Head of Mission of Cap Compétences' Studies for the Setting Up and Launching Projects in Vocational Training and Higher Education

Mission description

The expert will be responsible of carrying out studies on behalf of Cap Compétences for the setting up and/or launch of AFD projects in vocational training and/or higher education. For the most part, AFD's projects aim at adapting - in this case, adapting skills - to the environmental and climate transition. This is not a cross-cutting theme but rather a goal.

Support for vulnerable populations (those far from school, minorities, etc.) and gender equality will also be major axes.

Cap Compétences studies are positioned ahead of AFD projects. They can analyze different parameters of a future project and intervene at different stages of the reflection: exploratory study, opportunity and intervention scenario, feasibility and detailed engineering of the project set-up...

Depending on the study, Cap Compétences can also mobilize additional external expertise - institutional or individual - which will be supervised by the Cap Compétences head of mission. The Cap Compétences head of mission will have the final responsibility for the drafting of deliverables and their quality in response to AFD's request within the given deadlines.

The Cap Compétences head of mission is notably the pillar of project engineering (programming, logframe, budgeting, technical assistance, etc.) and the head of a coherent and solid project argumentation. The qualitative requirements and deadline constraints imposed by AFD and Cap Compétences are often rigorous and the expert will be able to capitalize on this over the course of the services to improve his/her response to requests.

Cap Compétences also supports the launch of projects (transitional project ownership) on which it has intervened during the set-up phase: support for the recruitment of the project management team, terms of reference and support for the recruitment of technical assistance, procedures manual, technical and budgetary elements for the launch of the project.

Other intervention modalities could still emerge.

The position of Cap Compétences studies' head of mission is a full time and exclusive position. The expert will be positioned on several services in parallel which will occupy the whole of his/her workload. His/her activity can be carried out from Expertise France's headquarters in Paris and/or remotely. The position will also require extensive travel in the field.

The head of mission works under the direct supervision of the Cap Compétences team leader who coordinates the whole system and services. The team leader assigns the studies and the workload of the head of mission. The head of mission is accountable to the team leader for the implementation of the project, both in terms of content and form.

We are recruiting two heads of mission with the same or similar profile as detailed below.

Project or context description

Agence Française de Développement and Expertise France are associated within the AFD Group.
Vocational training and higher education are major sectors of intervention for AFD Group and demand from partner countries is growing. Just transition is at the heart of AFD Group's strategy and intrinsic to all projects.
Cap Compétences is an expertise facility that aims to strengthen the quality of the AFD's vocational training and higher education projects as far as the set-up and launch go, by ensuring that skills participate in the just transition to the environment and climate. In order to reach its objective, Cap Compétences is setting up various opportunity studies, feasibility studies, start-up support which mobilize a multiplicity of expertise: pedagogical engineering, project engineering, thematic expertise (gender, climate, infra...), sectoral expertise, among others.

The facility has been extended by three years (2023-2026)

Over the course of the services, it became apparent that the central function of the head of the studies mission needed to be internalized in order to have this expertise available on an ongoing basis and to be able to quickly capitalize on and then encourage the other consultants involved in the work carried out. This is the purpose of the present call for applications.

The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is a public institution at the heart of the French and international cooperation system.

Through grants, loans, guarantee funds or debt relief and development contracts, AFD finances and supports development projects and programs that promote more sustainable and shared economic growth, improve the living conditions of the poorest, contribute to the preservation of the planet and help stabilize fragile or post-crisis countries.

Expertise France is the public agency for the design and implementation of international technical cooperation projects.

The agency works in four priority areas:

- democratic, economic and financial governance
- peace, stability and security
- climate, agriculture and sustainable development
- health and human development

In these areas, Expertise France provides engineering and implementation services for capacity building projects, mobilizes technical expertise and acts as a project coordinator, bringing together public expertise and private know-how.

Required profile

This call for applications aims to recruit two Heads of Missions.

The candidate must have the following expertise:

In-depth and proven knowledge of vocational training and/or higher education in international contexts, particularly in Africa
Proven experience (at least 10 years) in setting up international development projects in the vocational and technical training and/or higher education sector (i.e., establishing the logical framework, programming, budgeting, contracting, intervention framework, risk analysis, project management, etc.)
Experience in setting up Agence Française de Développement projects would be an advantage
Good knowledge of the environmental and climate transition, particularly as applied to the adaptation of skills and training systems at the international level.-
Good knowledge of educational issues related to vulnerable groups and gender - Proven experience (at least 10 years) in setting up international development projects in the vocational and technical training and/or higher education sector
Experience in setting up projects for the French Development Agency would be an advantage
Multiple experiences working internationally, particularly in Africa
Experience working with high-level international officials (ministers, institutional officials, etc.)
Experience in leadership roles and leading multidisciplinary and international teams
Very good level of oral and written French. Proven proficiency in a second language - particularly English or Spanish - is essential (level C1 of the European Framework of Reference)
Demonstrated ability to write, argue, organize and synthesize in French and another language
Ability to work on simultaneous tasks, to manage time and priorities, to work under pressure and to take on increased workloads from time to time.

Additional information

Interested candidates are invited to attach their curriculum vitae following the "Apply" interface. The CV should not exceed 6 pages and should highlight the most recent and most convincing experiences related to the above-mentioned qualifications.

The CV will be accompanied by a presentation document (maximum 3 pages) explaining his or her understanding of the mandate and the experiences he or she has had. Concrete examples will be appreciated.

Deadline for application : 2023/04/07.