Equity Lead - Skills for Prosperity, Nigeria at Palladium Group

Ref.: req8029

Project Overview and Role

• Global Prosperity Fund’s ‘Skills for Prosperity’ is a £75m DFID programme, which seeks to improve the cost-effectiveness, access, quality, relevance and equity of skills through innovative approaches in 9 Middle-Income Countries around the world, including Nigeria.  
• In Nigeria, the Skills for Prosperity (S4P) country programme will work in six targeted states to: Improve access to quality Higher Education and TVET for youth and young women, with a focus on improving access to and the quality of apprenticeships, and supporting training institutions to deliver demand-driven, competency-based training,
• Strengthen education-to-employment linkages, and
• Build the capacity of training institutions to improve outcomes for vulnerable women and people with disabilities.
• Apprenticeships, training, and capacity building interventions will focus on identified high growth sectors of the economy (Agriculture/Agribusiness/agro-allied industries; Creative and Entertainment, and Information and Communications Technology sectors).
• S4P aims to directly benefit 6,000 youth and women in targeted states of Kano, Kaduna, Enugu, Edo, Benue and Lagos.
• We are looking for talented individuals with a relevant track record, and interest or experience in the private sector and skills training. Most of all we are looking for team members with the drive to tackle new and complex challenges and work with us to learn, adapt and deliver sustainable benefits for Nigeria.
• As well as a competitive salary, bonus and benefits, we are an outgoing, creative, and supportive team and offer a personally and professional rewarding environment above all.

Scope of Work:

• Manage the ‘Equity’ component of the programme, responsible for strengthening the capacity of government institutions to improve outcomes of vocational economic empowerment programmes for vulnerable women, youth and persons with disability (PwDs)
• Drive gender equity and social inclusion within the programme, both from a technical and management perspective, to ensure an increased participation of women and vulnerable groups in all skilling programs in close consultation with the Skills and PSD Leads
• Work closely with the Skills and PSD Leads to ensure the Access, Quality and Relevance components and their interventions are socially and gender inclusive
• Responsible for conducting mapping and needs assessments of opportunities for women, vulnerable groups and PWDs across the target states
• Deliver vocational empowerment programmes for 3,000 vulnerable women, youth and PwD across the 6-targeted states in collaboration with state governments.
• Oversee and facilitate capacity-building and support to relevant state government institutions, private and non-governmental actors to increase skills and knowledge in designing and delivering functional vocational programmes targeting vulnerable women, youth and PwDs
• Provide technical support and capacity building to responsible state institutions for the development of enrolment and safeguarding framework and guidelines for vulnerable women, youth and PwDs participating in vocational empowerment programmes.
• Create and oversee marketing collaterals, awareness campaigns, roadshows etc. for knowledge dissemination about improving gender equity and social inclusion in TVET and skills interventions
• Participate and drive stakeholder consultation workshops, roundtable discussions, information dissemination workshops and virtual sessions
• Continuous feedback incorporation and learning from programme implementation

Required Qualifications

• Proven track record in driving successful and wide-scale equity and social inclusion interventions in large donor-funded programmes  
• Outstanding communication skills and demonstrable ability to deliver effective training to multi-stakeholder audiences
• Excellent and appreciable collaboration, relationship-building and influencing skills
• Experience in promoting and improving GESI in TVET and skills development programmes, preferably in Nigeria
• Brings a strong existing network in Nigeria among major relevant stakeholders
• Previous working experience and excellent knowledge of cultural and religious norms that lead to the exclusion and marginalisation of vulnerable groups, including women and PWDS, especially in northern Nigeria.