The role is responsible for leading and overseeing VSO’s project implementation across three assigned clusters in Ethiopia, ensuring effective, timely, and high-quality delivery of youth employment, workforce development, and inclusive internship activities. The successful candidate will manage project teams, budgets, partnerships, and consortium coordination while ensuring compliance with donor requirements and VSO policies. The position also promotes youth participation, gender transformation, safeguarding, systems strengthening, and sustainable development through VSO’s Volunteering for Development approach.
Develop, deliver and adapt VSO’s implementation plan for its three assigned clusters ensuring delivery is on scope, on budget, within timeframe, and responsive to risks, incidents and changing context in collaboration with consortium partners.
Manage technical delivery and project quality in alignment with VSO’s unique Volunteering for Development approach that places primary actors (young women including youth with disabilities, refugee, internal displaced youth) at the centre of the development, ensuring their voice, participation, and empowerment in planning, implementation, monitoring evaluation learnings and decision-making process.
Ensure effective delivery of workforce development, internship placements, enterprise engagement and systems-strengthening activities across VSO’s assigned clusters, meeting agreed targets and quality standards within the agreed timeframe.
Manage and support VSO regional and cluster-level teams to deliver VSO-led implementation areas effectively, safely and collaboratively with the consortium.
Manage the consolidated budget and procurement processes for VSO’s three assigned clusters, ensuring value for money and compliance with VSO financial policies, donor guidelines, and reporting requirements.
Contribute to the development and delivery of consortium MEL plan, and timely reporting for VSO’s assigned clusters, using participatory M&E and VSO’s MILE approach to support accountability, learning and adaptation.
Support systems-strengthening and sustainability work by supporting institutional coordination, local ownership, policy engagement, knowledge sharing and collaboration among ecosystem actors across VSO’s implementation activities.
Build and maintain partnerships with donors, consortium partners, government, private sector, education institutions, civil society and other stakeholders to support VSO-led implementation and coordination in VSO’s assigned clusters.
Work closely with VSO Ethiopia team and relevant global teams to ensure strategic alignment, effective implementation, compliance, learning and timely reporting for VSO-led delivery.
Collaborate with MEAL, Finance, Grants, Operations, Procurement, People, Safeguarding, Security, Communications teams to support quality delivery, financial accountability, risk management, visibility and duty of care.
Coordinate joint planning, progress reviews and adaptive management processes to promote teamwork, accountability, inclusion and continuous learning across VSO project team.
Strengthen consortium collaboration by supporting joint planning, transparent communication, shared problem-solving, coordinated decision-making and timely follow-up on agreed actions across VSO and consortium partners.
Build and maintain effective relationships with external stakeholders, including government, donor, consortium partners, private sector, education institutions, civil society, OPDs, youth networks and community actors, to support implementation across VSO’s assigned cluster areas.
Coordinate partnership, compliance, reporting and communication with Mastercard Foundation and consortium partners, ensuring alignment with national youth employment and skills development priorities.
Engage private sector actors, host organisations, TVETs, universities and training providers to strengthen inclusive internship, employability and workplace readiness systems for young women and marginalised youth.
Work with civil society, OPDs and community structures to support outreach, inclusion, safeguarding and participation of marginalised youth.
Participate in relevant coordination platforms, technical working groups, partnership forums, workshops and learning events, and facilitate knowledge sharing across the youth employment ecosystem particularly in the VSO’s assigned cluster areas.
Substantial progressive professional experience managing large-scale donor-funded development programs, including significant experience in leadership and program management roles.
Technical knowledge of youth employability, internships, workforce development, internship program transition to work readiness, inclusive workplace practice, labor market and development context in Ethiopia.
Skills to provide technical delivery and assure quality inclusion, gender transformation, and youth-centered programming.
Skills in managing medium-to-large grant-funded projects, working with consortia, grant compliance, and reporting. Familiarity with Mastercard Foundation-funded grants would be an advantage.
Partnership and engagement skills to work effectively with project stakeholders. Experience working in the project locations would be an advantage.
Proven experience managing complex multi-stakeholder and multi-regional projects involving government institutions, private sector actors, development partners, civil society organizations, and local communities.
Strong experience in program implementation oversight, operational coordination, supervising and supporting multidisciplinary teams for budget management, work planning, and performance management.
Ability to lead multi-functional and field-based teams using inclusive feminist leadership, coaching and mentoring approaches that support inclusive practices, collaboration, accountability and participation.
Skills in safeguarding, duty of care, project risk management and incident management.
Effective communications and digital skills, including relevant local languages and working English proficiency, and use of common Microsoft Office, Finance, People & Programme management systems and ethical IT tools.
Sound understanding of locally led development, systems strengthening, integrated programming, rights-based participatory approaches, Do No Harm principles and relevant humanitarian standards.
Understanding volunteering for development approach with commitment and demonstrable ability to apply people-first principles, and global volunteer standards in programming.
Demonstrated VSO Behavioral Competencies. Commitment to VSO’s vision, mission, values, code of conduct, people-first principles, and volunteering for development approach.
