MasterCard Foundation Job For Senior Manager, Strategy & Learning

Mastercard Foundation is a global foundation based in Toronto, Canada. Our programs promote financial inclusion and advance youth learning in Africa. 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. By enabling young women and men from disadvantaged communities to secure and sustain decent work, we will enable tangible and intrinsic improvements to their well-being. By 2030, we want to see an Africa where young people, particularly young women, have decent and fulfilling work. Where everyone can acquire the education and skills they need to find meaningful work and contribute to their societies. Where everyone is financially included and has access to relevant, affordable, and local financial services that they need to manage their daily lives, grow their businesses, and achieve their dreams. Most importantly, we want to see an Africa with a thriving private sector and where governments address the needs of their populations through well-designed and implemented policies and programs, and where the continent is self-reliant and driving its own development.

The Foundation values innovative and fresh thinking as it strives to become a global thought leader. Its work is achieved by a strategic, nimble and adaptable team with a proactive and results-oriented approach to its philanthropic activities. The organization’s culture is shaped by people who are driven and passionate about the Foundation’s mission.

THE POSITION

Reporting to the?Associate Director, the?goal of?the Senior Manager is to catalyze learning and evidenced-based decision-making?across the Foundation and within our networks of stakeholders. Working?within the Strategy & Learning department and?closely with the?Thought Leadership,?Communications,?and People & Culture?departments, as well as?the Program Team, this role has primary responsibility for?mobilizing knowledge?using a wide range of?processes, products?and tools.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Conduct quality assessment of statistical data generated by national data collection agencies and identify opportunities for capacity support.
• Identify local and/or regional learning partners to support learning activities when possible and identify opportunities to strengthen institutional capacity.
• Support the development and implementation of the Foundation-wide research framework.
• Commission research projects and partners, including drafting Request for Proposals, managing proposal and partner selection, and contracting processes.
• Manage ongoing research projects with a wide variety of research partners with a wide range of experience, expertise, and capacity.
• Contribute to regular updates of the evidence map informing our work, scanning the emerging literature and practice for relevant evidence to guide our programs and investments.
• Contribute to and lead the effective internal and external use of research-related evidence, including the uptake of research results by Foundation teams, both in Toronto and Africa.
• Contribute to a learning culture within the Foundation that is reflective, people-focused, and rooted in evidence.
• Assist with development and maintenance of internal research guidance, including tools, processes, and information management.
• Support the development and revisions of the ‘Evaluation Policy’ and approaches.
• Lead the planning, design and implementation of mixed-method approaches of evaluations, including but not limited to, impact evaluations.
• Develop a process for procuring, reviewing and selecting contractors for external evaluations.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Post-graduate degree and/or equivalent experience in a development-related discipline (Economics, Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science, International Affairs, etc.)
• Minimum of 10 years working experience in social impact measurement with demonstrated technical expertise in both quantitative and qualitative research methods, tool design, validation and data analysis.
• Experience working within the international development sector with subject matter expertise in labour market analysis, financial inclusion, education and technology.
• Knowledge and experience on private sector development and job growth, especially related to business environment.
• Bilingual in English and French languages.
• Experience with knowledge translation, including synthesizing data and information for different audiences and articulating key insights.
• Demonstrated experience in operational M&E to measure both project and systems level change using a variety of approaches and methods including contribution analysis.
• Demonstrated experience in delivering training on research and evaluation methods.
• Professional maturity and impeccable integrity with sensitivity to working within different cultures.
• Flexible, adaptable and detail-oriented with the ability to manage multiple tasks in a dynamic environment
• High tolerance for ambiguity and change, and ability to adapt to changing priorities  within a fast-paced work environment with a “roll up the sleeves” attitude.
• Strong problem-solving skills combined with a track record of pivoting in response to opportunities and challenges.
• Exceptional cross-cultural skills and lived experience with youth employment issues in Africa is highly valued.
• Demonstrated knowledge of African social, economic and political contexts.
• Proficiency with MS Office applications (PowerPoint, Word, and Excel).