Global Learning Lead, Global Opportunity Youth Network

Company Description

Office: GDI Americas or GDI Africa depending on working location
Location: Remote
Reports to: CEO GDI Africa
Start date: September/October 2024

The Global Opportunity Youth Network (GOYN) is a multi-stakeholder initiative hosted at the Aspen Institute and managed in partnership with GDI. GOYN is committed to catalyzing place-based systems shifts in communities — cities and rural districts — around the world through the creation of sustainable economic opportunities for “Opportunity Youth,” (OY) aged 15-29 who are out of school, unemployed or underemployed. Created in 2018, GOYN’s current network comprises sixteen communities across India, Latin America and Africa, which together represent over four million such young people. Over the next decade, GOYN aims to improve the lives of millions of young people, build community-based Collaboratives that coordinate work to improve the youth employment ecosystem, and catalyze systemic shifts to accelerate youth participation, opportunity, and equity, thereby ultimately contributing to more peaceful and vibrant communities.

GOYN engages multiple partners and stakeholders across communities, from young people and local NGOs to employers, funders, and consultants. At the global level, GOYN is supported by a group of technical and funding partners, including Aspen Institute, GDI, Accenture, Prudential Financial Inc., and Catholic Relief Services as well as a number of other philanthropic partners. At the local level, GOYN activities are led by a local organization (“Anchor Partner”) which is in charge of convening and coordinating youth employment stakeholders in the community. While this position is being hired by GDI, the successful candidate will operate as a full member of the GOYN Global Team.

Job Description

The GOYN Global Learning Lead is in charge of managing and developing the portfolio of learning activities at GOYN, including developing new methodology and tools to support GOYN communities, fostering peer to peer learning, overseeing monitoring and evaluation activities to analyze the impact of GOYN’s work, setting up and managing GOYN’s. knowledge management systems, and contributing to GOYN’s thought leadership. This is a highly strategic position, and the successful candidate is expected to contribute heavily to the shaping of GOYN’s overall strategy and operations. Responsibilities are diverse and activities will vary day to day, including for example conducting analysis to support strategy development; participating in senior-level meetings with experts and partners; leading on priority areas; supporting partners; managing  work plans, workflows, and budgets; and ensuring all efforts are implemented for results. The position will be supported by one Associate; with other GOYN team members also contributing to learning activities under the direction of the GOYN Learning Lead.

Reporting to GDI Africa’s CEO, the Global Learning Lead will apply a mix of strategy consulting toolkit, management experience and development ambitions to successfully deliver on the work. The successful candidate is expected to exercise a high degree of autonomy and take on significant responsibility. This is a remote work position with regular travel opportunities (2-3 times per year or more if opportunities arise).

Responsibilities

Strategy and Analysis

• Lead on strategy development. 
• Draft annual work plan and manage on-going priority reviews.
• Regularly share analysis and updates related to GOYN’s learning activities.
• Support the identification and initial start-up phase of new GOYN communities.

Knowledge Management

• Manage the knowledge management agenda – this includes:
• Develop blueprint/guides on key components of the GOYN methodology.
• Develop suites of tools and templates.
• Package suite of tools and templates.
• Establish systems to collect case studies, examples, tools and templates from GOYN communities.
• Manage the GOYN Learning Lab, GOYN’s online resource repository (uploading and organizing content, managing access)

Learning

• Support the development of a learning agenda and manage its implementation, working in close collaboration with key partners – this includes:
  • Ensuring the successful roll out of the learning agenda.
  • Identifying global peers in the youth livelihood and employment eco-systems.
  • Develop mechanisms for engaging with global peers.
• Support the establishment and management of communities of practice on priority themes for GOYN.
• Support partners in developing case studies to capture key learnings.
• Foster other peer-to-peer learning activities, such as direct community connections and commu