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The President’s Young Professionals Program (PYPP) of Liberia
The PYPP: Building Young Leaders to
Reinvigorate Liberia’s Civil Service
The President’s Young Professionals Program (PYPP) of Liberia is a prestigious two-year
fellowship that places recent Liberian college graduates in important government roles
and provides them with training and mentorship as they support the government’s top
priorities. The PYPP was launched by H.E. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2009 and is
now one of Africa’s most competitive programs for leadership in public service.
Following 14 years of civil war that ended in 2003,
Liberian government capacity was severely damaged
and dominated by corruption, leading few top graduates
to seek civil service careers. Since then, Liberia has set
itself on a strong growth trajectory, becoming one of the
world’s fastest growing countries and showing dramatic
public health improvements under the leadership of
Nobel Peace Prize-winning President Sirleaf.
The PYPP is a critical piece of Liberia’s story of progress
– it has increased the prestige of civil service in Liberia
by creating a robust fellowship program that selects
fellows through a competitive, rigorous, and transparent
selection process and eliminates the granting of political
favors as a pathway to enter the civil service.
The PYPP’s mark on Liberia is clear; of the 77 President’s
Young Professionals (PYPs) the program has recruited,
selected, trained, and placed in its first five years,
95% continue to strengthen the capacity of 15
ministries and 7 agencies in the Government of Liberia
today. As they increasingly fill more senior executive
roles in Liberia’s civil service, PYPs are accelerating a
government-level shift towards the values of strong
leadership, transparency, and meritocracy.
The program has become even more critical to
Liberia’s government capacity in light of the Ebola
crisis. As several PYPs were redeployed to support
Ebola response efforts and play the invaluable role
of coordination among ministries, this group of young
professionals has proven to be a critical network that
could readily activate itself in the country’s rebuilding.
The PYPP aims to place 100 additional young professionals in key government roles over the next five years,
helping to create a tipping point in good governance.
“Continue on your journey
towards excellence, as the
cream of the crop, applying
your knowledge and your
skills for the betterment
of yourselves and for the
peace and prosperity of
our nation.”
–H. E. President Ellen
Johnson Sirleaf at a PYPP
graduation ceremony
Building Leadership, Transparency, and
Meritocracy in Liberia’s Civil Service
The PYPP succeeds by bringing young peoples’ talents to bear on critical challenges within
Liberia’s government. In its first 5 years, the PYPP has recruited, selected, trained, and placed
77 PYPs in government agencies, ministries, and commissions.
Who are the PYPs?
• All 77 PYPs are high-achieving
recent college graduates with a
demonstrated interest in service
to their communities.
• The 77 PYPs originate from
13 of Liberia’s 15 counties.
• The PYPs have a gender
breakdown of 44% female
and 56% male.
“The PYPP gave me the means to achieve my
dream – and has opened up other academic
and professional development
opportunities for me.”
–Ciata Stevens, PYP Class III
What have the PYPs achieved?
• 73 PYPs continue to strengthen the
capacity of 15 ministries and 7 agencies
through follow-on government placements.
• 18 PYPs have received scholarships from
the Government of Liberia to receive their
master’s degrees and 1 PYP is studying
for his PhD, all under the agreement that
they will return to work for the government
as senior civil servants upon completion
of studies.
President Sirleaf congratulates PYP Romell
Wleh at Class II's graduation ceremony.
• Former PYPs have risen to critical seniorlevel roles including Director for Passports
and Visas in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Assistant Minister for Youth
Development in the Ministry of Youth
and Sports, and Executive Director of
the PYPP itself.
How the Proven PYPP Model Works
PYPs are selected through a well-defined, meritocratic process. Countrywide recruitment at high schools and
colleges and through radio and social media encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of gender,
background, or politics. The PYPP’s objective selection process hides names from applications and takes candidates
through several phases of screening, each with an independent selection committee.
