Rwanda Impact Consultant

ABOUT MASTERCARD FOUNDATION

 Mastercard Foundation seeks a world where everyone has the opportunity to learn and prosper. The Foundation was established in 2006 through the generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company. Independent from the company with its own Board of Directors, senior leadership and growing staff across Africa the Foundation’s Mission is to support a world where everyone has the opportunity to learn and prosper.

Through its Young Africa Works Strategy, the Foundation supports partners and interventions to transform and scale up market-based strategies to ensure that millions of young people, especially young women, access quality education, financial services, and dignified work. The proposition of these investments is that they will lead to improvements in the lives of young people, their families, communities and the systems upon which they depend.

The Foundation has decentralized its Africa operations to seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal (hosting the WAEMU regional office), and Uganda, and to large Africa-based regional and pan-African partnerships. The Foundation is becoming a major funder in Africa, and in indigenous communities in Canada. Read more about the Foundation.

THE WORK OF THE FOUNDATION

The Mastercard Foundation’s strategy, Young African Works (YAW), outlines how, over the next decade, the Foundation will support solutions to the youth employment challenge in Africa and indigenous communities in Canada. The Foundation’s investments aim to ensure 30 million young people in Africa, particularly young women, secure dignified and fulfilling work and through this improve their lives, the lives of their families and communities. Read more about the YAW Strategy.

The Foundation encourages integrated interventions and partnerships that lead to country/program strategic and intermediate outcomes. The design of the intervention, including levers and partner archetypes, will guide the selection of partners who should work together to successfully deliver intervention objectives along seven Portfolio Outcome Themes: (i) equitable access to increase market opportunities, (ii) deepened financial inclusion, (ii) increased contribution of technological solutions, (iv) strengthened skills and capacity of youth, (v) enhanced organizational effectiveness, (vi) strong formal and informal institutions, and (vii) ensuring youth rights, inclusion, and voice.

MEASURING AND DEMONSTRATING IMPACT IN THE FOUNDATION

The bold shifts in the Foundation’s strategy and operating model have created new and exciting opportunities for the Foundation and its partners to know more about what matters to young women and men, what difference dignified work means for them as individuals and the ripple effect on their families and communities, and at scale at country level. To respond to this opportunity the Foundation has recently adopted an innovative and pioneering Impact Strategy that requires the Foundation to conceive of and practice monitoring and evaluation differently from conventional funder-centered approaches. The Impact Strategy commits to going beyond measuring outputs to measuring outcomes and impact, sustainable changing in lives and livelihoods, and in doing so to elevate the voice of young people in determining what sustainable and transformative change means to them, their families, communities and the systems upon which they depend.

The Impact Team is comprised of 28 staff members with a Core Management Team of 6 Directors of Workstreams who together set overall strategy and standards for impact practice across the Foundation. Impact staff in seven countries in Africa have operational responsibility for implementing the Impact Strategy in Africa.

OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF THIS ASSIGNMENT

The Consultant will be responsible for leading the Impact function in Rwanda. The Consultant will also be responsible for the task and deliverables listed below. These tasks may be adapted upon agreement as the Impact work and priorities evolve.

Country Impact Measurement and Reporting

• Oversee the Country Impact Partner Organization (IPO), a third-party agency contracted to support evaluation, impact monitoring and verification activities that contribute to adaptive management and accountability for the Foundation’s investment at the country level.
• Support ongoing Outcomes Baseline work in partnership with the IPO, to ensure timely and quality completion of key deliverables (regular updates to the baseline technical working group, analyzed data, peer reviewed baseline report, sense-making sessions, research papers etc.).
• Contribute to the roll-out of an impact monitoring approach, and guide the IPO to undertake the impact assessment and production of 2023 Impact report for Rwanda. In doing this, the Consultant will consult with the Technical Working Group and Country Director to ensure alignment on approach to developing the report and coordinating inputs from the program team into the design as well as draft report to ensure completion of Impact report by end of Q3.
• Support the outcome and impact evaluation team in planned reviews and evaluations at the country level, as required.

Support the Young Impact Associates (YIA) Program

• Provide support to the IPO to identify, engage, train and mentor young Rwandans (12 of them) to inspire and prepare them as MEL professional. These Young Impact Associates will be engaged in the work of the IPO (impact monitoring, evaluations, etc.) in a manner that it becomes a relevant profession for them.
• Monitor adherence to Foundation policies and guidelines as relates to the YIA program and timelines, build and manage professional relationships with IPO and YIAs, and oversee and participate in their work as appropriate.

Measurement Framework Operationalization

• Engage strategically with Country Director and Program Leads in applying the systems thinking in designing for impact both in program co-creation, partnership development and onboarding processes.
• Support development and refinement of the country measurement frameworks to reflect the portfolio approach.

Management

• Ensure IPO and consultants have the tools, guidance, and processes to effectively implement measurement framework and to manage reviews and evaluations.  
• Manage in-country impact activities and ensure regular and timely updates on progress to the Director, Impact Africa and the Country Director.
• Participate in country management meetings and Impact team meetings, including relevant working groups. Present impact work at different country and partner meetings as required.

REPORTING AND COLLABORATION

The Consultant will report to the Director, Impact Africa and work closely with the Heads of Impact Workstreams, other Impact Africa staff and Country Program staff. The consultant will provide strategic advice to the Country Director on ways to position Impact work and products that aligns with the Country Roadmap and fosters optimum pathways of impact as observed in this assignment. The consultancy is expected to last for a period of six (6) months – starting April/May 2023, with probability for extension.

WHO YOU ARE

• Post-graduate degree and/or equivalent experience and training is an asset.
• A knowledge of research methods, and in particular research approaches and skills related to gathering data and insights among indigenous communities, youth, and other vulnerable groups, using appropriate cultural lenses and perspectives.
• Ten (10) plus years' experience working with the private and non-profit sectors, in the field of impact measurement, Monitoring and evaluation and research.
• Demonstrated technical expertise in qualitative and quantitative research methods, tool design, validation, and data analysis.
• Experience navigating research protocols, review processes and management of big data with government and academic institutions.
• Experience applying a range of tech-enabled tools for data collection, analysis, reporting, and communication.
• Experience in applying participatory approaches and demonstrated commitment to gender inclusion and youth engagement.
• Skills and competency to develop Measurable Outcomes and Impact and supporting implementing partners in putting in place systems to track these.
• Understanding of systems thinking and strong ability to develop and test theories of change and associated practice tools as they may be relevant and appropriate for indigenous communities.
• A dynamic thinker, who brings effective experience in stakeholder engagement and policy influencing. This can include experience working in community-based organizations, governance and related councils/commissions, regional and national government, and the private sector.
• Strong problem-solving skills combined with a track record of pivoting in response to opportunities and challenges.

Deadline for Applications is March 24, 2023.

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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