Summary
Mobile for Development (M4D) is a dedicated unit at the GSMA focused on harnessing the power of mobile to achieve major societal impact. We bring together mobile operators, donors and innovators to deliver transformative digital solutions for the underserved through nine programmes.
Department: Mobile for Development
Location: London
Position type: Contract until April 2020
Reporting to: Director of Policy and Advocacy, Connected Women and Connected Society
About the Team
Mobile for Development (M4D) is a dedicated unit at the GSMA focused on harnessing the power of mobile to achieve major societal impact. We bring together mobile operators, donors and innovators to deliver transformative digital solutions for the underserved through nine programmes.
Within M4D, the GSMA National Dialogues help countries achieve their SDG commitments. They bring together key government ministries (ICT, finance, planning, gender, energy, agriculture, health and others), mobile industry leadership and the development community to demonstrate how mobile can be a positive force for societal change and build a collective vision to deliver on this opportunity.
The role sits in the Connected Society team and reports to the Director of Policy and Advocacy.
For more information, please visit https://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/
What the Hiring Manager Says
“The Senior Advocacy Manager will be the lead on our National Dialogues initiative. Working closely with the regional M4D Directors for Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, the successful candidate will help governments and the private sector take action to leverage mobile to achieve the SDGs. This role is a fantastic opportunity to gain exposure to how digital innovation can deliver both sustainable business and large-scale socio-economic impact. This role is ideal for someone who wants to develop their career in the mobile for development sector.”
Claire Scharwatt, Director of Policy and Advocacy
About the Role
You will work closely with GSMA regional teams to identify new countries where National Dialogues could be launched to raise awareness of opportunities around mobile and the SDGs and drive collective action between operators and governments to advance digital transformation through mobile.
To that end, you will engage with other M4D programmes to identify countries where National Dialogues could create new opportunities for M4D or could help amplify and increase impact of planned activities.
You will propose, assess and sometimes deliver projects that can help advance the SDG agenda in those markets, including through the development of compelling, evidence-based reports, the negotiation of strategic commitments from mobile operators and the implementation of tactical initiatives to demonstrate the impact of digital technologies on development.
You will be working with external partners and donors, such as the DFID, Sida and UNDP and build a broad network of public and private sector actors, including international organisations, mobile operators, regulators, and tech companies.
You will also be the focus point for programmatic reporting and for monitoring and evaluation in active National Dialogues markets. You will provide support in existing National Dialogue markets where required.
About You
You combine a good understanding of the mobile industry and exposure to the development sector, ideally with experience working for an international development organization, or a mobile operator or tech company in a public policy or advocacy role.
You have a solid understanding of mobile or development use cases and a strong knowledge of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
You are a highly organised self-starter, focused on delivery and on achieving KPIs.
You have strong problem-solving skills and can demonstrate sound judgement in escalating issues and formulating solutions when required.
You are a natural networker, with strong stakeholder management skills, and are able to inspire others and build constructive working relationships with diverse stakeholders.
You are collaborative by nature, able to work in a matrixed structure and have experience establishing, managing and inspiring productive relationships across stakeholders, both internally and externally.
You have a very strong grasp of the English language, able to express complex issues in plain language; French language skills are a plus.
This role requires travel across Asia and Africa, sometimes at short notice.
What We Offer
Working at the GSMA offers you unparalleled access to the mobile industry. We offer a chance to truly shape the direction of mobile, whatever your role. By joining the GSMA, you will be exposed to a fast-paced rapidly evolving environment, working on global solutions, genuinely fascinating and industry-changing projects and a stimulating and dynamic environment designed to enable you to flourish.
In addition to architect-designed offices and competitive compensation, our benefits include fantastic learning & development opportunities, generous holiday allowances, four additional days off for professional development and many others.
We offer a working environment that reflects our organisational values. We also hire in line with our values and recruit candidates who demonstrate a strong affinity with these 7 principles:
- DREAM BIG - Demonstrate vision and insight to lead the industry forward
- BE BOLD - Have the courage to take risks and make tough decisions
- OWN IT - Take full accountability for your decisions and actions
- WORK AS A TEAM - Collaborate to deliver impactful results
- DO THE RIGHT THING - Conduct yourself with honesty and integrity at all times
- SHOW RESPECT - Treat others as you would expect to be treated
- LOVE WHAT YOU DO - Bring passion and pride to your work
To learn more about the GSMA, visit our careers site, our LinkedIn page and our Twitter page.
About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators with over 350 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces the industry-leading MWC events held annually in Barcelona, Los Angeles and Shanghai, as well as the Mobile 360 Series of regional conferences.
Every day we work to harness the power of mobile to achieve our industry purpose – Connecting Everyone and Everything to a Better Future – through four main activities:
- We provide strategic direction and thought leadership to our members
- We drive collaborative industry programmes aimed at maintaining operator relevance in the digital world
- We advocate for the industry to regulators, policymakers and society as a whole
- We convene the broad mobile communications ecosystems and adjacent industry sectors at our industry-leading events
For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.
