Summary
Date Posted: Monday, October 10, 2022 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Director, Agriculture & Climate Action
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.

Understanding Canada Programs At The Foundation
The Foundation has begun working within Canada in partnership with Indigenous communities and post-secondary institutions to listen, learn, and best understand how we can act in meaningful ways. The EleV strategy was co-created with Indigenous communities, young people, and partners to enable 30,000 Indigenous youth to complete their education and transition to dignified work aligned with their values and aspirations.

As reflected in Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, education is a key driver of improved socio-economic well-being. Through building partnerships with Indigenous communities, we look to expand our initiative ultimately helping to support a generation of transformative Indigenous young leaders who will be change agents within their communities. We believe that by setting a bold target, we will encourage engagement across sectors and create momentum that will elevate the strengths and opportunities of Indigenous youth. In keeping with our approach, Indigenous communities and young people will be the drivers of this transformation. The program will promote innovations to address longer-term systemic change to achieve economic prosperity and social well-being within Indigenous communities.

The EleV team oversees current and emerging partnerships related to Indigenous education. Consistent with our overall vision and Youth Africa Works strategy, we will share learnings and opportunities to connect across the work of the Foundation. While operating in distinct contexts, the centrality of youth voice and vision, affirmation of culture and identity, and priority to enhance community capacity for self-determination are common threads upon which our work is strengthened and reinforced.
If you are an experienced Director, Agriculture & Climate Action looking to increase your impact, read on!

The Opportunity
Reporting to the Executive Director, Pan African Programs, the role will be responsible for building the Agriculture and Climate Action unit within Pan-African Programs, by designing the strategic direction, recruiting a team and overseeing a portfolio of multi-country programs that will accelerate the Foundation’s commitment to enable dignified and fulfilling work for young women and men.

The successful candidate will be based in any of our listed offices in Africa (Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria).

Ways You Can Contribute
• Contribute to the consolidated Pan African Programs Strategy.
• Design the Agriculture and Climate Action strategy and roadmap.
• Identify the opportunities for the Foundation to establish strategic partnerships and deliver impact at scale at pan-African level to support the transformation of agriculture in Africa.
• Work with the Foundation’s leaders and resources to articulate and draft the agricultural and climate action roadmap.
• Lead the scoping, incubation, design, and delivery of all programs within Agriculture and Climate Action thematic area.
• Provide oversight of the programme’s activity portfolio, including work plans, budgets, implementation, and ensuring that reporting requirements and impact targets are met.
• Oversee agriculture and climate action programs delivery across the continent.
• Ensure strategic cohesion, coordination of programming efforts, and knowledge sharing within the agriculture and climate action thematic area while also collaborating with the Foundation’s Advisors.
• Manage risks related to agriculture and climate action thematic area and propose respective mitigation plan to the Executive Director for resolution.
• Engage and maintain relationships with the relevant stakeholders including institutions of interest, peer funders and others that have relevance to the Foundation’s work in the field of Agriculture and Climate Action.
• Convene thematic expertise and advance thought leadership externally and across the Foundation.
• Cultivating relationships and facilitating engagements (e.g., roundtables, forums) with external thought leaders, experts and innovators to advance the Foundation’s agriculture and climate action thought leadership.
• Serve as focal point for the Foundation in continental and global agriculture and climate platforms that can scale and accelerate the Foundation’s programs.
• Promote a culture of innovation and agility that facilitates the ideation of new programs.
• Promote collaboration and information sharing within Agriculture and Climate Action thematic area both inside and outside of the organization.
• Identify and help support cutting-edge research on agriculture and climate action across the full value chain and across the continent in conjunction with the research team.
• Interface with Foundation business partners across other functional areas to test/refine and deploy the most efficient operating model.
• Build and Lead a team in embedding operational excellence in day-to-day prioritization of work within Agriculture and Climate Action thematic area.
• Oversee team resourcing and delegation to align to business partner processes, performance management input for business partners.
• Interface with Country Directors in the design and delivery of Programs that have overlapping themes.
• Integrate the various programming across the Foundation linked to the Pan-African agriculture and climate action agenda.
• Provide linkages in programming at the country-level.
• Model and reinforce the Foundation’s values in behaviors and interactions across the teams.
• Coach direct reports across the team to support their productivity in the consistent excellent delivery of program KPIs.

Who You Are
• Master’s degree in social sciences, agronomy, agriculture, including gender/women’s/youth studies, education related field from a recognized university; or another relevant professional qualification is required.
• Minimum of 15 years’ relevant experience in a similar organisation setting with 5 at senior management level.
• Experience and knowledge of/with the landscape of local, national, regional, and pan-African organizations and networks as well as knowledge of the country-specific social, economic and political contexts.
• Experience in agriculture and/or climate action at Pan African level.
• Extensive experience of agriculture and/or climate action strategy and program design and implementation in Africa.
• Experience in leading organizational policy development and delivery and ensuring its effectively delivery across a global organization.
• Ability to be flexible within a fast paced, changing environment.
• Experience working with organizations that elevate Gender initiatives within the agriculture and climate action space.
• Mastery of Microsoft Office suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel).
• Strong coordination and project management skills.
• Excellent organizational and prioritization skills; demonstrated attention to detail and ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Exposure to systems thinking with an ability to understand and engage with stakeholders in different ecosystems and design programming that addresses root causes and critical needs.
• Substantive knowledge of key issues and emerging trends and barriers in youth and work across Africa.
• Excellent English written and spoken communication skills, proofreading skills with a high attention to detail.
• Demonstrated strategic-acumen and thinking skills.
• Demonstrable influencing skills at a senior leadership level and with high profile stakeholders.
• Proven success in developing and leading a global team.
• Strong inter-personal and influencing skills, able to manage conflict and handle sensitive issues, particularly in cross-cultural and cross-departmental contexts.
• Creative and solution-focused attitude.
• Proven people management skills and team-building skills.
• Experience in program design.
• Excellent inter-personal skills and experience of working in a multi-cultural team.
• 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.

Deadline for Applications is October 25, 2022

Job Experience: No Requirements

Work Hours: 8

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Job application procedure

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/ 
Follow the Foundation on Twitter at @MastercardFdn  

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