Skills Lead - Skills For Prosperity at Palladium Group

Job Ref: req8027

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 ‘Access and Quality’ components of the programme, responsible for designing and managing the development of accessible and quality industry-led apprenticeship programmes, supporting progression to further and higher education to bridge skills gaps and shortages
• Oversee delivery of apprenticeship programmes for 3,000 beneficiaries across the 6-targeted states in collaboration with organised private sector and public training providers
• Identify sector gaps, emerging trends and lead demand assessment for best-fit traineeship and apprenticeship model in Nigeria, and appraise the institutional capacity of relevant stakeholders related to apprenticeship
• Provide technical support to key stakeholders (private, public and non-governmental) to develop industry-led standards, learning materials and skills policies and frameworks
• Work closely with the PSD Lead to attract and incentivise private sector investment in the development of online/distance/blended learning platforms as an on-demand service to training providers
• Work closely with the Equity Lead to ensure skills interventions are socially and gender inclusive
• Liaise with key government departments to create focused skill development initiatives
• Drive stakeholder coordination and collaboration with Training Partners, SSCs, Assessment agencies and any other relevant TVET stakeholder from Nigeria and UK
• Continuously feedback and learning from programme implementation

Required Qualifications
Requirements:

• Outstanding expertise in skills, with extensive experience in education, TVET and apprenticeships policy and systems
• Knowledge and working experience of all levels of the skills ecosystem in Nigeria, including low-level (Technical Colleges), mid-level (Polytechnics), and high-level skills (Universities)
• Demonstrable expertise in systems thinking, with a strong Market Development Approach (M4P) understanding
• Extremely well-networked with national regulators, awarding bodies and other relevant actors in Nigeria’s skills ecosystem
• Extensive experience in skills policy reform in Nigeria, and strong understanding of the local context
• Experience working closely with private sector partners in Nigeria