Project Manager, Impact at Mastercard Foundation

The Foundation has developed a comprehensive strategy for understanding and measuring Impact through a more holistic approach. In this context, Impact spans from the effects that our investments trigger directly in creating work opportunities, upwards to the significant changes and outcomes derived from the influence that the Mastercard Foundation Programs have on the institutional and system level changes in policies, practices and larger investments that open-up for expanded impact, at scale, on youth employment.

Working with young women and men in Africa represents a unique opportunity to develop, implement, and learn from programming and influencing activities in ways that value African and Indigenous ways of being and knowing. Impact measurement and the associated narratives will be guided by youth-focused lenses and located within the nexus of nationally owned strategies and global best practices and thought leadership. The methodologies, tools and insights throughout this journey will be determined and co-created in partnership with youth and other Indigenous vectors of knowledge in communities and countries where we work.

THE OPPORTUNITY

This position formally reports to the Chief Impact Officer and will be based in Ghana; however, the Project Manager, Impact will take day-to-day direction and work in collaboration with various senior leadership teams across other Foundation offices. In this role, you will support prioritized project and process planning work for the Impact function at enterprise level to ensure effective and optimal workflows. Serving as a business partner to the Chief Impact Officer and senior leaders, key deliverables for this role will include supporting enterprise planning, execution of convenings and workshops, developing detailed workflows and artefacts to support process design, and/or improve existing processes, supporting teams to meet strategy implementation milestones, reporting and communication.

As such, the ideal candidate can work with diverse stakeholders, track projects from multiple workstreams, balancing scope, time, cost, geography, and quality while maintaining a positive environment that promotes high performance. As the Project Manager, Impact, you are comfortable working with uncertainty and possess the flexibility to co-create with dynamic, cross-functional teams to deliver integrated solutions.

WAYS YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE

• Successfully deliver project management support on prioritized initiatives for the Impact function and managing multiple projects or workstreams concurrently.
• Support the development and/or continuous improvement of operational and programmatic processes.
• Develop and manage integrated plans and associated communication documents to report on progress; provide frequent verbal and written progress reports on the status of projects; and provide action plans or recommendations on project delivery to stakeholders.
• Develop, maintain and track milestones and overall project deliverables within the constraints of scope, schedule, cost and quality.
• Dynamically engage stakeholders to problem-solve for solutions as needed to execute deliverables
• Support stakeholders to coordinate project delivery, change management and internal communication strategies through the lifecycle.
• Work with stakeholders to identify, document, assess, and monitor all project dependencies, risks, issues, and required decisions.
• Provide coaching on project management best practices, stand in as Operational Excellence resource for the hub in alignment with the Foundation’s Project Management Centre of Excellence.
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as required.

WHO YOU ARE

• PMI certified with a University degree, preferably in business administration or a related field; Master’s degree is an asset.
• 7 – 10 years of relevant business project management experience (as opposed to IT project management) and success in leading and managing complex projects in an official PM capacity, demonstrating PMO methodologies for planning, risk management and reporting.
• High preference for individuals with experience working in an M&E/Impact environment.
• Advanced knowledge of project management tools and MS Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Project, Viso and Excel).
• Detail-oriented, methodical and process-oriented to consistently and effectively produce and deliver high quality results.
• Strong collaborator and relationship builder who can establish trust, respect and credibility to co-create solutions across a range of stakeholders.
• A highly analytical problem-solver and critical thinker who can define root cause, evaluate alternatives and find solutions effectively.
• Possess a ‘client’ focus mindset which enables effective business partnering and issue resolution.
• Fluency in English required. Ability to speak French and local language(s) an asset.
• A team player, self-starter, and resourceful with the ability to work within a constantly changing and ambiguous environment with minimal supervision and resilience.
• Agile, adaptable, and able to execute a range of job duties and changing priorities.
• Possess excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills with the ability to articulate information to a variety of constituents across cultures.
• Possess professional maturity, sensitivity with different cultures, and impeccable integrity.
• Committed to Mastercard Foundation’s values and vision