Senior Manager, Refugee-led Organization (RLO) Opportunity Fund, DREEM

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and we encourage interested candidates to apply early, as the vacancy may close once the right candidate has been identified.

Background:

World University Service of Canada (WUSC) is a leading Canadian international development organization driving positive education and economic change for young people around the world. Our vision is a world where every young person thrives and belongs. We believe all young people should have the opportunity to fulfill their aspirations and create their own futures. To help achieve this goal, we develop initiatives that: deliver lasting, measurable impact; are powered by partnerships across the globe; stay true to our core programming principles; and respond to the priorities and aspirations of the people with whom we work.

WUSC is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, and has offices across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Middle East. Our global team of development professionals bring deep expertise and open minds to identify new solutions to old problems and create a better world together. WUSC offers a dynamic international work environment with a diverse intercultural workforce. We offer employees exciting opportunities to apply their skills and gain experience all while making a difference for youth around the world. Employees at WUSC work hard to create lasting change in the communities they serve.

Project Description:

WUSC has launched the second phase (2026-2031) of an exciting initiative, which aims to significantly expand efforts to help refugee, displaced, and host community (RDP) youth, particularly young women, secure dignified and fulfilling work and access education opportunities across Africa. Building on prior successes, this Phase II will deepen engagement in new geographies, strengthen local ecosystems, and equip partners with necessary knowledge and tools for lasting change. A core strategy is emphasizing the engagement and strengthening of Refugee-Led Organizations (RLOs) to provide sustainable, locally-led technical assistance.

Over the next five years, Phase II’s ambitious goals include indirectly enabling one million RDP youth to secure dignified work and 35,000 to access education through the provision of expert technical assistance to a broad ecosystem of actors. Key implementation strategies involve working closely with RLOs through three pathways: providing financial access via RLO Engagement , strengthening their capacity to provide technical assistance to partners, and embedding them across Phase II’s functional areas. WUSC will serve as a network orchestrator, facilitating connections for scale and training partners and other stakeholders on RDP inclusion. The initiative will achieve its targets by increasing knowledge among partners, enhancing capacity to develop innovative programming, improving collaboration and inclusive policies, and strengthening the institutional ability of RLOs to design, implement, and sustain RDP solutions.

Role Description:

The Senior Manager, RLO Opportunity Fund, is a strategic leadership position responsible for designing, managing, and scaling the RLO Opportunity Fund, the central mechanism within the DREEM 2030 initiative for providing financial and capacity-building support to RLOs across Africa. Serving as the primary architect of the program’s localization agenda through the Fund, the Senior Manager oversees a multi-million dollar portfolio across diverse geographical contexts, including expansion into fragile settings.

The role moves beyond traditional grant-making by implementing a “Grants Plus” model, pairing direct financial resources with tailored technical assistance to ensure that RLOs become “funding-ready” and sustainable primary actors in their communities. The Senior Manager will lead a high-performing regional team and supervise staff and consultants to achieve the target of 5,000 RDP youth (70% of whom are young women) securing dignified and fulfilling work. Working closely with the Training and Curriculum Development Specialist and the MERL team, the Senior Manager will foster an ecosystem where RLO-led economic solutions are professionalized and scaled. This position requires strategic vision, partnership management, and a deep commitment to refugee leadership and inclusion.

Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership & Fund Management

• Design and Oversee the Opportunity Fund: Lead the strategic implementation of the Fund, including the design of grant-making processes, open calls, eligibility criteria, funding cycles, and transparent selection processes to ensure effective and equitable resource allocation.
• Budgetary Stewardship: Develop and manage the Fund’s multi-million dollar budget, ensuring effective and compliant allocation of resources to meet RDP inclusion targets.
• Strategic Alignment: Ensure the Fund’s operations align with the Mastercard Foundation’s RDP Strategy and DREEM 2030’s overarching goal of enabling youth to access dignified work.
• Team Leadership: Supervise regional staff and consultants, providing coaching and professional development to ensure high-quality delivery of the Fund’s objectives.

