Position: Lead, Education Access and Success (East and Southern Africa)

Position: Lead, Education Access and Success (East and Southern Africa) – Mastercard Foundation

Hilda Ndungu

August 28, 2025

Organization: Mastercard Foundation
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Position Type: Full-time, regional leadership role
Education Requirement: Master’s degree (MBA/MSc/MA)
Experience Required: Minimum of 8 years, with demonstrated leadership experience
Application Deadline: September 6, 2025

The Opportunity

Reporting to the Head of Education Access and Success (East and Southern Africa), this role leads the design and management of the regional portfolio of Education Access and Success initiatives—such as the Leaders in Teaching Initiative—and advances new pipeline programming across the region.

Key Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end design, partner engagement, proposal development, and internal approval processes for new programs.
Manage ongoing partnerships and country-level program portfolios, ensuring implementation, tracking, and goal achievement in alignment with targets.
Maintain and update internal systems—grant management, impact trackers, forecasting tools—for timely, accurate reporting.
Collaborate across functions to drive impactful design and execution of program partnerships.
Support regional learning through the Leaders in Teaching initiative, providing technical assistance and back-stopping to country teams.
Foster community of practice engagement across the Foundation’s Education portfolio.
Contribute to thought leadership in secondary education and teacher development, aligned with communications and policy strategy.
Mentor program partners, interns, and analysts, ensuring quality and alignment.
Support data capture, learning documentation, and integration of insights into program design.
Represent the Foundation at regional workshops, conferences, and forums; cultivate relationships with education-sector stakeholders; and manage consultancies.

Who You Are

Master’s degree in a relevant field (education, economic development, social sciences); professional qualifications in program management are a plus.
At least 8 years of professional experience with clear leadership track record.
Skillful in engaging senior leadership across development partners, government, and private sector stakeholders.
Experienced in co-creating or transforming programs in multicultural environments.
Strong track record in proposals, partnership development, M\&E design, and program communications.
Sensitive and experienced in delivering inclusive programs—especially involving women, persons with disabilities, refugees, or displaced youth.
Comfortable working in fast-paced, multi-priority settings across geographies.
Excellent collaboration and communication skills across virtual and multicultural teams.
Deep insight into challenges, trends, and strategic opportunities in African education (especially secondary education and skills development).
Fluency in English and French is required.
Must be willing and able to travel regionally.
Demonstrates professional maturity, cultural sensitivity, and high integrity.