ABOUT INTERNATIONAL YOUTH FOUNDATION (IYF ®)

For thirty years, our sole focus has been to help young people succeed. Together with partners around the world, we’ve invested in ensuring that youth develop the leadership, technical, and life skills to earn a livelihood. Whether it’s landing a first job, growing a business, or driving social change, every young person deserves the opportunity to realize his or her full potential. Rooted in the belief of youth as problem-solvers, change-makers, and leaders, our initiate are catalysts for change. For more information, please consult HERE

Program Background

In August 2021, USAID Ethiopia awarded its Integrated Youth Activity (IYA) to Amref Health Africa. IYA is a 5-year, $60 million multisector project with the goal of empowering Ethiopian youth to own, lead, manage, and advance their own social, economic, and civic development. Simultaneously, IYA will strengthen the capacity of Ethiopian higher education institutions (HEIs), youth-serving organizations, and other service providers to support economic and social opportunities for youth. Led by 100% Ethiopian professionals, Amref has designed “Kefeta,” an integrated approach that draws from strong partnerships with seven Ethiopian civil society organizations (CSOs) and the private sector, with additional support from the International Youth Foundation(IYF), Arizona State University (ASU) and Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs.  

Kefeta will benefit the lives of 2 million youth in 18 cities, building their agency, linking them to economic opportunities, and improving their access to youth-friendly services.   The interventions are multi-year and multi-sector. Kefeta’s approach is predicated upon developing and improving systems, networks, and organizations that serve youth across multiple sectors.

POSITION SUMMARY

The primary responsibility of this position will be to help build the foundational skills of young people that open up pathways for economic opportunities and strengthen youth agency. As a core member of the Kefeta program’s Youth Development team and in partnership with Kefeta’s youth inclusion and engagement, enterprise development, and capacity building and partnership functions, this position will support the development and delivery of high-quality literacy and numeracy, life and soft skills, leadership and civic skills, and work readiness skills training for young people, and build sustainable capacities of youth-serving organizations to cascade future trainings at scale. This position requires experience in accelerated basic education, adult learning, vocational and job readiness skill development, curriculum and instructional design, and training of trainers in higher education and non-governmental organization settings.

CORE JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead consultative process involving youth and other stakeholders to adapt and contextualize IYF’s Passport to Success, I-SERVE, and My Career My Future curricula, and other appropriate resources, to respond to assessed needs of youth and to labor market skills gap findings in Ethiopia.
• Lead the quality assurance (QA) and validation exercise for curriculum materials working closely with relevant Kefeta technical staff, implementing partners (CSOs), and stakeholders. This includes managing curriculum materials validation workshop with key stakeholders.
• Support the development and application of Kefeta intake tool to assess risk appetite and develop tailored training packages of work readiness skills for youth seeking paid employment, or entrepreneurship training for those starting their own businesses.
• Develop and lead a cadre of Kefeta -certified Master Trainers from local civil society organizations, youth coalitions and consultants to build training capacities for foundational skilling within Kefeta youth hubs and higher education institution career centers, through a Training of Trainers cascade approach.
• Establish a functional literacy program within Kefeta, linking youth in need of basic education to project services and adding components of life skills, healthy behaviors, and civic engagement to existing Regional Education Bureau ABE curricula.
• Advise Kefeta staff, youth hubs, and consortium resource partners delivering TOTs and direct training services to youth, to ensure quality control and adherence to program standards.
• Collaborate closely with Kefeta technical advisors and specialists across the youth development ecosystem to ensure basic education and skilling interventions are well integrated and aligned with overall program strategy and goals.
• Establish and oversee monitoring and data collection systems to track attrition rates, training cohorts and capacity building metrics.
• Working closely with MEL, contribute for tracking and documentation of achievements and challenges including key learnings and best practices.
• Contribute to the development of program work-plans and annual implementation plans that are consistent with the activity goals and objectives;.
• Contribute to the development and timely submission of written reports, including funder reports and oral presentations on the project.
• Prepare periodic update reports on project successes, challenges facing the project, and progress toward meeting deliverables focusing on the basic education & skills area.

Representation and Coordination

• At the request of the YDD, COP/DCOP represent Kefeta Program with the Ethiopian government, UN agencies, other donors, Ethiopian civil society organizations and partner NGOs;
• Take part and coordinate both internal and external meetings, workshops and field visits.
• Travel to project target areas when required to support implementing consortium partner organizations (CSOs), to carry out joint monitoring, and other activities related to the role.
• Carry out other duties as assigned by management.

Job Requirements 

• Bachelors’ degree or equivalent work experience in a relevant field such business education, TVET, or other education or social sciences, career counseling or talent development fields.
• Minimum 7 years of experience implementing projects in the areas of accelerated education, youth development, vocational training, and/or job readiness in Ethiopia.
• Proven experience in designing and implementing projects targeting youth with basic literacy & numeracy education - Functional Literacy (FAL), Alternative Basic Education (ABE), or Accelerated Learning Program (ALP), and business skill development program.
• In-depth knowledge of youth, basic education, and business or livelihood skills development situation & programming (constraints and opportunities) in Ethiopia.
• Knowledge of and experience working within the Ethiopian higher education and vocational education systems a plus
• Strong understanding and demonstration of adult learning, effective teaching, cascade training, and measurement of knowledge/skill/ability acquisition
• Excellent training, facilitation, and workshop management skills. Experience with virtual training modalities and e-learning strongly desired
• Demonstrated experience successfully working with the public sector, the private sector, civil society, nongovernmental organizations, and community-based organizations
• Strong ability to build partnerships, facilitate cross-sector collaboration, advocate for institutional and systemic change, and generate commitment to shared goals
• Deep personal commitment to social and economic development that recognizes youth as critical actors and beneficiaries, and to gender equity and social inclusion. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Amharic
• Strong presentation, research, reporting and representation skills
• Excellent computer skills using MSOffice 365 Suite of products
• Ability to travel domestically up to 30% of time

TO APPLY

Submit your CV written in English via email: jobs@iyfnet.org with " Basic Education and Skill Development Advisor" in the subject line.

NB: To be eligible for this position, applicants must have the legal authority to work and reside in Ethiopia; this position is a local hire position in Ethiopia. Applications will be reviewed as received. The International Youth Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Please note only finalists will be contacted. No phone calls please. International Youth Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer.