Commonwealth Recruitment for Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs (CAYE) Africa Coordinator

The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 54 independent and equal countries. It is home to 2.4 billion people, and includes both advanced economies and developing countries. 32 of our members are small states, including many island nations.

Applications are invited for the position below:

Job Title: Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs (CAYE) Africa Coordinator

Location: Remote
Duration: Twelve (12) months
Period: 1 November 2020 – 31 October 2021

Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs - Africa

• The Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs (CAYE) has been established in Asia-Pacific, Caribbean and Africa. The three regional Africa networks were merged into one in May 2019 in order to increase impact, expand the network’s reach and facilitate co-ordination across the Africa region.
• A ‘network of networks’ model, CAYE brings together national networks of young entrepreneurs and organisations which support young entrepreneurs, to engage with governments, the private sector, the media and other stakeholders to champion the cause of youth entrepreneurship at the local, national, regional and international level, and drive trade and good entrepreneurship practice and education within and beyond the region. For young entrepreneurs, there is immense potential in having a platform that links young entrepreneurs within and between each region of the Commonwealth, and also with the rest of the world. These regional alliance of young entrepreneurs are playing an important role in enhancing economic participation for young people in the areas of Policy and Advocacy, Trade Growth and Business Development, Mentorship and Promoting youth entrepreneurship as a viable sector.
• The main initiatives that these alliances have initiated since their establishment focused on bilateral trade mission, business to business networking, advocacy on behalf of young entrepreneurs and building partnerships (such as the CAYE Asia Innovation Centre). One of the flagship initiatives of CAYE has been the convening of regional Entrepreneurship Summit which provides a platform for youth entrepreneurs and business leaders to interact with like-minded entrepreneurs from the region, build new networks with key industry leaders, forge meaningful partnership, gain insights into key trends and learn best practices.
• CAYE Africa is searching for their next Coordinator to lead a team of passionate entrepreneurs from the region for year 2020 - 2021. We are inviting applications from young, highly resourceful and suitably qualified individuals who are familiar and passionate about growing and advocating for young entrepreneurs.

Key Deliverables & Responsibility

• The main role of CAYE - Africa Coordinator is to coordinate and spearhead growth of the Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs’ key operational functions.

As CAYE - Africa Coordinator, you will be expected to undertake the following key responsibilities:

• Oversee the routine management and growth of CAYE-Africa;
• Form, support, engage and manage a young and active Executive Committee;
• Support the strengthening of communication, partnerships and collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC), Commonwealth Youth Networks, and other stakeholders as directed;
• Form, maintain and grow strong collaboration and synergy with all CAYE chapters;
• Draft proposals and strategic briefs to mobilise governments and stakeholders to support the delivery of the CAYE-Africa strategic plan and roadmap with input from the network’s Executive Committee;
• Increase visibility, outreach and membership of CAYE-Africa (which includes building a database of young entrepreneurs, a brand and online presence and designing community initiatives);
• Join and contribute to Commonwealth Youth Forum International Taskforce in delivering the organisation’s policy agenda for the Commonwealth Youth Forum and CHOGM2021;
• Co-ordinate and organise the regional and pan-commonwealth CAYE summits to be held in 2021, including the design to execution of the programme;
• Maintain frequent and consistent communication with the assigned staff(s) from the Commonwealth Secretariat managing the network, this includes ensuring regular updates of the network’s work and also the sharing of opportunities and announcements from the secretariat to all members of the network.

Eligibility
Applicants must:

• Be aged between 18 to 29 years at the time of application;
• Be a citizen of a Commonwealth member country;
• Have a strong commitment to CAYE’s vision and mission;
• Have experience in entrepreneurship, start-ups and innovation
• Be available to commit 18 hours per week to network activities.

Compulsory & Desirable Skills
Administration Support:

• The candidate should possess excellent administrative and people skills, ability to coordinate/support meetings, write publications, policy papers, support research and thematic policy areas

Project Management & Implementation:

• The candidate should be able to commit the time required, at ~18 hours per week
• Possess project management/project delivery skills, support partnerships development, implementation track record, build stakeholders/network relationships & strategic planning
• Candidate should be able to demonstrate resourcefulness

Networking:

• The candidate should be able to demonstrate his/her network in the relevant space
• The candidate should also to account and share for the skills to grow a community and network, beyond personal networks.

Compulsory Characteristic & Personality
Perseverance:

• The candidate should demonstrate commitment and perseverance in their past roles and experience

Diversity and Inclusion:

• The candidate should be able to show interest and past experience working in diverse teams and on diversity and inclusion matters.

EQ:

• The candidate should be able to show exemplary people management skills, be able to build relationships and be the liaison between the commonwealth Secretariat and the Executive team of the Network.
• The candidate should be organised, diplomatic and emotionally intelligent.

Salary

• The selected candidates will work remotely and will receive a monthly stipend.
• A nominal honorarium will be provided for this role

Application Closing Date
15th October, 2020 23:59 Hrs (BST)

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Click here for more information (PDF)

Do note that the form will require you to upload documents but not limited to the following:

• Resume
• A cover letter outlining your experience
• 1 reference letter from a reputable and relevant referee
• Contact details to your reference