The opportunity
Reporting to the Country Director, the Head of Workforce Development will shape and execute the workforce development strategy for WAEMU. This role is instrumental in driving capacity development and upskilling initiatives for the Education, Skills & TVET sector, and Youth-led grassroots solutions work streams, primarily focusing on enhancing employment opportunities within these fields.
You will ensure the development and implementation of partnerships, design, and execution plans within the Workforce Development unit and their alignment with the country roadmap and with enterprise-level priorities, including those outlined in the Foundation’s Scholars Program, Education &Transition, Inclusion and Youth Engagement frameworks. Some of the key areas of focus for this role include the development of contextually relevant, innovative, and effective approaches to improve the quality and relevance of secondary/TVET and skilling/upskilling young people, young women, and those young people who have challenges to access opportunities due to displacement, where they live and because they are people with disabilities to enable them to access dignified and fulfilling work.


Ways you can contribute
• Identifies opportunities to create impact through developing interventions in the education and skills sector in alignment with the country roadmap.
• Identifies collaboration opportunities within the existing partner network and potential new partnerships that are relevant to country-specific circumstances.
• Leads the integration of education and skills initiatives with other programs, including transitions, youth engagement and inclusion, and youth-led grassroots solutions, and ensures alignment with the vision articulated in the country roadmap.
• Drive the development and execution of a programmatic approach and framework to facilitate collaboration, strategic coherence, and alignment in areas of education, skilling, school-to-work transition, and preparation and placement of young people in work anchored on the country road map.
• Provide technical leadership to ensure the country program and partnerships address young people’s current and emerging needs, especially young women.
• Set up and utilize genuine and comfortable forums to drive engagement and solicit input from young people (networks/groups), especially young women.
• Support Country Programs colleagues during the co-creation of partnerships to ensure the youth’s lens is captured and addressed in the approach taken around Education/Skills, Access to Finance, and Digital enablement.
• Support implementing partners in building effective youth engagement and outreach mechanisms that keep young women and men as the focal point of their approach.

• Drive inclusion, ensuring that all entrepreneurship and transition programs and inputs consider the specific constraints of young people with different needs.
• Facilitates innovations and local solutions to engage young people, young women, and those with different needs and unlock opportunities in emerging economic sectors.
• Manages relationships with senior leaders of stakeholders such as educational institutions, mandated public offices, ministries, and youth-led organizations.
• Supports development of Workforce Development unit budget and Country program budget in line with policies & processes.
• Supports in preparing communications related to the Workforce development unit towards internal & external contacts for approval promptly.
• Determines internal and external meetings involving the Country program’s partners in relation to Workforce development.
• Coaches and mentors, the team within the Workforce Development unit and beyond
• Leads the team to deliver results aligned with Foundation goals and KPIs.
• Cultivate and manage relationships with key partner institutions, peer funders, thematic advisors, directors, and Country Directors within the education workforce development space.
• Facilitate engagements with external thought leaders and forums to enhance the Foundation’s reputation as a thought leader in WAEMU.
• Serve as a focal point for the Foundation in local Workforce Development platforms that can scale and accelerate Mastercard Foundation programs.
• Recruit and build a cohesive workforce development team in WAEMU and grow our people.
• Interact with counterparts from other program teams to ensure strategic alignment and inform the Country Director about workforce development projects.


Who you are
• A master’s degree in a relevant field, including education, management, economic development, or related social sciences, along with relevant professional qualifications and membership in a relevant professional body.
• A minimum of 12 years of experience driving strategy and program success across WAEMU or African countries.
• At least five years of leadership and management experience, with a minimum of 3 years in a multi-country African environment.
• Demonstrated expertise in education and skills development, workforce development, or related fields, with a deep understanding of WAEMU’s education and skills landscape.
• Proven track record of working with and mentoring successful workforce development endeavours.
• Experience in public policy within nonprofit organizations, international NGOs, or educational institutions, effectively engaging with senior government officials, key partners, media, business leaders, and other influential individuals.
• Experience in educational technology assessment and evaluation, youth and adult learning and development, curriculum development, and teacher training strategy is advantageous.
• Excellent operational skills covering education policy and planning and the ability to lead complex policy and strategy dialogue.
• Excellent leadership and supervisory skills with an established track record managing teams, influencing dialogue and policy across sectors, and demonstrating strong prioritization and managerial abilities.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills and a history of successful partnership development involving multiple public and private stakeholders.
• A strong strategic sense, including prioritizing and exiting activities when necessary.
• Demonstrated in-depth experience and a track record of results, successfully working across educational practices, disciplinary, and institutional boundaries.
• Excellent writing and presentation skills and critical and analytical abilities.
• You have a commitment to Mastercard Foundation’s values and vision.


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.