RLO Capacity Strengthening & Transition Support

• Develop and manage the “Grants Plus” Model: Pair financial disbursements with a comprehensive institutional capacity-strengthening curriculum focused on financial management, MERL, and safeguarding.
• Drive Funding Readiness: Work with the Training and Curriculum Development Specialist to ensure that RLO partners are equipped to transition from service recipients to organizations capable of partnering directly with global donors.
• Support Systematic TA Transition: In collaboration with the Head of the TA Mechanism and the Head of Higher Education Inclusion, support the systematic transition of TA delivery from WUSC staff to RLOs by ensuring Opportunity Fund partners reach the necessary institutional capacity to eventually serve as primary TA providers.
• Bespoke Institutional Support: Facilitate demand-driven technical assistance that addresses specific institutional bottlenecks identified during partner capacity assessments.

Partnership & Ecosystem Engagement

• Diverse Partner Onboarding: Identify and assess RLO partners across a diverse range of target countries, ensuring a diverse portfolio that includes women-led organizations, disability-inclusive groups, and at least 5% of partners (including green/climate initiatives).
• Facilitate Strategic Linkages: Foster strong relationships with RLOs, the donor’s teams, and other ecosystem actors to enhance collaboration and knowledge sharing.
• Representation and Advocacy: Represent the RLO Opportunity Fund in internal and external forums, advocating for localized funding models and the business case for RDP-led economic inclusion.

Monitoring, Learning & Adaptation

• Track Impact: In collaboration with the Lead, Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, and Research (MERL), develop and implement a robust MERL framework for the Opportunity Fund, tracking RLO progress, impact, and readiness for TA provision. In collaboration with the MERL Lead, track the progress of the Fund toward the target of 5,000 RDP and host community youth in work.
• Participatory Learning:
  Facilitate learning exchanges, reflection sessions, and adaptive management processes to continuously improve fund delivery and RLO outcomes and to share best practices.
• Knowledge Dissemination:
  With support from the MERL and Communications teams, document and disseminate success stories, lessons learned, and best practices related to RLO empowerment and funding models.

Compliance & Risk Management

• Equitable Due Diligence: Manage rigorous but adaptive due diligence processes that accommodate the unique legal and operational contexts of RLOs in displacement settings.
• Safeguarding and GESI Integration: Work closely with the GESI and Safeguarding unit to ensure the Fund is designed to build safe, equitable, and disability-inclusive partnerships.
• Risk Mitigation: Proactively mitigate risks related to RLO capacity, financial management, and legal registration across diverse African jurisdictions.

• Promote ethical and inclusive practices in all aspects of fund management and partner engagement.

Qualifications:

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in grants management for local and community-based organizations and working within diverse African contexts.

• Advanced degree in International Development, Social Sciences, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in program management, grant-making, or capacity-building, with at least 5 years focused on refugee/displacement contexts.
• Demonstrated experience designing and managing funds or grant programs for local organizations, preferably refugee-led or community-based organizations.
• Strong understanding of the African RDP ecosystem, including challenges and opportunities related to education, livelihoods, and organizational development.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders, including donors, partners, and youth-led groups.
• Excellent strategic planning, financial management, and MERL skills.
• Fluency in English; professional proficiency in French is highly desirable.

• Demonstrated ability to build equitable partnerships with marginalized and community-led organizations

• Commitment to WUSC’s mission of building a better world for all young people, particularly displaced and refugee youth.

Other requirements:

• The headquarters of this initiative is located in Nairobi, Kenya, but the ideal candidate can also be based in Abidjan, Accra, Kigali, or Addis Ababa. The Senior Manager, RLO Opportunity Fund must already possess the relevant work authorizations in the country they are/will be residing in, and no relocation support will be provided by WUSC.
• The role will require frequent travel across the continent, and occasional international travel for conferences, workshops and meetings;
• Ability to work a flexible schedule.

WUSC’s activities seek to balance inequities and create sustainable development around the globe; the work ethic of our staff, volunteers, representatives and partners shall correspond to the values and mission of the organization. WUSC promotes responsibility, respect, honesty, and professional excellence, and we will not tolerate harassment, coercion, sexual exploitation or abuse of any form. Successful applicants will be required to undertake an enhanced criminal record check where appropriate.