Ecosystem Lead

The challenge we’re solving:

In 2019, a group interested in driving innovation to support youth come together in a design process with young people across Africa. Young people and Africa say two key things:

1. Existing opportunities are fragmented. It’s difficult to know where to find opportunities and what opportunities will lead to meaningful progression.

2. There are not enough opportunities. Talent is distributed, but opportunities are not. Young people - especially marginalized - need more opportunities and equal access regardless of their situational circumstances.

Our contribution to the solution:
Yoma: a collaborative ecosystem approach for youth to learn, create impact and unlock livelihoods.

Yoma is a youth-centered ecosystem solution that enables youth to learn, create impact, and earn - by bringing together partners to support youth development. As an ecosystem solution, Yoma works with partners to create complementarity between the strengths and offerings of partner to build pathways for youth to build up the skills and experience necessary to unlock sustainable livelihoods for themselves and their communities. Underpinning the partners and the pathways is the integrating of a variety of scalable technology solutions, from social networking to learning and job platforms, all cohesively linked through a portable digital identity that verifies and connects skills and experiences gained across our expansive partner ecosystem.

The successful candidate will report into the Partnerships Director, Goodwall, to drive results for Yoma.

Goodwall (goodwall.io) is a mobile-first platform connecting Gen Z (16-26 year olds) to opportunity. We leverage technology and an ecosystem of purpose-driven partners to empower youth on their journey through the world of education & work to reach their full potential and make society better.

Goodwall has a mission to level the playing field for youth globally and through its social enterprise model it serves over 2 million youth from 150+ countries. We help those who don’t go to branded educational institutions showcase their talent, connect to a supportive community, access free skill building opportunities and connect to jobs, internships and scholarships.

Goodwall is disrupting how youth access opportunity and are assessed on their potential. Our innovative approach has had us selected most recently as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer Company in 2023, and recognition from various media including Fast Company, Forbes 30 under 30, CNN and others. Goodwall has become a strategic partner to Fortune 500s as well as governmental and IOGs such as the UN to make sure no youth is left behind.

Goodwall is a diverse multicultural team between Europe, Africa and Asia with operations in the US and LATAM. Goodwall is financially and strategically backed by leading investors. Goodwall has raised over $25M in funding from leading strategic and financial backers.

Why we need you:

To drive collaboration and increase the opportunities available to youth, and to increase youth’s activate engagement, Yoma is establishing a team that sits across partner organisations to deliver results for the shared programme. These teams will be called Yoma Hubs, in both South Africa and Nigeria. The team will be managed by a Yoma partner, Goodwall, and will also work closely with many other partners including RLabs, UNICEF, SAP and GIZ to name a few.

What you’ll be up to:
As Ecosystem Lead for the Yoma Hubs, your role will be to grow partnerships and secure new partnerships in the impact and development sectors, with a specific focus on Africa. It is a multi-faceted role that includes partnership development, understanding of programming, concept note development as well as proposal writing.

Leveraging your deep understanding of the social impact space and ecosystem of partners, you will play a pivotal role in building collaboration to unlock opportunities, advancing funding targets, as well as the development of our programs and strategic positioning. Your proficiency in managing public-private partnerships and navigating the grants and tenders landscape will also be part of your success in this role. Deep understanding of the social impact space, experience and navigational ability within an entity like or similar to the United Nations is a prerequisite.

Your responsibilities will include, but not limited to:

• Own and lead the Social Impact and Business Development strategy within your portfolio, in collaboration with the rest of the Partnerships team and in coordination with the Leadership Team.

• Leverage Yoma, Goodwall, RLabs and your personal network to strengthen and scale up existing partnerships and cultivate new relationships with key actors in the space - use your knowledge of the sector and stakeholders to identify funding opportunities specifically within Africa.

• Steer complex relationships with a range of partners, including foundations, governmental agencies, United Nations agencies and other leading organizations.

• Lead the proposal, and concept note writing of proposals as required.

• Collaborate cross-functionally to improve the quality, clarity, and standardization of proposals for various projects, ensuring they align with Yoma’s social impact goals and best practices.

• On impact measurement, help drive the transformation of our Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) strategies to assess the effectiveness and outcomes of social impact programs.

• Support and develop into innovative strategies that drive funding.

• Stay updated on industry trends, best practices, and emerging tools and methodologies related to social impact, and integrate them into the organization's strategy.

Requirements

Your Profile
A hands-on, organized professional who does not need layers above or below to deliver excellence with the following attributes:

• 10+ year of professional experience in the social impact sector, focusing on large-scale program design and development, with added value in youth upskilling, development, employment, digital skills, and informal learning.

• Proven success in fundraising, developing proposals, and forming large-scale partnerships with both private and public sector organizations globally.

• Excellent at managing relationships across various stakeholders, demonstrating diplomatic acumen and adaptability to different partner needs and priorities.

• Skilled in all partnership phases, from co-creation to contract finalization, including negotiation and joint initiative development.

• Comprehensive expertise in creating necessary materials for partnership formalization and funding, such as presentations, proposals, budgets, work plans, contracts, and reporting.

• Ability to leverage and navigate multi-stakeholder partnerships, diverse funding sources, and mechanisms, ensuring efficient decision-making and fund allocation.

• Entrepreneurial, problem-solving attitude with a data-driven approach to growth.

• Strong internal and external communication skills, comfortable working in diverse, international teams.

• Self-driven, capable of working independently in a remote setup using various productivity tools.

• Adaptable and results-oriented, thriving in dynamic environments and contributing to both immediate outcomes and long-term strategy.

• Committed to the mission of making a positive social impact, with readiness for frequent travel within Africa.

  
  
  
  What we offer
  • A mission you can be proud of and a meaningful fulfilling opportunity and responsibility to really impact the future of the next generation.
    
  • To leverage cutting edge technology and work alongside globally leading organisations to achieve outside impact.
    
  • Autonomy to manage your time and efforts to achieve our goals.
    
  • A challenging, fast-moving environment working with an international team where change is constant and creativity is celebrated.
    
  • A position with the potential to evolve as you acquire new skills, grow, influence and take on new responsibilities.
    
  • Competitive compensation and a flexible work environment with a great team.