Program Lead, Digital Economy WAEMU

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 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, young people, 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 experienced digital economy professional looking to increase your impact, read on!

Position available for experienced WAEMU candidates

THE OPPORTUNITY

Reporting to the WAEMU Program Head, the Program Lead, Digital Economy will be responsible for engaging partners for successful program design and implementation. The role will work collaboratively with Foundation staff, such as Program country team members and Program Lead to ensure the integration of access to the digital economy in country roadmap.

WAYS YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE 

• Supporting design of country roadmap;
  • Provide support in diagnosing and contributing to expertise on digital economy enabling environment and policy to inform country strategy design, partnership development, and monitoring processes.
  • Provide digital technology expertise to support the design and management of programs that leverage technology to scale country-level inclusive agriculture systems in Africa.
  • 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.
• Work closely with the program and Cluster teams to leverage synergies across programs and across geographies.
• Support the management of current or future programs as appropriate, distilling learnings for the country and technical teams as well as wider Foundation staff.
• Provide implementation support to partners and identify collaboration opportunities.
• Participate in governance activities related to programs, such as investment committees, advisory committees or other stakeholder  to provide oversight or elevate and leverage learnings.
• Contribute insights to the Foundation’s thought leadership on digital skills development in Africa by writing blogs, attending and presenting at conferences and identifying other opportunities to share and deepen learning.
• Provide assistance in expanding the Foundation team’s capacity relating to digital skills development and digital policy, by sharing learning and supporting country teams.
• Support the design and delivery of appropriate mechanisms to monitor effectiveness and impact of skills development interventions in close collaboration with the Impact Learning team.
• Track program progress and collaborating with colleagues in Impact and D&L to collect and validate data and learnings.
• Raise programmatic issues to Cluster Program Lead / Program Lead and WAEMU Cluster Director and WAEMU Program Head  as they arise and leveraging Foundation resources to resolve.
• Build and manage relationships with implementing partners in conjunction with the Program Team.
• Build partnerships and maintain relationships with key stakeholders at country-level, communities of practice and global stakeholders.

WHO YOU ARE

• Master’s degree or equivalent experience in education, business, or a technology-related field is required.
• Experience in a commercial function in at least one relevant digital technology industry focused on low income customers – e.g. product management, strategy, design.
• Familiarity with relevant technologies and sectors with potential for emerging markets - software solutions, app or platform providers, venture capital, incubators, digital financial services providers, e-government, data analytics, etc.
• Experience working with the non-profit or public sectors, particularly in a role relating to digital technology.
• Experience with entrepreneurship or intrapreneurship.
• Demonstrated knowledge of African social, economic and political contexts.
• Excellent project management skills, including multi-stakeholder projects.
• Experience living and/or working in Africa.
• Knowledge of digital inclusion policy is an asset.
• Good organizational skills and demonstrated ability to handle multiple tasks.
• Flexible, adaptable, and able to execute a range of job duties and changing priorities.
• Excellent presentation and listening skills.
• Proficiency in English, written and oral is required. Ability to speak a local language is highly preferred. French is an asset.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• High emotional intelligence and comfort with ambiguity.
• 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.

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.

For more information and to sign up for the Foundation’s newsletter, please visit http://www.mastercardfdn.org/
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