Dynamic program lead with a proven track record at Mastercard Foundation Scholars, excelling in stakeholder engagement and budget management. Adept at fostering partnerships and enhancing student support services, I leverage strong communication skills to drive innovative initiatives, ensuring alignment with program goals and achieving impactful outcomes in career development and community engagement.
Overview
16
16
years of professional experience
Work History
Program Lead-Transition
Mastercard Foundation Scholars
09.2024 - Current
Company Overview: United States International University-Africa
Program oversight
Coordinate activities across career services & placements, innovation & entrepreneurship, and Community and Alumni Engagement.
Ensure alignment with the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program goals and objectives.
Leadership
Supervise departmental officers and promote teamwork.
Ensure continuous staff capacity building.
Stakeholder Engagement
Develop partnerships with industry leaders, academic institutions, and organizations to promote the goals of the Transition department.
Represent the Transition department in forums and collaborations.
Monitoring and Evaluation - Oversee reporting, documentation, and evaluation across all thematic areas.
Track program KPIs and recommend improvements.
Budget Management
Manage department budgets and allocate resources effectively.
Risk Management
Engage in the designing and revision of Policies and SOPs.
Promote Capacity Building of Staff.
Design Systems for the proper management of Transition programs.
United States International University-Africa
Program officer-Transition
Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program
07.2022 - 08.2024
Company Overview: United States International University-Africa
Assist with the development of creative initiatives for marketing and promoting students and alumni to employers.
Assist in organizing recruitment drives and annual Career Fair.
Assist in establishing and maintaining contact with graduates and alumni to mentor current students and cultivate new employers.
Compile and profile a comprehensive list of all graduate students highlighting employment progress and success stories.
Identify diverse placement opportunities and work with students to access placement.
Market the department services and programs to the USIU Africa community.
To manage all aspects of the placement process including guiding, assisting and advising students, to recognize their skills and job requirements and to communicate with organizations providing placement opportunities.
Provide individual/group CV and cover letter review and assistance.
Coach students in exploring their careers and developing short and long-term job seeking strategies/career plans.
Coordinate seminars/workshops on Career Development for both employment and self-employment.
Organize and run pre-placement sessions for outgoing students and debriefings for returning students through discussion, consideration and evaluation of personal and professional development through placement.
Deliver presentations to scholars during pre-University orientation and organized workshops.
Research
Assist in surveying employers, students and reviewing periodicals to determine up to date topics of interest and trends in the market.
Assist in identifying topics for research and collaborative opportunities to learn more about the industry and students.
Conduct research and disseminate information on Jobs/internships/volunteer opportunities available for different majors to students through regular email updates.
Partnership Development
Build and maintain partnerships with current and potential employers.
United States International University-Africa
Academic Advisor
United States International University -Africa
09.2015 - 06.2022
Manage relationships between faculty and university on all advising and administrative matters.
Organize and deliver course advising sessions to incoming and continuing students in groups and on one on one session on program requirements and course registration.
Participation in School information sessions during undergraduate and graduate student orientations.
Design data collection instruments and analyze demographic data of students.
Respond to program inquiries by parents, sponsors, universities, local business community and prospective students.
Compile and profile a list of students on poor academic standing for contacting and advising while establishing and maintain contacts with them.
Identify diverse support systems for students especially those on poor academic standing to enable them improve their performance.
Deliver presentations to students during orientation and classes.
Data analysis and report preparation.
Ensure proper documentation of Transfer credits requests and Appeals.
Organize and facilitate the orientation process for students.
Designed a framework for recording advising sessions for purposes of reporting and decision-making.
Responding and addressing student’s queries promptly in person, on email, or phone calls advising over 300 students in a semester.
Temporary
Mastercard Foundation
08.2020 - 08.2020
Company Overview: scholars selection and recruitment
Downloading and reviewing applications.
Outreach to short listed students.
Coordinating interviews panels.
Facilitating admissions for the selected students.
Supporting the onboarding for the new students.
Scholars selection and recruitment
Managed to download and review over 500 of the 6,000 applications.
Coordinated interviews for over 20 of the 100 candidates.
Participated in the selection and award of the 24 scholars of the first cohort.
Sales Executive
Equatorial Commercial Bank
04.2015 - 10.2015
Building client portfolios and prospect contact list for follows ups and cross-selling.
Market and promote bank products such as accounts, loans, and asset finance…etc.
