Lead, Strategy and Planning at Mastercard Foundation

THE WORK AT THE FOUNDATION

We have entered a very exciting time at the Foundation as we scale up our operations across Africa to realize our Young Africa Works strategy. Our role at the Mastercard Foundation is to be a catalyst. Our Young Africa Works strategy focuses on working with others to spur systemic change so young people have the opportunity to find work that is dignified and fulfilling.

The Foundation has opened offices in Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Uganda, building a broader leadership presence in Africa to develop specific strategies that support youth employment.  Within a country, we work with governments, the private sector, educators and other funders to improve the quality of education and vocational training, prepare young people for the work force, expand access to financial services for entrepreneurs and small businesses, and connect job seekers to dignified and fulfilling work.

We are ambitious and driven. Our values transcend and rise above everything else as our guide. We encourage you to bring your bold ideas, curiosity, and expertise to your work. We laugh at ourselves and with each other. We are a team. Our journey together makes our impact even more meaningful.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Reporting to the Head of Strategy and Planning, the Lead, Strategy and Planning will work directly with the Head of Strategy & Planning to support overall effectiveness of the department. She/he will support enterprise-wide program strategy development, alignment & review, planning and programming processes, performance tracking against strategic goals, cross department coordination and programs operations support (data and business intelligence analyses and reporting, quality streamlined processes, quality control measures etc.). She/he will also support strategic opportunity identification, feasibility analysis, and strategic recommendations aligned to the overall YAW Strategy and enterprise strategy.

The successful candidate will be based in one of our country offices in Africa (Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, or Senegal)

WAYS YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE

• Partner with the Head, Strategy and Planning and team to create and establish strategy, planning and performance tracking systems, processes, templates, and toolsets.
• Build and maintain governance processes for the implementation of planning tools.
• Build organizational capacity on the implementation of strategy planning toolsets.
• Lead the execution of strategy routines and coordination of related governance; cross-functional interfaces, committee meetings, workshops and other convenings.
• Lead cross functional collaboration & programmatic integration for strategy planning purposes.
• Provide support to the Head, Strategy & Planning on operationalization efforts including planning, training, team management & development and change management and communications.
• Represent the Head, Strategy and Planning where appropriate Support management, career development and coaching of the strategy and planning team.
• Support the assessment and evaluation of strategic business opportunities and business initiatives to drive Impact.
• Support the development of strategic recommendations, based on insights, internally and externally.
• Develop, analyze, collate, and develop presentations for executive level review and discussion.
• Support overall short-term and long-term strategic planning.
• Participate in developing the consolidated strategy roadmaps as set out with the Strategy and Planning workplan.
• Develop and manage integrated plans and dashboards to track enterprise and country performance against strategy.
• Perform tracking against progress and achievement of milestones through regular status reporting.
• Identify, document, assess, monitor, report and escalate as appropriate, all dependencies, risks, issues, and decisions.
• Lead the collation of data and business intelligence (internal and external) and high-quality analytics partnering with cross-functional teams.
• Prepare management reporting documents for the Board and other stakeholders.

WHO YOU ARE 

• University degree, preferably in business administration or a related field; Master’s Degree is an asset.
• Ten (10) years of experience in strategy and planning gained in a global organization with team management responsibilities. Experience in the private sector is essential.
• Experience leading and managing complex projects and programs across multiple functions, markets, and countries.
• Demonstrated experience applying strategy and planning methodologies and tools gained in a best practice environment.
• Experience synthesizing, analyzing, and reporting information at senior level.
• Experience in and thrive in an agile and change environment in ‘build’ mode.
• Proven leadership, strategic, analytical, and conceptual thinking.
• Advanced knowledge of strategy and planning best-practice tools and processes.
• Highly developed communication skills; articulate verbally and in writing; ability to synthesize information into well-summarized documentation or presentation.
• Strong executive presence, comfortable interacting with and presenting to all levels of management.
• Strong interpersonal skills and team player who can partner well with the rest of the team and critical partners in the rest of the organization.
• Comfortable with uncertainty and possess the flexibility to co-create with dynamic, cross-functional teams to deliver integrated solutions.
• Strong Focus on execution and attention to detail
• Financial & data analytical skills
• Detail-oriented, methodical, and process-oriented to produce and deliver high quality results consistently and effectively.
• Strong program management skills
• 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.
• Flexible to travel to Country offices within Africa and Canada, as required.
• 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.
• Inspired and passionate about the vision and work of the Mastercard Foundation.