SMO Mentorship Assistant

Program: Sewing Machine Operator (SMO) Program

Location: Coastal Region, Kenya

Duration: 6 Months (July – December 2025)

Job Title: Sewing Machine Operator (SMO) Mentorship Assistant

Reporting To: SMO Alumni and Mentorship Assistant.

Introduction to Generation

Generation is one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing global demand-driven youth employment programs, providing young adults with the opportunity to launch successful careers and change their life trajectories. We recruit, train, and place diverse adults of all ages — whether unemployed or underemployed — into careers that would otherwise be beyond their reach.

We started with a focus on youth, who are keen to launch their careers from non-traditional pathways (e.g. youth with no higher educational qualifications and require support to mitigate challenges due to socioeconomic backgrounds, individuals seeking to enter professions where their profile is traditionally underrepresented), and have now expanded to mid-career workers seeking jobs in demand (e.g. workers who have been displaced potentially due to automation or economic downturn, rejoining caretakers who have been out of the workforce for a significant amount of time).

Our goal is to deliver for job seekers and employers simultaneously: supporting the individual’s personal and financial well-being, while helping businesses acquire entry-level hires who have higher productivity, are of higher quality, are retained longer, and are faster to promotion than peers.

To date, Generation is active in 17 countries: the USA, Kenya, Brazil, Spain, Mexico, India, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, the UK, France, Italy, Ireland, Thailand, Chile, Colombia, and Ghana, with plans of expanding to a few more countries.

Since launching in May 2015, Generation Kenya has trained over 35,736 candidates across 6 different industries. 85% of whom have been placed in meaningful employment with our over 350+ employer partners. We currently train for entry-level roles in three sectors: Customer Service and Sales, Skilled Trades, and digital jobs.

Driven by our vision, “a meaningful career and sustained well-being for every person anywhere in the world,” and mission, “we transform education to employment systems to prepare, place and support people into life-changing careers that would otherwise be inaccessible,” we aim to address the skills gap that hinders growth in the formal sector.

About the role:

Generation Kenya is implementing a Mentorship Impact Study and piloting an SMO Mentorship Strategy to strengthen the effectiveness of its Sewing Machine Operator program. The Mentorship Impact Study is a 12-month evaluation focused on how mentorship empowers our graduates, aligns with their real-world needs, and contributes to long-term impact. The study will measure outcomes such as:

  • Clarity of career goals and ownership of development plans
  • Workplace performance (e.g., time to productivity, rework rates)
  • Emotional, mental, social, and functional well-being
  • Sustained career growth and advancement

Running alongside the study is a pilot of the SMO Mentorship Strategy, scheduled for July–October 2025, which aims to define the most effective, learner-centered, and data-driven mentorship model. The goal is to enhance mentees’ job readiness, workplace integration, retention, productivity, and well-being, while also fostering leadership development among mentors.

To support these efforts, Generation Kenya seeks two SMO Mentorship Assistants to coordinate and track the pilot’s activities on the ground.

  1. Mentor Recruitment & Engagement
  • Support the identification and onboarding of suitable mentors
  • Maintain a mentor database and communication schedule
  1. Mentor-Mentee Pairing & Relationship Management
  • Use established criteria to match mentors and mentees
  • Monitor the quality and consistency of mentor-mentee interactions
  • Resolve issues such as mismatches or disengagement in real time
  1. Mentor Meet-Up Coordination
  • Organize and facilitate group mentor-mentee meetups aligned with the pilot strategy.
  • Provide logistical and facilitation support for physical mentorship sessions.
  1. Data Collection & Tracking (Mentorship Impact Study)
  • Track mentorship frequency, session topics, feedback, and mentee progress
  • Support the administration of surveys and structured feedback tools
  • Work closely with the M&E team to ensure data integrity and timely reporting
  1. Monitoring, Troubleshooting & Reporting
  • Serve as a real-time point of contact for mentors and mentees
  • Identify and address emerging mentorship challenges
  • Document lessons learned, insights, and feedback to support strategy refinement
  1. Required Qualifications and Experience:
  • Alumni of Generation Kenya’s SMO program with workplace experience
  • Excellent Microsoft Excel skills
  • Proven leadership abilities and the ability to coordinate people and activities
  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills
  • Passion for mentorship and helping fellow youth succeed
  • Reliable, organized, and able to work independently with minimal supervision
  • Comfortable with basic reporting and data collection
  • Fluent in Kiswahili and English; local language proficiency is a plus
  • Availability to travel within the coastal region for mentorship activities
  1. Core Competencies:
  • Youth-centered approach and commitment to equity and inclusion
  • Organizational and planning skills
  • Comfort with mentorship tools, simple data entry, and reporting
  • Cultural sensitivity and the ability to build rapport with mentors and factory partners
  1. Application Process:

INTERESTED candidates, please submit your applications to genkcareers@generation.org, attaching your latest resume and cover letter. The deadline for submissions is 22nd July 2025. Kindly indicate in the Email subject: Sewing Machine Operator (SMO) Mentorship Assistant. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

  1. Copyright and Rights:
  • After contracting, a non-disclosure agreement will be signed between Generation Kenya and the successful firm.
  • Supervisory: The firm will be managed by Generation Programme Kenya.
  • Ownership of output: Generation Programme Kenya, Generation You Employed, Inc

Equality and diversity: Generation is committed both to promoting equality and diversity within the organization and to equal opportunities in employment. We believe in equality of opportunity regardless of race or racial group (including colour, nationality, ethnicity, national origins), religion or belief, age, disability, sexual orientation, sex, gender reassignment and gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy, maternity and paternity. This also includes any incidents of perceptive or associative discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions are made entirely on merit. Generation does not ask for payment from people who apply for jobs with Generation at any stage of the hiring or procurement process. If you have any specific queries, please feel free to contact us.

 

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The applicant (The Consultant): 

  • By responding to this TOR, the applicant agrees to be responsible for fully understanding the requirements of the document and will ask any questions to make sure that understanding is gained. Generation Kenya reserves the right to reject any or all responses to the TOR, to advertise for new responses, or to accept any responses to the TOR deemed to be in the best interests of the organization and what it stands for.
  • Acceptance of this TOR should not be construed as a contract, nor shall it indicate any commitment on the part of Generation Kenya for any future action.
  • The TOR does not commit Generation Kenya to pay for any costs incurred in the submission of a response to this TOR or for any cost incurred prior to the execution of a final contract.

Generation Programme Kenya (GPK):

  • Generation Kenya key staff will be available to provide the required technical and advisory assistance during the entire consultancy.
  • Generation Kenya will provide the successful consultant with the additional program documentation for their reference.
  • Generation Kenya will not pay pitch fees to any bidder.
  • Where appropriate, Generation Kenya will provide further descriptions of the roles and responsibilities in the contract document upon award of the consultancy.

Contracting and Reporting: 

  • Generation Programme Kenya Digital Freelancing team will provide direct oversight of this engagement.
  • An inception planning meeting will be convened between the Generation Kenya Digital Freelancing team and the successful applicants.

 

About Generation

Generation is a global employment nonprofit network that supports people to achieve economic mobility so they can change their lives. We train and place adults into careers that would otherwise be inaccessible and seek to improve how education to employment systems function. Generation launched in 2015 and consists of a global hub and a network of in-country affiliates that span countries. To date, Generation has more than graduates who have earned more than in wages, and works with more than employers, implementation partners, and funders.