Senior Manager, Higher Education Inclusion

The ideal applicant will combine technical expertise in higher education inclusion, strong familiarity with the displacement context in multiple geographies of focus in Africa, exceptional partnership management skills and relationships, an ability to get things done, and strong organization, coordination, and communication skills.

Education

• At minimum, a Bachelor’s degree in a related field (International Development, Education, Public Policy, International Relations);
  

Leadership & Portfolio Management

• Strategic & Team Leadership: 7 to 10 years of experience in higher education or technical assistance projects, including at least 5 years managing, coaching, and motivating matrixed, multi-country teams across different time zones in Africa.
  
• People Management, Coaching & Mentorship: Demonstrated experience directly managing and developing teams, including young professionals and technically experienced staff. Proven ability to coach and mentor colleagues, set clear objectives, delegate responsibilities, provide constructive feedback, manage performance, and support professional growth while building an inclusive, collaborative, and accountable team culture.
  
• Budget & Financial Oversight: Proven experience managing program budgets (minimum $1M+ USD portfolio scope) and overseeing financial reporting for complex, donor-funded multi-country initiatives.
  

Technical & Sector Expertise

• Higher Education Inclusion & Capacity Building: Demonstrated track record of promoting higher education access for populations of concern, providing participatory technical assistance to partners, and designing practical toolkits and training materials for mid-to-senior level institutional stakeholders.
  
• Secondary Education Access & Transition Pathways: Experience supporting secondary education access, retention, and completion, and strengthening pathways into higher education for marginalized or displaced youth, particularly young women.
  
• Regional Systems & Context Knowledge: Deep understanding of Anglophone and Francophone higher education, TVET, qualification accreditation systems, and youth employment trends across Sub-Saharan Africa (East, West, and Horn of Africa).
  

Inclusion & Strategic Alignment

• Gender Equality & Social Inclusion (GESI): Demonstrated experience embedding a gender lens and intersectional inclusion principles throughout program design, implementation, technical assistance, partnerships, and monitoring and learning. Ability to translate young women-centred approaches into practical strategies that address the specific barriers facing refugee and displaced young women and support their meaningful participation, retention, and success.
  
• Mission & Target Commitment: Strong alignment with WUSC’s mission and a commitment to driving Phase II targets to enable 35,000 refugee, displaced, and host community youth to access secondary and higher education opportunities, with a target of 70% young women.
  

Policy Influencing

• Strong understanding of career planning tools and resources, education systems, policy landscapes, and reform priorities.
  
• Experience in engaging with Employer Federations, Private Sector, Government Ministries and agencies, development partners and other ecosystem stakeholders
  

Languages & Operational Requirements

• Language Proficiency: Complete fluency in English with exceptional writing, editing, and communication skills; professional competency in French is a significant asset.
  
• Operational Adaptability: Strong organizational, planning, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work hands-on and independently within a fast-paced environment.
  
• Mobility: Ability and willingness to undertake frequent regional travel across Africa (estimated at 25% of working time).