Ongoing Recruitment at Mastercard Foundation

Mastercard Foundation is a global foundation based across four hubs in Kigali, Rwanda, Nairobi, Kenya, Accra, Ghana and Toronto, Canada. Our programs promote financial inclusion and advance education and learning in Africa, primarily for young people, and in Canada for Indigenous youth. The Foundation was established in 2006 through the generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company. From inception, the Foundation was designed to be a separate entity and independent from Mastercard. Our policies, operations, and funding decisions are made by our President and Board of Directors.

The Foundation believes that youth employment is key to unlocking prosperity, both for youth and their societies. Enabling young women and men from disadvantaged communities to secure dignified and fulfilling work will ensure inclusive development and economic growth in Africa.

We are recruiting to fill the following positions below:

1.) Lead, Access to Finance and Financial Inclusion

Job Location: Lagos, Nigeria

The Work at The Foundation

• We are currently in an exciting period at the Mastercard Foundation as we intensify the implementation of the Young Africa Works strategy, aiming to empower 30 million young people throughout Africa to access dignified and fulfilling employment.
• To ensure the Foundation's accessibility to our partners and program participants, we have established offices in Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Uganda. These offices provide strong in-country support for the implementation of Young Africa Works.
• We collaborate with governments, the private sector, educators, and other funders to enhance the quality of education and vocational training, equip young individuals with the necessary skills for the workforce, expand access to financial services for entrepreneurs and small businesses, and facilitate connections between job seekers and meaningful employment opportunities.
• Our values serve as our guiding principles, transcending and surpassing all other considerations. We wholeheartedly encourage you to bring your bold ideas, curiosity, and expertise to your work.
• If you are an experienced Finance professional looking to increase your impact, read on!

The Opportunity

• Reporting to the Country Director, the Finance Lead has a primary focus on broadening access to financial services and providing strategic guidance for our country's programs.
• S/he will play a central role in shaping and implementing strategies that empower underserved communities, improve access to financial services, and enhance economic opportunities in these vital sectors across Nigeria.

Ways You Can Contribute

• Develop and execute a comprehensive financial inclusion and access to finance strategy that aligns with the Mastercard Foundation's mission and values. This strategy will focus on expanding access to financial services for underserved populations.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders, partners, regulators, and governmental agencies to drive sustainable and impactful financial inclusion and access to finance initiatives.
• Develop and implement innovative and blended financing models, including digital financial services and risk mitigation instruments, to reach remote and marginalized populations.
• Foster the growth of microfinance institutions and community-based financial service providers to extend financial access.
• Develop and deliver sector-specific capacity-building programs for stakeholders, enhancing their ability to provide and utilize financial services effectively. Organize training workshops, seminars, and knowledge-sharing events within the agriculture, creative, and digital sectors to promote skill development and growth.
• Lead the creation of a long-term vision for financial inclusion and access to finance in Nigeria, with special attention to the agriculture, creative, and digital sectors, ensuring alignment with the Foundation's objectives.
• Design, lead, and oversee access to finance initiatives that enhance the availability and affordability of financial services for underserved communities.
• Identify, cultivate, and manage partnerships with financial institutions, technology providers, government bodies, regulators, NGOs, and other relevant stakeholders to enhance the reach and impact of financial inclusion and access to finance programs.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with key stakeholders to foster collaboration and drive collective action towards achieving financial inclusion and access to finance goals.
• Provide expert advisory for sector programs in agriculture, creative, and the digital economy, identifying opportunities to integrate financial inclusion and access to finance strategies for maximum impact.
• Design, implement, and oversee innovative financial inclusion and access to finance programs tailored to the agriculture, creative, and digital sectors. Leverage technology, data analytics, and best practices to expand access to financial services, credit, savings, and insurance.
• Monitor the progress of programs and initiatives, ensuring alignment with sector-specific objectives and desired outcomes.
• Advocate for policies and regulatory reforms that foster inclusive financial systems and support sector growth, using insights from foundation-sponsored research to drive tangible economic impact.
• Identify, cultivate, and manage partnerships with stakeholders in these sectors, including agricultural associations, creative industry players, technology firms, and government bodies.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships to foster collaboration and drive collective action towards achieving financial inclusion and access to finance goals.
• Define sector specific KPIs and metrics to assess the impact of financial inclusion and access to finance programs and advisory efforts.
• Prepare regular reports and presentations for internal and external stakeholders, showcasing progress and outcomes within the agriculture, creative, and digital sectors.

Who You Are

• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in financial services, Impact Investing, inclusive and blended finance, microfinance, fintech, or related fields.
• Master's Degree in Finance, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field (Ph.D. is a plus).
• Strong knowledge of the Nigerian financial landscape, regulatory environment, and the entrepreneurship, agriculture, creative, and digital sectors.
• Proven track record in designing, implementing, and enabling successful financial inclusion strategies and initiatives, with expertise in providing advisory for sector programs.
• Demonstrated experience in partnership development, stakeholder engagement, and coalition building.
• Experience working with international development organizations, such as the World Bank, USAID, CGAP, and DFIs, is a valuable advantage.
• Ability to think strategically, analyze complex problems, and make data-driven decisions.
• Flexible, adaptable, agile, and able to execute a range of job duties with multiple deadlines and changing priorities.
• Proven excellence in verbal, written, and presentation skills with the ability to articulate information to a variety of constituents across cultures and to distill complex information and data into accessible conversation and written pieces.
• 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.

Click here to apply online

Note: To avoid missing email communication about your application, please check your spam/junk folder and mark our emails as "not junk".

2.) Partner, Country Program Operations

Job Location: Lagos, Nigeria

The Work at the Foundation

• We are currently in an exciting period at the Mastercard Foundation as we intensify the implementation of the Young Africa Works strategy, aiming to empower 30 million young people throughout Africa to access dignified and fulfilling employment.
• To ensure the Foundation's accessibility to our partners and program participants, we have established offices in Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Uganda. These offices provide strong in-country support for the implementation of Young Africa Works.
• We collaborate with governments, the private sector, educators, and other funders to enhance the quality of education and vocational training, equip young individuals with the necessary skills for the workforce, expand access to financial services for entrepreneurs and small businesses, and facilitate connections between job seekers and meaningful employment opportunities.
• Our values serve as our guiding principles, transcending and surpassing all other considerations. We wholeheartedly encourage you to bring your bold ideas, curiosity, and expertise to your work.
• If you are an experienced Program Operations Partner professional looking to increase your impact, read on!

The Opportunity

• Reporting to the Country Director, the Program Operations Partner will be responsible for harmonizing the complete spectrum of tasks within the office of the Country Director.
• This encompassing role involves coordinating areas such as education, performance assessment, reporting, and the entirety of operational functions spanning the array of programs across the country.
• The primary objective is to bolster the execution of programming efforts through seamless coordination and management.

Ways You Can Contribute

• Engage with Country Directors and Programs team members to ensure alignment between country plans, program priorities, and operational capabilities.
• Collaborate closely with other program operations teams like Program Monitoring and Planning to ensure coordination and cooperation.
• Contribute to developing country plans by providing timely operational data and insights.
• Assist Country Leadership and Business Partners in identifying resource needs for programs and support creating plans to address those needs.
• Serve as a key point of contact for the country's performance data, dashboards, forecasts, and impact metrics, working with Impact, Finance, and Business Intelligence teams.
• Support program leadership in creating management performance reports, analyzing key trends, and generating reports.
• Lead the execution of operational efforts and special projects across programs by managing priorities and activities monthly and contributing to the annual planning process.
• Coordinate and plan program forecasts and budgets in collaboration with the Country Director and other teams.
• Analyze program documentation and reports and deliver internal progress briefs and reporting, as required. 
• Provide best practices to ensure assigned projects run consistently and that risks are communicated. 
• Provide perspective and expertise on emerging issues and trends in relevant thematic and sector areas (with particular attention to entrepreneurship, education, agriculture, and digital economy.
• Provide updates and research findings on relevant industry trends and country data.
• Drive consideration of cross-cutting priorities such as gender, safeguarding, disability and inclusion in regional program implementation.  
• Manage specific implementation processes, policies, and standards for the program to ensure quality and alignment.
• Collaborate with programming and business partners to standardize processes, identify necessary updates, plan for changes, and manage revisions centrally.
• Contribute insights to the Foundation’s thought leadership on youth and work in Africa.
• Facilitate the documentation of learning processes and procedures, working with Country Teams and Theme Teams to collect and share lessons.

