Jobs at World University Service of Canada

Job Role

• Under the supervision of the Nairobi-Based Deputy Project Director, the Higher Education Inclusion Officer will work closely and in collaboration with the WUSC team in Kenya, the WUSC team based in Canada, and the Mastercard Foundation team.
• The Higher Education Inclusion Officer provides essential support to the DREEM project’s day to day operations. Working closely with the Senior Project Manager and the DREEM team, they will support in the coordination of various aspects of the project as outlined below:

Responsibilities:

• Work collaboratively with DREEM team members to provide technical, programmatic, and coordination support to ensure the educational inclusion goals of the Mastercard Foundation under DREEM are met;
• Supports the Higher Education Inclusion Coordinator in providing capacity building support and technical advice to Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program partners on refugee and displaced youth inclusion in higher education;
• Works closely with the DREEM Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) Officer to track Scholars Program partner engagement and impact; 
• Supports in the coordination of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Inclusion Working Group;
• Supports in the development and dissemination of resources and delivery of training opportunities for Scholars Program partners;
• Identifies promising practices and ways to share learnings across the network;  
• Coordinates and supports the planning and implementation of outreaches and key convenings within the Higher Education Inclusion portfolio;
• In partnership with the DREEM Senior MERL Officer, supports MERL activities for the Higher Education Inclusion portfolio;
• Attend and participate in relevant internal and external events;
• Other duties as assigned.

Line Manager

• Deputy Project Director, DREEM

Qualifications:

• The ideal applicant will combine technical expertise in one or more of DREEM’s sectors (higher education, durable solutions for refugees, vocational and technical training, support to entrepreneurs and businesses), a familiarity with the East African refugee context, an ability to get things done, and strong organization, coordination, and communication skills.

Specific competencies:

• At minimum, a Bachelor’s degree in a related field (International Development, Public Policy, International Relations, Refugee Studies);
• Two to three years of relevant working experience;
• Experience working on displacement issues in East Africa;
• Relevant experience on projects that promote inclusion for displaced/ refugee youth in tertiary or technical education;
• Experience providing technical support to partner organizations and a commitment to a participatory partnership approach to capacity development;
• Understanding of the higher education landscape in Sub-Saharan Africa;  
• Demonstrated commitment to gender equality and social inclusion, and knowledge of the specific constraints and realities of challenges faced by refugee and displaced groups;
• Complete fluency in English is essential, with the ability to write articulately and cogently, and to edit at a similarly high level;
• Fluency (or professional competencies) in French is strongly desired; 
• Strong planning, organization and problem-solving skills with ability to work hands-on, independently, and within team in a fast-paced work environment;
• Excellent interpersonal skills & demonstrated ability to establish effective working relations between programs & support;
• Commitment to WUSC’s mission of building a better world for all young people, particularly displaced and refugee youth.

Other requirements

• The headquarters of the DREEM project is located in Nairobi, Kenya; the officer is expected to be based on the African continent, and must already possess the relevant work authorizations in the country they are/will be residing in.
• The role may require travel to refugee communities across the continent with Scholars Program partners;
• Ability to work a flexible schedule.

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Job Role

• Under the supervision of the Country Director, Kenya, the Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Manager will lead the MERL strategic response by offering leadership, and technical oversight across country level programming. The MERL manager will be responsible for designing the MERL system in alignment with the country level frameworks.

Management and Leadership

• Strategic leadership on MERL across WUSC projects in Kenya
• Support MERL activities across East Africa portfolio when needed
• Establish and manage working relationships and strategic engagement with external evaluation and research consultants and other partners, including relevant government bodies, researchers, regulators and other MERL stakeholders.
• Develop annual operating forecasts of MERL budgets, research, evaluation and learning agenda
• Oversee the process of assessments and thematic papers, research, analysis, interpretation and reporting of various data across all projects in the region to ensure the highest standards of intellectual honesty, research ethics, and academic convention;
• Lead in the development of the MERL frameworks and plans for programs, in line with the donor and WUSC’s requirements.
• Take the lead in providing capacity building and overall support to partners and stakeholders to monitor and evaluate the programs.
• Supervisory role over the MERL team

Evaluation, Research, Design and Publications

• Lead the process of obtaining approvals for research and evaluations to ensure compliance with local requirement
• Provide technical support to Evaluation teams/consultants in the process of conducting baseline/midline/endline surveys
• Lead in periodic project or program internal evaluations as needed.
• Take an active role in managing the communication research strategy of the projects
• Lead in the dissemination of project research findings to external audiences
• Provide advisory roles in preparing annual and impact reports for the programs.

Learning

• Lead in translation of data into actionable policy and communicating to stakeholders (internal and external)
• Provide leadership to projects in the utilization of the research conducted in the design of new projects to influence policy in the region.
• Take leadership in implementation of WUSC’s Knowledge Management and help develop strategies for reflection and dissemination of lessons learned.

Line Manager

• Country Director, Kenya

Position Requires Close Collaboration with:

• DREEM Senior Project Manager
• GESI, Education and LEO Advisors
• Country leads – Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan (where relevant)

HQ

• Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) Advisor
• Program Managers
• Technical Advisors

Provides supports:

• Uganda and South Sudan country offices/MERL teams (where relevant)

Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree in applied social science, statistics, international development, or another related field. Specific academic training in Monitoring, Evaluation and research is desirable.
• Experience in leading evaluations and research projects

Experience & Competencies

• The ideal applicant will need to have a familiarity with the East African context, a strategic and analytical mindset, excellent listening and interpersonal skills, and ability to get things done.

Specific competencies:

• At least 7 years of experience working in the design, implementation and evaluation of international development and other key donors.
• Strong understanding of humanitarian interventions
• Experience in managing medium size teams
• A strong focus on qualitative and participatory data collection and analysis methods and tools
• Quantitative background and experience with cutting-edge data collection and analysis methods would be an asset
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing qualitative analyses that reflect best practice.
• Effective oral and written communication skills, including the demonstrated ability to distill data and effectively topline messages for busy senior leaders.
• Ability to create a MERL agenda that is closely linked with business development priorities.
• Demonstrated experience in and commitment to working in teams across lines of business.
• Experience infusing a gender responsive lens across MERL

Other requirements

• The role will require regular travel (up to 30%) to field sites in the regions, as well as participate in international travel for conferences, workshops and meetings.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule