WUSC is a Canadian global development organization working to catalyze positive education and economic outcomes for young people, with a focus on women and displaced populations. It operates in 28 countries and is launching Phase II (2026-2031) of an initiative to help refugee, displaced and host community (RDP) youth, particularly young women, secure dignified work and access secondary and higher education across Africa. The initiative targets one million youth securing dignified work and 35,000 accessing secondary and higher education, 70% of them young women, and works closely with Refugee-Led Organizations (RLOs).
The Senior Manager, Higher Education Inclusion reports to the Deputy Project Director and provides technical and strategic leadership on higher education inclusion. Position location: preference for Nairobi, Abidjan, Kampala, Accra, Kigali, or Addis Ababa. Contract: 1-year fixed term (renewable).
Responsibilities:
• Provide strategic and technical oversight for 40+ higher education inclusion partners and the project's HEI team.
• Embed a gender and intersectional inclusion lens across technical assistance, partner engagement, education pathways and education-to-work transitions, in line with the 70% young women target.
• Oversee secondary-to-tertiary transition work: academic pipelines, Recognition of Prior Learning, inclusive admissions policy adaptation and cross-referral systems.
• Develop higher-education-to-work pathways and employer linkages.
• Scale peer-led advisory models and strengthen the capacity of RLOs.
• Advise on student retention and wrap-around supports, including MHPSS and legal documentation guidance.
• Manage the component budget and align with the RLO Opportunity Fund and partner grants.
• Ensure safeguarding, data protection and risk management.
• Build relationships with UNHCR, the Tertiary Refugee Student Network and government ministries.
• Line-manage and mentor a young, technically experienced team, and work with the MERL and communications teams.
Qualifications:
• Bachelor's degree in International Development, Education, Public Policy, International Relations or a related field.
• 7 to 10 years of experience in higher education or technical assistance projects, including at least 5 years managing multi-country teams in Africa.
• Experience managing program budgets of USD 1M+ for donor-funded multi-country initiatives.
• Demonstrated track record in higher education inclusion, secondary education access and transition pathways for marginalized or displaced youth.
• Knowledge of Anglophone and Francophone higher education, TVET and accreditation systems across Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Demonstrated gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) expertise.
• Fluent English required; French a strong asset.
• Willingness to travel regionally across Africa (about 25% of the time).
HOW TO APPLY:
Apply online via the WUSC BambooHR careers page. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
https://wusc.bamboohr.com/careers/410