best practices in secondary education, TVET and HEIs.
Command of quantitative and qualitative education and labor market analysis techniques.
Familiarity with the key organizations, development partners, donors, international organizations, and other actors relevant to education and TVET in Africa is required.
Strong budgeting and financial management skills with the ability to manage a portfolio of commitments.
Strong ability to communicate progress and learning from projects to colleagues and the wider development community.
Excellent project management skills, including multi-stakeholder projects.
Excellent presentation and listening skills, a strong collaborator with a proven ability to co-design solutions with partners and colleagues.
Knowledge of skills and workforce development aligned with one or more growth sectors (e.g., Agri- food systems, entrepreneurship, manufacturing, construction, creative industries, digital economy) would be an asset.
Solid experience and knowledge in skills development issues surrounding vulnerable groups (rural young women, refugee or displaced youth, youth with disabilities etc.).
Proactive, engaged and a self-starter.
Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
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. Bilingual French is highly desired.
Possess professional maturity, sensitivity with different cultures, and impeccable integrity that exemplify the Foundation’s values.
Demonstrate a commitment to Mastercard Foundation’s values and vision.