Senior Regional Manager, Higher Education Inclusion at World University Service of Canada

The Regional Senior Manager, Higher Education Inclusion will work closely and in collaboration with WUSC teams in Kenya and globally, the donor’s regional and country teams, and the donor’s partners.

Reporting to the Deputy Project Director, they will:

• Work collaboratively with project team members to provide technical, programmatic, and facilitative leadership to ensure the higher education inclusion goals of the initiative are reached;
• Provide strategic and technical oversight for WUSC’s 40+ higher education inclusion partners and the project’s higher education inclusion team;
• Develop strong working relationships with critical stakeholders such as UNHCR, the Tertiary Refugee Student Network, government ministries and others;
• Maintain up to date knowledge on emerging trends and issues in forced displacement, complementary pathways, and durable solutions;
• Lead the project’s engagement within higher education communities of practice and working groups across the sector;
• Build networks with RDP youth and refugee-led organizations (RLOs) to advance the mission of the initiative; 
• Provide technical coaching and mentorship to the project’s higher education inclusion team (Partnerships Manager, Project Coordinators and Project Officer);
• Work closely with the project’s Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Head to comprehensively track the quality and effectiveness of technical assistance delivery on the initiative’s partners (universities, RLOs, donor staff, etc.)
• Work closely with the project and donor’s Communications teams to highlight learnings, success stories and impact to a variety of audiences;
• Host and participate in country or regional level convenings focused on inclusive higher education;
• Identify promising practices and ways to share learnings across the network; and
• Work closely with the WUSC global Durable Solutions team to identify synergies and opportunities across WUSC’s portfolio of programming;
• Work closely with the Deputy Director and Director to identify broader policy, research and strategic network opportunities within higher education.

QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCIES

The ideal applicant will combine technical expertise in higher education inclusion, strong familiarity with the displacement context in multiple geographies of focus in Africa, exceptional partnership management skills and relationships, an ability to get things done, and strong organization, coordination, and communication skills.

Education

• At minimum, a Bachelor’s degree in a related field (International Development, Education, Public Policy, International Relations); 

Experience & Competencies

• Seven to ten years of work experience in higher education or technical assistance projects, at least 5 years in a management capacity;
• Relevant experience on projects or partnerships that promote higher education access for populations of concern;
• Experience providing technical support to organizations and a commitment to a participatory partnership approach to capacity development;
• Demonstrated success in developing toolkits and training materials for mid to senior level staff in private sector, government and civil society organizations;
• Deep knowledge of key issues and emerging trends and barriers in education and youth employment in one or more regions or countries on the African continent;
• Demonstrated commitment to social inclusion and knowledge of the specific constraints and realities of challenges faced by refugee and displaced groups;
• Adherence to gender equality and social inclusion principles; proven knowledge of and commitment to the concept of gender equality and intersectionality within programming;
• Complete fluency in English is essential, with the ability to write articulately and cogently, and to edit at a similarly high level;