Location: Ethiopia, Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, Canada or Uganda
Deadline: August 20, 2025
Job Description
THE OPPORTUNITY
Reporting to the Senior Director, Program Operations & Planning.
The Head, Enterprise Initiatives, is responsible for the effective design, coordination, and execution of enterprise-wide programmatic and strategic priorities. Operating within the Program Operations & Planning (POP) team, the role supports delivery of large-scale, complex, and often cross-cutting initiatives that advance the Foundation’s mission. The role acts as a senior advisor and operational partner to the Senior Director, Program Operations & Planning and contributes to shaping enterprise coherence, ways of working, and the successful execution of priority projects.
The incumbent ensures initiative alignment with strategic objectives, provides technical advisory support to emerging enterprise efforts, and works closely with internal stakeholders across platforms, countries, and enabling functions.
The successful candidate will be based in any of our offices in Canada and Africa (Ethiopia, Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, or Uganda)
WAYS YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE
1.Strategic Enterprise Delivery
- Lead or support the design, coordination, and execution of enterprise-wide initiatives that cut across countries and thematic platforms.
- Ensure enterprise initiatives are strategically aligned to Foundation-wide goals and contribute to the advancement of Young Africa Works and related strategies.
- Serve as a senior point of coordination for large initiatives that require input from multiple departments and countries.
- Champion enterprise coherence by identifying linkages and interdependencies across programs and ensuring alignment with the Foundation’s broader strategic direction.
2. Operational Support to Senior Director
- Provide strategic and operational leverage to the Senior Director, acting as a chief of staff to ensure efficient planning, execution, and governance.
- Prepare enterprise-level documentation, presentations, and reports to inform executive decision-making (e.g., for EXCO, GMT, and the Board).
- Lead tracking, risk identification, and mitigation planning for enterprise projects and pilots.
3. Technical & Advisory Support
- Provide technical consultation on the development and rollout of program roadmaps and operating models across delivery platforms.
- Offer guidance and quality assurance on enterprise strategy documents, project plans, and implementation roadmaps.
- Contribute to the institutionalization of standard tools, templates, and frameworks that strengthen program operations.
4. Enterprise Planning, Governance & Learning
- Oversee planning processes and governance structures that support enterprise initiative execution, including cadence-setting, reporting cycles, and learning reviews.
- Integrate adaptive learning and change management practices into the lifecycle of enterprise initiatives.
- Partner with KM, BI, Research, and Impact to ensure that insights, tools, and frameworks from enterprise work are captured and shared across the Foundation.
5. Stakeholder Engagement & Capacity Building
- Engage internal stakeholders at senior levels to align on enterprise priorities and mobilize support for emerging opportunities.
- Contribute to capacity-building activities on enterprise thinking, critical problem-solving, and integrated delivery.
- Facilitate working groups and cross-functional task teams in delivering enterprise solutions effectively and inclusively.
WHO YOU ARE
- Minimum of 12 years of relevant experience in operational leadership, enterprise coordination, or managing complex, cross-functional initiatives in a matrixed organization.
- Master’s degree in a relevant field such as international development, business administration, organizational development, public policy, or related discipline.
- Project or program management certification (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2) is an asset.
- Demonstrated experience in advisory roles, enterprise planning, consulting or strategic operations.
- Experience working across different sectors and engaging with NGOs, multilateral institutions, government bodies, and private sector actors.
- Strong familiarity with youth employment, education, or inclusive economic development is a plus.
- Consulting or advisory experience is a strong advantage.
- Enterprise Thinking: Ability to connect dots across platforms, countries, and enabling functions, and to translate complexity into action.
- Execution Orientation: Strong track record of delivering initiatives from concept to implementation in dynamic environments.
- Stakeholder Management: Ability to engage senior leaders, build trust, and manage alignment across varied interests.
- Communication & Facilitation: Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to synthesize and convey complex information clearly.
- Learning & Adaptation: Committed to continuous improvement and embedding reflection in enterprise efforts.
- Organizational Agility: Comfortable navigating ambiguity and managing multiple workstreams with overlapping timelines and stakeholders.
- A team player with strong self-direction balanced with collaborative and creative approach, with the ability to work under minimal supervision.
- 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 and support a culture of change.
- Possess professional maturity, sensitivity with different cultures, and impeccable integrity.
- Alignment and commitment to Foundation mission and values.
- Aptitude for and keen interest in learning new information design and communication technology.
- Flexible, adaptable, and able to execute a range of job duties and changing priorities.
The Mastercard Foundation values the unique skills and experiences each individual brings to the organization and we are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and accessible environment for everyone.
Completion of satisfactory business references and background checks are essential conditions of employment.
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