Senior Technical Advisor: PYEI Interim Support at GIZ South Africa, Lesotho & eSwatini

• GIZ supports the PYEI in implementing its strategy to expand income-generating opportunities and employment pathways for young people.
• This role requires a dynamic and independent team player who enjoys designing and co-creating new interventions, building sustainable project and partner structures, engaging with multiple stakeholders and managing project and contract-related processes.
• The role will support the delivery of a Presidency priority initiative and will involve high-level engagement with senior government, private-sector and development partner stakeholders.

What We Need From You:

Qualifications

• A postgraduate university qualification at Master’s level in Development Studies, Economics, Education or Business.

Professional Experience

• 10 years’ relevant working experience.
• Experience and knowledge of youth employment strategies, including funding mechanisms for large-scale, systems-wide interventions.
• Knowledge and understanding of the South African skills development and post-school education and training system.
• An understanding of skills supply and demand principles.
• Familiarity with skills requirements and growth areas in the South African economy.
• Familiarity with outcomes-based funding instruments and approaches.
• Familiarity with SMME development strategies in the South African economy.
• The ability to engage in multiple stakeholder processes, especially those involving private and public sector collaboration in the skills development sector.
• Demonstrated experience in high-level stakeholder management, including engagement with the public and private sectors.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to break complex deliverables into manageable plans with realistic tasks.
• The ability to work as part of a team and independently in a structured, methodical manner.
• Excellent writing and communication skills, with fluency in English.

The following will be advantageous:

• Knowledge of and experience with principles and standards of contracts and tenders with the public and private sector.
• Experience within the context of international development cooperation.

Other Knowledge and Competencies

• Strong interpersonal, intercultural and communication skills.
• A self-driven, quick-to-learn, flexible and highly motivated approach.
• Flexibility and mobility, including readiness to travel nationally and internationally, if required.
• Willingness to work flexible hours, if required.
• A valid driving licence.
• Relevant ICT skills, including Microsoft Office, MS Teams, Outlook and SharePoint.

What You Will Be Doing

• The Senior Technical Advisor: PYEI Interim Support will lead the development, planning and implementation of the overall support intervention to the PYEI, including the performance of underlying project processes.
• In this role, you will support youth employment and related enabling interventions across the PYEI focus areas, including inclusive hiring, growth sectors, sustainable self-employment, the informal economy, demand-led skilling and outcomes-based funding.

Technical Support and Stakeholder Engagement

• Lead the development, planning and implementation of overall support interventions to the PYEI.
• Establish and strengthen collaboration and communication channels with relevant stakeholders, including experts and policymakers across the different lever focus areas and the wider PYEI ecosystem.
• Lead engagement with the private sector on relevant lever-related interventions, including South African business representatives, industry associations, chambers and the German private sector.
• Initiate, develop, support and manage the implementation of the GIZ/PYEI cooperation across the respective outputs with different stakeholders, implementation partners and the private sector.
• Contribute to the technical design of measures, terms of reference and activities.
• Ensure quality implementation by external resources and service providers contracted through performance contracts or financing agreements.
• Take responsibility for the achievement of target indicators, as well as monitoring, reporting and knowledge management in line with reporting cycles.
• Oversee financial planning, reporting and adjustments where necessary, in line with GIZ standards, rules and regulations, in cooperation with the Project Manager and the Finance and Administration Officer.
• Represent the PYEI SFF project in targeted platforms, meetings and events nationally and internationally, as required.

Project Management and Coordination

• Lead and coordinate the preparation and implementation of project activities, including procurement and other activities required for the relevant output areas.
• Take the lead role in managing organisational and relevant project management matters.
• Consult regularly with the Component Manager and the officer responsible for contract management.
• Engage with PYEI counterparts on planning against budget and implementation objectives.
• Participate in formulating project action plans and help synchronise planning and budgeting across the lever implementation areas.
• Oversee the identification of needs of government institutions and other relevant stakeholders in relation to the key levers for support.
• Steer and manage the performance of contractors, external consultants, consulting firms and initiatives receiving finance or grant agreements.
• Lead site visits and delegation visits to priority implementation projects and partners, as required.
• Cooperate with other projects within GIZ and beyond to support sustainable and impact-oriented cooperation.
• Implement daily operational aspects related to the project.
• Perform other duties and tasks at the request of management.

PYEI SFF Project Activities

You will also support key activities under the PYEI SFF project, including:

• Developing and overseeing the implementation of innovative support projects to promote youth employability across the PYEI focus areas.
• Promoting multi-stakeholder networks for employment-oriented change projects within the public and private sector.
• Supporting work in growth focus areas, demand-led skilling, outcomes-based funding and SMME initiatives.
• Leading networking and cooperation activities between the post-school education and training sector and relevant employer organisations.
• Advising on the scaling up of existing transition-to-work approaches and related youth employment interventions.
• Providing advice to private-sector partners, including companies, chambers and associations in the green economy.
• Supporting capacity development to integrate the PYEI strategy for marginalised groups into the wider youth employment agenda.
• Developing the monitoring, evaluation, research and learning concept for the project.
• Leading GIZ support to develop a range of outcomes-based financing activities, in collaboration with the relevant PYEI lever lead.
• Leading the design and implementation of a cross-cutting PYEI learning series to disseminate employment-oriented results and experiences.
• Providing lead GIZ technical support on the skills sector reform agenda, including TVET and SETA reforms, as well as a review of funding mechanisms for the post-school education and training sector.