Entrepreneurship and Youth Leadership Support Specialist

Contracting Authority: Stichting SPARK Geographical

Scope: Across all Jordanian governorates

Contract Duration: 12-month contract (with a possibility for extension) Full-time, Fixed-term contract

Location: Amman – Jordan

Position Title: Entrepreneurship and Youth Leadership Support Specialist Project: Youth Grow Activity

Expected Start Date: January 2024

Gross Salary: 2500 JOD (Gross)

Background The Youth Grow Activity (YGA) is an innovative five-year project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Q2 Impact and partners. The project was launched in the context of empowering youth in Jordan; it emphasizes the need for positive youth development, not only for youth themselves but for the society at large, to Increase their meaningful participation within their local communities and the economy. Specific objectives include:

A. Increase youth access to high-quality career planning information and livelihood opportunities.

B. Strengthen youth leadership through targeted support of local youth-led and youth-serving organizations and partnerships with the private sector to promote youth participation as decision-makers and key contributors to individual, household, community, and national well-being;

C. Strengthen Government of Jordan (GOJ) systems, in partnership with youth, to provide more coordinated and effective services, practices, and policies that embody the principles of Positive Youth Development (PYD).

This activity is implemented by a consortium led by Q2 Impact, in partnership with Partners for Good (PfG), Abwaab, and Stichting SPARK (SPARK). The Entrepreneurship and Youth Leadership Support Specialist will provide specialized expertise and advice on youth entrepreneurship activities and support Youth-Led Organizations (YLOs) and Youth Serving Organizations (YSOs) within the realm of youth entrepreneurship and leadership. The Specialist will work closely with implementation partners on providing technical support for YLOs and YSOs within the realm of youth entrepreneurship and leadership, by leveraging existing SPARK know-how and expertise on entrepreneurship training and pitching competitions.

About SPARK SPARK is a not-for-profit, non-political NGO with headquarters in Amsterdam and field offices in South East Europe, Africa, and the MENA region. SPARK develops entrepreneurship and enterprises to empower young, ambitious people to lead their fragile and conflict-affected societies into prosperity. SPARK is a dynamic and growing, international not-for-profit development organization with 80+ staff members, in more than 14 offices around the world.

Main Tasks and Responsibilities:

The Entrepreneurship and Youth Leadership Support Specialist will assist the Organizational Development Component Lead in the overall project management of the Youth Grow Activity by working closely with partner organizations. The responsibilities and tasks include, but are not limited to:

• Play an advisory role in reviewing and modifying existing i2Z entrepreneurship platform, as well as all learning material, tools, and ensure alignment with learning outcomes.

• Provide awareness sessions across the kingdom on entrepreneurship pathways for a maximum of 500 beneficiaries per session.

• Transferring SPARK’s know-how and methodology relative to enhancing the employability of youth in Jordan.

Deliverables:
o Technical Support for Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Provide technical support to the i2Z platform content regarding learning material and ensure alignment with learning outcomes.

o Inception Report: Content review and suggesting potential points for improvement on content related to entrepreneurship and innovation tailored to the needs of program beneficiaries.

o Awareness sessions: Conduct entrepreneurship pathways awareness sessions for a maximum of 500 beneficiaries per session, around the kingdom.

o Assessment Report with specific recommendations for points of improvement: Provide technical expertise to review the Ministry of Youth (MoY) entrepreneurship competition process and support in the execution of one round of the competition.

o Assessment Report including recommendations for process improvement. Contribute to mapping of the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Reviewing existing mapping, and suggesting missing stakeholders (e.g., TTi Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Map, Green Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Map, etc.)

o Provide advisory support within the consortium in conducting an entrepreneurship-focused community needs analysis, including value chain, and surveying potential entrepreneurship opportunities in demand in the market.

o Consultation focus group/workshops: support in conducting consultations on the development of the new Content of I2Z: present the existing content and pathways of i2Z platform to the key stakeholders in the entrepreneurship ecosystem and youth, to collect inputs and feedback and decide gap analysis to help in the design of new material for the i2Z platform

o Youth Support Activities: Provide advisory support on all entrepreneurship-related activities within the program.

o Optimizing entrepreneurship activities to create higher levels of impact through the utilization of the i2Z platform.

o Catalytic Innovation Fund: Review the role and policies (including suggesting modifications) of the Catalytic Innovation Fund (CIF) which will be developed to become a Jordanian investment fund that leverages public and private capital, facilitates equity investments, and sustains itself with return on investments as Jordan entrepreneurs scale up regionally and globally.

o Advising CIF management with best available approaches and business models

o Any other assignments within the project’s activities, requested by the Youth and Organizational Development Component Lead .i.e. workshops, events’ preparation& management .. etc.

Requirements and Skills

• Holding Jordanian citizenship or Jordanian residence

• Minimum of 10 years of relevant work experience in delivering entrepreneurship training programmes, preferably with the objective of youth empowerment and livelihoods opportunities for the youth and/or working with national stakeholders on policy support.

• Excellent knowledge of the Jordanian entrepreneurship ecosystem and its relevant stakeholders

• Excellent interpersonal and verbal communication skills

• Fluency in written and spoken Arabic and English

• Ability to travel within Jordan.