Build and maintain partnerships with other organizations.
Guide, assist, and advise customers on their financial needs and qualifications.
Train and support customers on how to use Bank platforms such as Mobile Banking and Internet Banking.
Conduct due diligence on clients by visiting their employers for document verification.
Successfully held 16 product activation sessions in companies.
Recruited over 150 customers to join the Bank.
Opened over 150 funded accounts in a span of 8 months.
Sales Executive
The Co-operative Bank of Kenya
11.2013 - 12.2014
Building client portfolios and prospect contact list for follows ups and cross-selling.
Market and promote Bank products to prospective clients.
Assist in surveying organizations for purposes of creating partnerships.
Listening and collecting customer’s complaints and proposing ways of improving products and services.
Compile and profile a comprehensive list of all customers for easy monitoring of accounts and cross selling.
Successfully held product activation for the bank.
Created 5 partnerships.
Internship position
Childline Kenya
04.2013 - 08.2013
Assist in organizing and coordinating meetings.
Receiving and attending to visitors.
Data entry on excel and record keeping.
Responding to queries from outsiders.
Internship position
Mwalimu National SACCO
01.2013 - 04.2013
Assist in compiling and profile a comprehensive list of all defaulters and guarantors for purposes of managing loan repayments.
Communicating to members especially defaulters, writing notices to guarantors, and eventually transferring of liability to the guarantors.
Assist in preparation of accounts reports.
Data entry and record keeping.
Reconciliation of members’ accounts, amortization of loans, and any other duties assigned.
Work-Study Student
United States International University-Library
01.2010 - 12.2012
Coach students on library use.
Preparing list of books.
Shelving books and issuing books.
Helping library users locate books on the shelves and provide other useful information.
Repairing damaged books.
Education
Certification - Strategic Management and Leadership
Kenya Institute of Management
06.2024
Master Degree - Business Administration
United States International University-Africa
08.2020
Undergraduate Degree - International Business Administration
United States International University-Africa
08.2013
Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education - Eldoret, Kenya
Moi Girls’ High School-Eldoret
Eldoret, Kenya
11.2008
Kenya Certificate of Primary Education - Malindi, Kenya
Malindi Little Angels Junior School
Malindi, Kenya
11.2004
Skills
Team Leadership & Supervision
Budget Management & Resource Allocation
Program Coordination and Implementation
Career Services & Student Support
Community Engagement
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program Support
Data Analysis & Reporting
Corporate Engagement & Employer Outreach
Mentoring & Coaching
Event Coordination
Information Communication and Technology (ICT) skills
Strong communication skills both written and oral
Strategic Planning and organizational skills
Program oversight
Stakeholder engagement
Budget management
Monitoring and evaluation
Policy writing
Career counseling
Accomplishments
Scholarship Award USIU-Africa (2009-2013)
Dean’s List USIU-Africa (2009-2013)
Participated in the 2009 population and housing census as an Enumerator
Sales training certificate award
Customer Service certificate award
Hobbies and Interests
Socializing
Travelling
Working out
References
Linet Aguko, Director-Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, United States International University-Africa, 0720 838 552, skiseli@usiu.ac.ke
Volunteer Experience
Amazing Grace Children’s Home-Nairobi, 09/2012 - 12/2012, House chores for example washing dishes, mopping, preparing food.
Timeline
Program Lead-Transition
Mastercard Foundation Scholars
09.2024 - Current
Program officer-Transition
Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program
07.2022 - 08.2024
Temporary
Mastercard Foundation
08.2020 - 08.2020
Academic Advisor
United States International University -Africa
09.2015 - 06.2022
Sales Executive
Equatorial Commercial Bank
04.2015 - 10.2015
Sales Executive
The Co-operative Bank of Kenya
11.2013 - 12.2014
Internship position
Childline Kenya
04.2013 - 08.2013
Internship position
Mwalimu National SACCO
01.2013 - 04.2013
Work-Study Student
United States International University-Library
01.2010 - 12.2012
Certification - Strategic Management and Leadership
Kenya Institute of Management
Master Degree - Business Administration
United States International University-Africa
Undergraduate Degree - International Business Administration
United States International University-Africa
Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education - Eldoret, Kenya
Moi Girls’ High School-Eldoret
Kenya Certificate of Primary Education - Malindi, Kenya
Program Recruitment Manager at Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at USIU-AfricaProgram Recruitment Manager at Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at USIU-Africa