Save the Children is seeking a Technical Director for an anticipated five-year USAID-funded Youth Connect Activity program in the Centre-Nord, Est and Sahel region of Burkina Faso and Tillabery, Maradi, Diffa and Zinder regions of Niger. This program is one of several activities supporting USAID’s Bridge project, devoted to addressing the development challenges at the nexus of countering violent extremism and resilience. The goal of the activity is to equip vulnerable young women and men in Burkina Faso and Niger with technical and transferable life skills, networks, and capital for accessing increased viable and decent economic opportunities. The foundation of success depends on working with a number of partners and multiple complementary USAID investments.
This position is contingent upon donor approval and funding.
What You’ll Be Doing (Essential Duties)
- Lead and oversee the development and delivery of a high quality, innovative, cost effective and sustainable youth skills building for livelihoods component resulting in improved life and livelihood outcomes for vulnerable young men and women.
- Provide technical leadership to lead the youth skills building for livelihoods strategy for the program, as well as support development of other key strategies focused on linkages to job opportunities and business coaching, accessing and managing financial resources and accessing opportunities for civic engagement.
- Provide technical and program oversight in the design and day-to-day management of implementation of skills building component of Youth Connect, keeping in mind that although the technical approaches may be conceptually similar in both countries, the implementation may vary significantly.
- Ensure the technical and methodological soundness of activities and, in collaboration with the project team and partners, support the design of service delivery strategies, based on sound and current scientific evidence.
- Implement participatory and youth-led economic empowerment programming strategy
- Support creation of an enabling environment for A&Y by engaging key duty bearers such as parents and peers as well as civil society organizations in program planning, implementation and monitoring
- Implement inclusive and gender sensitive/transformative program approaches that improve girls’ and women’s access to and control over economic assets and resources
- Based on collaboration and in consultation with partners and USAID, refine and adjust technical approaches and annual work plans.
- Document and disseminate innovation and good practices in collaboration with partners.
Required Qualifications
- Master’s Degree in economic development, international development or related field.
- Minimum of 8 years’ experience with progressively increasing responsibility for designing, managing and implementing complex programming in developing countries involving multiple stakeholders and implementing partners, preferably in West Africa.
- Extensive expertise implementing youth-led economic empowerment programming and a solid understanding of skills building, economic opportunities and related activities that equip young women and men with tools to improve livelihood outcomes.
- Demonstrated ability to foster commitment and build capacity among staff and key stakeholders around gender, youth integration and empowerment.
- Demonstrates a holistic understanding of adolescents and youth (A&Y) development
- Experience working with teams from multi-cultural backgrounds and fostering team work
- Experience working in diverse contexts: development and humanitarian
- Strengths in inspiring and enabling others through training, and capacity building to realize organizational objectives.
- Strong oral, written, and presentations skills in English and French.
- Familiarity with the political, social, and cultural context of Burkina Faso and Niger is preferred.
Qualified local candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
About Save the Children
Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.
Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom Save the Children is in contact. All Save the Children representatives are explicitly prohibited from engaging in any activity that may result in any kind of child abuse. In addition, it is Save the Children’s policy to create and proactively maintain an environment that aims to prevent and deter any actions and omissions, whether deliberate or inadvertent, that place children at the risk of any kind of child abuse. All our representatives are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this commitment and obligation. Any violations of this policy will be treated as a serious issue.
We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran. Save the Children complies with all applicable laws.
More Information
- Job City Niamey, Ouagadougou
