Senior Project Officer - Private Sector Engagement at Catholic Relief

The Senior Project Officer - Private Sector Engagement will report to the Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Lead and will identify, develop, and manage strategic partnerships with private sector actors accelerating access to employment, entrepreneurship and financial inclusion opportunities for vocational training graduates within the Wezesha Vijana project contributing to their economic prosperity. S/he will take the lead in the implementation of private sector engagement activities, including providing technical assistance to program staff, partnership development and knowledge management and liaison between private sector partners and the Wezesha Vijana program.
Job Responsibilities

• Oversee the effective co-creation, startup and implementation of Wezesha Vijana PSE approaches and related activities.
• Coordinate with private sector partners to lead the design and implementation of market-based solutions including accessible markets and business development services, flexible financing solutions, readily available apprenticeships, job placements and value chain opportunities.
• Provide guidance to the Wezesha Vijana program team on private sector scoping and engagement, including supporting the development of ‘business cases’ to achieve new partnerships and strengthen existing ones.
• Develop tailored contact strategies and compelling pitch presentations for prospective partners.
• Manage interactions with prospective and actual private sector partners.
• Manage the Wezesha Vijana Private Partner database, including working with program teams to ensure partnership commitments are realized.
• Strengthen capacity and mentor program staff, as needed, to improve their knowledge and skills related to engagement with the private sector. Promote and identify ways for continual learning between Wezesha Vijana program staff and private partners.
• Working with MEAL, Plan and engage in regular project monitoring of the planned activities involving the relevant stakeholders and track the services are delivered with set project indicators, coverage, quality, and inclusiveness.
• Develop and manage processes to routinely gather private sector feedback to enhance program delivery.
• Capture and share Private Sector Engagement related reports, lessons learned and best practices.
• Ensure learning properly accompanies project activities throughout the project cycle. Support accountability through coordinating project evaluation activities and guiding partners in their efforts to reflect on project experiences.
• Analyze implementation challenges and report any inconsistencies and/or gaps to inform adjustments to plans and implementation schedules.
• Participate in CP Youth Programming activities as well as business development initiatives to grow the Youth portfolio.

Personal Skills

• Strong relationship management and interpersonal skills. Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally. Strategic in how you approach each relationship.
• Excellent negotiation skills.
• Strong communication and presentation skills.
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented and results-oriented.
• Capable of working in a dynamic, results oriented environment; ability to multi-task across various work streams/priorities.
• Team player with a positive attitude who can work independently while also being highly collaborative and open. Capable of building relationships and influencing the opinions of others.

Education And Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in business, International Development, Law, Social Science, Community Development or a related field.
• At least 5 years in a private sector engagement role, preferably in humanitarian or international development contexts with a focus on market-based solutions.
• Experience in Livelihoods/Youth Employment related private sector engagement is a plus.
• Proficiency in MS Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) and other valuable presentation platforms.
• Demonstrated experience in driving proactive and innovative strategies to achieve results.
• Demonstrated commitment to respect, equity, diversity and inclusion including gender equality.