Terms of Reference (TOR) DREEM Youth RDP Inclusion Advisors/ Youth Expert Pool

Job Description

Who we are

WUSC is a Canadian global development organization working to catalyze positive education and economic outcomes for young people. We bring together and collaborate with a diverse network of partners (including students, volunteers, schools, governments, not-for-profits, and businesses) who share this mission. Together, we influence systems change and foster inclusive, youth-centered solutions that enable young people to thrive and belong. We work with all young people, with a focus on women and displaced populations. WUSC currently operates in 28 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in Canada, with an annual budget of approximately CAD $65 million. Our global team includes over 100 staff in Canada and more than 250 staff internationally, implementing a diverse portfolio of development projects in collaboration with numerous multilateral and bilateral donors and philanthropic foundations.

1. Background

The second phase of DREEM is a partnership between WUSC and the Mastercard Foundation designed to enable 1 million refugee and displaced (RDP) youth to secure dignified and fulfilling work and 35,000 to access education. The project delivers technical assistance (TA) to the Foundation and its partners aimed at strengthening the inclusion of displaced persons in their programs across Africa.

DREEM phase 2 builds on the successes of its previous phase by establishing a deployable pool of RDP youth (18-35 years) to support the delivery of technical assistance, grounded in lived experience and expert knowledge.

2. Mandate and Purpose

The Youth RDP Inclusion Advisors/ Youth Expert Pool is a technical resource within the DREEM project’s Technical Assistance Mechanism (TAM), providing a pool of RDP youth experts. Members will be engaged on-demand to support the Mastercard Foundation and its partners to design, test, and scale inclusive programming. Through targeted assignments, members will contribute to WUSC’s technical assistance process, ensuring that support to the Mastercard Foundation’s partners is not only technically sound but also  relevant, responsive, and reflective of the realities of RDP youth.

3. Scope of Work and Key Responsibilities

Members will work as RDP inclusion advisors, utilising their experience and skills to support programs to be more inclusive of RDP youth. While engagement may vary according to the specific needs and requests of the Foundation and partners, the role will involve three main types of work. These include:

Direct Technical Support to Programs and Partners 

• Giving expert advice to partners on how to better include displaced youth in their programs;
• Co-working with partners to develop or improve action plans for RDP inclusion;
• Reviewing partners’ program designs to ensure they address the unique barriers faced by RDP youth, particularly young women and persons with disabilities.

Capacity Building and Training Support

• Support facilitation of workshops and training sessions for Foundation staff and partners;
• Share your knowledge and experience to help the Foundation and partners to better understand the realities of displaced youth;
• Support learning and capacity building efforts targeting RDP-Led Organisations (RLOs).

Contributing to Tool and Resource Development

• Support the development of practical tools and resources for inclusive programming;
• Review of existing tools and resources to ensure they are contextually relevant;
• Providing review and validation of tools utilised in assessments to ensure they are culturally and contextually appropriate.

4. Composition and Eligibility

The pool will consist of 15 members per year selected to reflect the diversity of displaced persons across Africa and the required skillsets. The composition will align to the program’s inclusion targets and members:

• Must have lived experience of displacement as a refugee or internally displaced person.
• Must be between 18-35 years of age at the time of application.
• At least 10 of the members will be young women.
• At least 2  members will be persons with disabilities.
• Members are recruited as experts: they must demonstrate specific skills in areas such as advocacy, program design, gender analysis, or/and/or economic sector programming for sectors such as Agriculture, MSME development/ Financial inclusion, manufacturing, tourism and hospitality, digital economy and green/climate-smart entrepreneurship, communications, higher or secondary education inclusion, monitoring and evaluation, research and learning.
• French or Arabic language speaking skills are considered an asset.
• Youth with experience working in or leading RDP-led organisations are strongly encouraged to apply

5. Terms of Service

• Members will be engaged for a term of one year (renewable for a maximum of two years)
• Membership may be rotated annually to allow for diverse representation and new expertise. However, specific renewal policies will be determined by WUSC.

6. Governance and Reporting

• Members will report to the WUSC DREEM Technical Assistance Lead (or assigned member of the TAM team).
• Youth RDP Inclusion Advisors/ Youth Expert Pool members will work collaboratively with the Youth Advisory Board (YAB), which is the governance body of DREEM , to ensure alignment between strategic oversight and technical implementation.
• Members will be compensated for their time and expertise as consultants who are part of the technical assistance delivery.

7. Expected Deliverables

Members will contribute through a combination of advisory inputs, trainings and collaboration with DREEM team members. This includes:

• Providing technical inputs and feedback to partners.
• Delivery and support to trainings to the Foundation, partners and RDP led organizations.
• Review and feedback on program reports,  tools and resources.
• Participation in technical and working groups meetings with the Foundation and partners.

8. Who can apply

Refugees and displaced persons who meet the section criteria and are from any country on the African continent are encouraged to apply.

Please apply by

Sunday 5 July, 2026 by submitting the following documents: 

• Your C.V and cover letter explaining your motivation to join the project
• In your CV, please include a list of the specific skills/areas of expertise you can demonstrate, as required for the expert pool. Please select from the list below:
  • Advocacy; Communications (facilitation, graphic design, storytelling, etc.); Program Design; Gender Analysis; Economic Sector Programming (General); Agriculture Sector Programming; MSME Development/Financial Inclusion; Manufacturing Sector Programming; Tourism and Hospitality Sector Programming; Digital Economy Sector Programming; Green/Climate-Smart Entrepreneurship; Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning; Secondary Education or Higher Education Inclusion

We encourage applications from diverse individuals. We value a variety of backgrounds, experiences, skills, and perspectives. Reasonable accommodations are available upon request for candidates participating in all aspects of the selection process.

Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

For any questions, please contact dreem@wusc.ca