Through a model similar to the US Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) program, the PYPP’s two-year
fellow- ships include the following core components:
Continuous Training: PYPs are trained on a range of
professional skills including computer skills, financial
literacy, communication skills, and meeting facilitation.
Mentorship: Each PYP is paired with a senior-level
mentor who provides on-the-job support and coaching.
Performance Management: The PYPP maintains a
performance management system to account for PYPs’
performance in the workplace.
Immersion Excursions: PYPs gain a better understanding of local governance and build camaraderie as a cohort
through bi-annual excursions to rural communities.
Building Capacity – in Liberia and Around the World –
at a Fraction of the Cost of Most Development Programs
Every year, the global community spends more than $130 billion in overseas development
assistance. Meanwhile, at steady-state with a PYPP class launched every 12 months, it costs:
• $410,000 to fund a complete class of 20 PYPs through their two-year fellowships, including
the management and organization of the program
• $10,000 per year, or a total of $20,000 over a two-year fellowship, to support one PYP at fully loaded cost
An investment in PYPP can also extend beyond Liberia; the PYPP model has the potential to be replicated
and tailored to the local contexts of other countries that could benefit from stronger government capacity.
Getting Liberia Back on Track After Ebola
The Ebola crisis in Liberia has highlighted the importance
of human resource capacity-building across sectors.
Several current and former PYPs have been actively
involved in Ebola containment and response. PYP
Christollie Collins, who holds a post in the National
Investment Commission, was seconded to Liberia’s
Ebola Command Center to support the coordination of
ministerial efforts to contain the virus. With sponsorship
from the US Embassy in Liberia, PYP and Young African
Leadership Initiative (YALI) alumna Sarah Johnson
established a program to install multi-faucet water tanks
in densely populated areas to stop the spread of Ebola.
As the country recovers from the crisis, the PYPP is
uniquely well-positioned to play an important role
in strengthening the Liberian government’s ability
to prevent and respond to future crises. The PYPP
leverages the talents of young aspiring public servants
and creates opportunities for them to become the
backbone of a strong government, creating a network to
activate rebuilding of the country. It provides a trusted
partnership with the government and offers core competencies in recruiting, training, and placement – all of
which can help lead Liberia back to the path of progress
and stability that it set out on in the previous decade.
A Liberian Program Creating 100 Leaders in the
Next 5 Years in Government and Across Society
Beginning with the class of 20 PYPs starting in 2015 and continuing over the next five years,
the PYPP aims to place 100 additional young professionals in key government roles, helping
to create a tipping point in good governance.
To achieve this vision and continue building its credibility
and sustainability as a Liberian effort, the PYPP is
transitioning from a program managed by JSI Research &
Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) in Washington, DC, to a Liberian
entity structured in a public-private partnership with the
Government of Liberia. The transition will be supported
by JSI and the Global Development Incubator, a nonprofit
organization that helps design and launch new
multi-stakeholder partnerships and social enterprises.
The new Liberian public-private partnership will
refine and codify the PYPP’s proven model, ultimately
generating a program that can be replicated across the
continent in other countries where strong governance
has the potential to create transformative impact.
Beyond Liberia, PYPS Recognized
as YALI Fellows
Two PYPs, Alben Greaves and Sarah
Johnson, were selected as fellows for
the prestigious Young African Leaders
Initiative (YALI), President Obama’s
signature initiative to foster US-Africa
dialogue and support talented young
Africans who are playing a critical role in
strengthening democratic institutions and
spurring economic development. Alben
and Sarah were among 500 YALI fellows
chosen from an applicant pool of 50,000
Africans between the ages of 25-35.
According to Hh Zaizay, the PYPP Director,
Alben and Sarah’s YALI selection highlights
the quality of the PYPP and confirms the
program’s role in enhancing youth skills,
building capacity, shaping the brightest
young minds, and grooming leaders who
are competitive at the global level.
Joseta Neufville, pictured above from PYP Class III,
was placed at the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs and is currently studying petroleum
engineering in the U.S.
Learn more at www.PYPPLiberia.org