Program Lead, Digital Economy at 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.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Program Lead, Digital Economy

Location: Lagos

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 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! 

The Opportunity

• Reporting to the Country Head, Nigeria; the Program Lead, Digital Economy will be responsible for a portfolio of digitally focused and digitally enabled partnerships aligning with the Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy.
• You will work with external implementing partner organizations and ecosystem stakeholders to advance the development and delivery of the Foundation’s country strategy.
• The Program Lead, Digital Economy will also provide expertise and work collaboratively with Program Country Team members in other technical areas (e.g., Agriculture, Access to Finance, Education & Skills, etc.).

Ways You Can Contribute

• Lead the initiation, co-creation, and implementation of digitally focused and digitally enabled partnerships across all relevant economic sectors and value chains to scale country-level inclusive education, financial services, labor, and entrepreneurial systems in Nigeria. 
• Engage with mandated institutions, private sector/industry stakeholders and young people to co-create opportunities linking/enabling them to access dignified and fulfilling work. 
• Provide expertise on digital enabling environment and policy to inform Nigeria country strategy design, partnership development, and monitoring processes.   
• Integrate impact considerations to ensure the needs of young people are addressed within the digital focused and digital enabled program design. 
• Work collaboratively with other Country Program teams to identify relevant interlinkages to support key interventions (financial inclusion, capacity building, labor systems and chosen thematic areas) that leverage technology to scale in Africa. 
• Contribute insights to the Foundation’s thought leadership on digital skills development in Africa and identifying opportunities to share and deepen learnings internally and externally with the wider development community. 
• Manage current or future programs in the digital space as appropriate and collaborate with Country Program teams and other co-located teams to leverage synergies and opportunities to enhance Impact of Young Africa Works programs. 
• Represent the Foundation’s interest in programming governance activities such as investment committees, advisory committees, or other stakeholders to provide oversight or elevate and leverage learnings. 
• Work closely with implementation partners and beneficiaries to contribute towards systematic learning and reflection processes to enable for continuous adaptive management of the programs. 
• Guide implementation partners in identifying and overcoming barriers to effectiveness by sharing knowledge and learnings while offering insights. 
• Provide perspective and expertise on emerging issues and trends in the digital economy space relevant to the Young Africa Works strategy. 
• Consistently remain current with respect to developments in the digital economy space in Nigeria. 
• Supervise colleagues and/or direct reports (such as Digital Economy Partners) by providing timely coaching and support necessary for success and growth.  

Who You Are

• You have a Master’s Degree or equivalent experience in Education, Business, or a Technology-related field.   
• Minimum of 10 years’ experience working with the private and non-profit sectors, particularly in a role relating to digital technology and skills development in Africa. 
• 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. 
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (PowerPoint, Word, and Excel). 
• Fluency in English is required. Ability to speak any local language(s) in Nigeria is an asset. 
• Flexible, adaptable, and able to execute a range of job duties and changing priorities. 
• Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills with the ability to articulate information to a variety of constituents across cultures. 
• You possess professional maturity, sensitivity with different cultures, and impeccable integrity that exemplify the Foundation’s values. 
• You have a commitment to Mastercard Foundation’s values and vision.

Application Closing Date
21st September, 2021.