Who You Are

• Bachelor's Degree in Operations or related field.
• Minimum of six (6) years of overall experience, out of which at least two (2) years should be at the management level.
• Experience working in Africa is required.
• Experience in public and private sector contexts in roles that provide strong operational and strategy exposure.
• Relevant professional qualification: Project Management and Change Management certification, amongst others.
• Experience managing significant budgets or expenditures.
• Consulting experience is an added advantage.
• Proven experience engaging and collaborating with stakeholders in non-governmental and multilateral organizations, education institutions, government, MSMEs, private sector, as well as young people.
• Proven experience designing programs and building partnerships.
• Proven experience in integrating gender equality and inclusion outcomes in programs and operations.
• Substantive knowledge of key issues, emerging trends, and barriers in youth and work across Africa.
• Flexible, adaptable, agile, and able to execute a range of job duties with multiple deadlines and changing priorities.
• Proven excellence in verbal, written, and presentation skills with the ability to articulate information to a variety of constituents across cultures and to distill complex information and data into accessible conversation and written pieces.
• Strategy development and work plan translation as well as analytic and quantitative capabilities.
• Ability to lead, facilitate, formulate, organize, and clearly express program roadmaps and translation to executable work plans.
• 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.
• 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.

Click here to apply online

Note: To avoid missing email communication about your application, please check your spam/junk folder and mark our emails as "not junk".

3.) Program Partner

Job Location: Lagos, Nigeria

Description
The work at the Foundation:

• We are currently in an exciting period at the Mastercard Foundation as we intensify the implementation of the Young Africa Works strategy, aiming to empower 30 million young people throughout Africa to access dignified and fulfilling employment.
• To ensure the Foundation's accessibility to our partners and program participants, we have established offices in Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Uganda. These offices provide strong in-country support for the implementation of Young Africa Works. We collaborate with governments, the private sector, educators, and other funders to enhance the quality of education and vocational training, equip young individuals with the necessary skills for the workforce, expand access to financial services for entrepreneurs and small businesses, and facilitate connections between job seekers and meaningful employment opportunities.
• Our values serve as our guiding principles, transcending and surpassing all other considerations. We wholeheartedly encourage you to bring your bold ideas, curiosity, and expertise to your work.
• If you are an experienced Program Partner professional looking to increase your impact, read on!

The Opportunity

• Reporting to the Program Lead, the Program Partner will be responsible for supporting design and implementation activities related to program delivery in Nigeria.
• The role will provide expertise and interact effectively with partner organizations and ecosystem stakeholders to advance the delivery of the Young Africa Works strategy at the country level.

Ways you can Contribute

• Provide support to the Program Lead in diagnosing and contributing to expertise on the financing environment and policy to inform country strategy design, partnership development, and monitoring processes.
• Collaborate with Program Leads / Partners to review proposals, develop strategic outcomes and program roadmaps.
• Contribute to evolution in thinking and new approaches needed to get to scale.
• Integrate impact considerations to ensure the needs of young women and young people, in general, are addressed within the program design.
• Communicate progress and learnings from projects to colleagues and the wider development community.
• Identify challenges and opportunities facing the creatives sector that can be unlocked through education, skills, business development services, market, regulatory support, and financial systems to drive job growth.
• Contribute insights to the Foundation’s thought leadership on youth employment in Africa.
• Build relationships with partner organizations, communities of practice, and relevant support systems.
• Support the adaptation of the Foundation’s programming and learning related to MSME/Financing to specific country contexts, leveraging country diagnostics and learning from our portfolio of partners.
• Manage current and future financing programs, implement partner coordination, review narrative and financial reporting, undertake regular partner/site visits and distill learnings.
• Support the delivery of appropriate mechanisms to monitor effectiveness and impact of Financing interventions in collaboration with Impact staff.
• Serve as a local point of contact and collaborator across a range of interested parties on issues of common concern to leverage positive impact toward common goals.
• Represent the Foundation and collaborate with key internal and external stakeholders.

Who You Are

• Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Business and Development Economics or a related field.
• Minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience in a similar organization.
• Experience and expertise and ability in designing and managing relevant and appropriate solutions for MSMEs in various sectors and various stages of development.
• Relevant professional qualification and a member of a relevant professional body.
• Experience working on MSME support programs in Nigeria and knowledge of Nigerian and West African social, economic, regulatory, business, and political contexts.
• Demonstrate experience in project design and management with focus on enterprise development and MSME support.
• Excellent understanding of MSME segments (from early-stage start-ups to growth-stage SMEs) in Africa and the systemic challenges constraining their growth, with a particularly understanding of the Nigeria context.
• Flexible, adaptable, agile, and able to execute a range of job duties with multiple deadlines and changing priorities.
• Proven excellence in verbal, written, and presentation skills with the ability to articulate information to a variety of constituents across cultures and to distill complex information and data into accessible conversation and written pieces.
• Excellent understanding of the role MSMEs can play in economic transformation and job creation.
• Excellent budgeting skills with the ability to manage a portfolio of commitments.
• Excellent project management skills, including multi-stakeholder projects.
• 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.

Click here to apply online

Note: To avoid missing email communication about your application, please check your spam/junk folder and mark our emails as "not junk".