Director, Entrepreneurship Development at Mastercard Foundation

THE OPPORTUNITY

• Reporting to the Executive Director, Pan African Programs, the role will be responsible for building the Entrepreneurship Development 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 role holder is responsible for translating strategies into specific operations and is accountable for overall entrepreneurship development programs within the Foundation which include access to markets, access to finance, and access to capacity & ecosystem building.
• 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

• Drive Pan-African entrepreneurship development strategy and roadmap.
• Providing strategic direction across the entire Pan-African portfolio and in relation to rest of the Foundation’s entrepreneurship programming, ensuring programming meets Foundation values and priorities.
• Oversee Pan-African entrepreneurship programs delivery.
• Ensure strategic cohesion, coordination of programming efforts, and knowledge sharing within the entrepreneurship thematic area while also collaborating with the Foundation’s Senior Advisors.
• Manage risks related to the thematic area and propose respective mitigation plan for resolution.
• Engage Pan-African entrepreneurship development stakeholders.
• Manage stakeholder relationships with key partner institutions and peer funders, along with the relevant thematic advisors and directors, as well as Country Directors.
• Facilitate sharing of expertise and lessons learned across theme teams both formally and informally, convening theme teams and expertise from rest of the organization as needed.
• Cultivate relationships and facilitate engagements (e.g., roundtables, forums) with external thought leaders to advance the Foundation’s reputation as a thought-leader in this area.
• Develop strong relationships with continental and global entrepreneurial communities that provide impact - oriented platforms for entrepreneurs in different sector portfolios to increase the participation and benefiting of African young entrepreneurs.
• Serve as focal point for the Foundation in continental and global Entrepreneurship Development platforms that can scale and accelerate MCF’s programs.
• Promote a culture of innovation and agility that facilitates the ideation of new programs.
• Promote collaboration and information sharing within the thematic area both inside and outside of the organization.
• Build a knowledge hub that can contribute to the continent’s knowledge on practical and fruitful entrepreneurship, which can be disseminated through various formats, e.g., website articles, videos, podcasts, seminars).
• Build the Foundation’s presence at continental and global platforms designed for the advancement of entrepreneurship excellence including provision of support as judges, advisors, panelists during different entrepreneurship events across the continent.
• Integrate the various programming across the Foundation linked to the Pan-African entrepreneurship development agenda.
• Strengthen multi-faceted effort towards access to markets, capacity & ecosystem building, finance by outlining compelling and clear guidelines that will improve and enhance the interaction among teams driving these efforts.
• Provide the linkages in programming at the country-level – mindful that this role is accountable to deliver programs that impact multiple countries and/or regions.
• Interacting with counterparts from other program teams to ensure strategic cohesion; Keeping Executive Director apprised of entrepreneurship projects being incubated and sharing recommendations for new programs.
• 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

• A Masters and Professional qualification in a relevant field is required.
• Ten (10+) years of experience of significant senior level experience driving strategy and program success with organizations across multiple countries in Africa.
• Eight (8+) years leadership and management experience of which at least four was gained in a multi-country environment in Africa, with a preference for private sector experience.
• Experience building large-scale initiatives across geographies and expertise at least one of the Pan-African Programs thematic areas (i.e. agriculture and climate, entrepreneurship development, digital economy, gender and safeguarding).
• Deep knowledge on the continent’s employment, job creation, innovation landscape.
• Proven track record of working with and mentoring successful entrepreneurship endeavors.
• Experience in public policy within nonprofit organizations, international NGO’s and/or learning institutions is also helpful.
• Proven experience effectively engaging with senior government officials, key partners, media, business leaders and other influential individuals.
• 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.
• Excellent multi-stakeholder management skills with senior Foundation colleagues and senior levels of external stakeholders.
• Skilled communicator and influencer, from executive through to technical levels and external constituencies, know how to navigate ambiguous environments and are comfortable at managing up and beyond hierarchy.
• Ability to build and directly manage small and agile teams of 2 – 4, but regularly engage with many more across the various thematic areas and countries.
• Fosters a positive spirit of collaboration in a complex, and rapidly evolving environment
• Results Orientation, innovative and entrepreneurial.
• Progressive and creative thinker with innovative perspectives on entrepreneurship development across the various thematic areas.
• 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.