Senior Advisor for Skills Development (100%)

Responsibilities 

• Provide technical support, strategic guidance, and technical backstopping of project teams in the field of Skills Development for current and prospective internal and external clients.
• Contribute to the identification of trends and thematic areas where skills development products and solutions are needed, and support positioning Swisscontact’s thematic expertise within and outside the organisation.
• Lead and support business development
• Assume leadership for thematic area of “green skills and jobs”: (virtual) community of practice facilitation, provision of technical inputs and reviews, concept development, documentation of good practice, support to monitoring tools, etc.
• Contribute to the development of training and capacity building sessions/courses and deliver these to internal and external audiences.
• Mentor and support other team members (e.g. interns) when required

Requirements 

• Postgraduate degree in Education, Vocational Education and Training (VET), Labour Market Sociology/Economics or equivalent.
• At least 6 years of project implementation experience, in technical advisory and support to projects in development cooperation, of which preferably 4 years based in developing countries in the field of VET and/or Labour Market Insertion.
• An established network that includes Swiss VET development cooperation actors.
• Proven experience in business development incl. bid proposal writing.
• Proven experience in carrying out applied research incl. evaluations in the field of VET and/or labour market insertion.
• Strong understanding of Market Systems Development (MSD) is an asset.
• Consultancy experience incl. established client relationships is an asset.
• Working level (spoken and written) in English and French is required, German is a strong asset. Additional languages are an asset.
• Excellent communication, digital, interpersonal and intercultural skills.
• Flexibility and willingness to frequently travel internationally.
• Business-oriented, self-starting, dynamic, and ambitious personality.
• Candidate must be in possession of working permit for Switzerland at the time of application.

Swisscontact offers attractive working conditions in an international and multicultural context. We see our work as a joint effort in an agile organizational culture: mutual respect, trust and teamwork.

We look forward to receiving your online application with the following documents in English or German: letter of motivation, curriculum vitae, diplomas and references. Please apply exclusively via the online application portal until 13th January 2025.

Swisscontact - Swiss Foundation for Technical Cooperation

Swisscontact is an independent non-profit development organisation established in 1959 by representatives of the Swiss private sector and civil society.

Our development work focuses on unleashing the potential of private initiatives in developing and emerging countries. We foster sustainable and inclusive economic development with the objective of improving the quality of life for all.

Our work is based on three foundational pillars: We strengthen the competencies of individuals so they can improve their income and their opportunities for employment; we enhance the competitiveness of businesses to help them grow and become more resilient; we promote socio-economic systems that favour comprehensive development for widespread prosperity.

The organisation is currently active in over 130 projects in 41 countries with around 1400 employees. It is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.