Program Management Specialist- Kenya Resilience Program

Location: Nairobi, Kenya (with in-country travel)

Period of Performance: October 1, 2016 – September 30, 2018

Africa Lead Background:

The USAID Building Capacity for African Agricultural Transformation (Africa Lead II) Project is a five-year effort to support and advance the agricultural transformation in Africa as proposed by the African Union Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program (CAADP), while simultaneously contributing to the Feed the Future goals of reduced hunger and poverty, by building the capacity of men and women African leaders, institutions and stakeholders to develop, lead, and manage the structures needed for the transformation process.  This project has three components:

1. The establishment of institutional/organizational architecture to lead African agriculture transformation at the national and regional levels, operating at the highest level of effectiveness;
2. The operationalization of capacity to manage policy change and alignment process;
3. The effective participation and leading when necessary, of Non-State Actors (NSAs) in the CAADP process.

Context:

Kenyan counties in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) have suffered recurrent drought, human conflict, and a legacy of marginalization by government and international investments. With the adoption of the New Constitution in 2010, policy formulation remained a national function whereas implementation of these policies in the agriculture sector became a devolved function, carried out by the County Governments. The new devolved units of government are uniquely placed to stimulate economic growth through strengthening the governance structures to enhance the county capability to implement policies effectively. However, the nascent nature of the county government is confronted by the challenges of capacity gaps especially those related to implementation of requisite policies and design of legal and institutional frameworks to enhance service delivery. This situation is further worsened by the agro-ecological dynamics as well as constraints in coordinating past and current policy and institutional support structures and initiatives in the ASAL region.

The Partnership for Resilience and Economic Growth in Kenya (PREG) brings together humanitarian and development partners to build resilience among vulnerable pastoralist communities in northern Kenya. It includes both USAID programs and implementing partners. USAID PREG works with the Kenya National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) and county governments to coordinate resilience and economic growth activities. PREG targets nine ASAL counties. It builds on community-identified strengths and priorities, tapping into the remarkable survival abilities of local populations.

The Opportunity:

The Program Management Specialist will lead the design, implementation and monitoring of a program to strengthen the capacity of and collaboration among keys stakeholders responsible for USAID support to Kenya’s ASALs. The program consists of three components, including: 1) Develop and implement a learning agenda for the partnership for resilience and economic growth (PREG); 2) Provide institutional support to NDMA’s pillar 6: Institutional Development and Knowledge Management, in implementation of Kenya’s Ending Drought Emergency (EDE) Strategy; and 3) Support evidence – based policy and investment choices by EDE stakeholder for building resilience and economic growth in target counties.

Program Development and Management:

The Program Management Specialist will need to ensure that Concept Notes, Activity Descriptions, budgets and logistics for the Resilience portion of the program portfolio are developed and implemented. The Program Management Specialist will be required to support all aspects of the resilience portfolio including:

• Maintain close relationships with national and county Government entities and individuals, key Non State Actors (NSAs), PREG partners and donor stakeholders;
• Support the design of new activity concepts and descriptions together with the Program Lead and Africa Lead activity teams
• Manage and monitor implementation of resilience activities, make adjustments as needed to improve performance and impact
• Report on design, implementation and monitoring processes and milestones
• Actively use the tracking tools developed by the Program Lead and Technical Programs Director to manage the assigned portfolio of activities;
• Actively track activity budgets, and proactively communicate concerns, with support from finance to the Program Lead;
• Manage all aspects of record management for the assigned portfolio of activities is in place and compliant with Africa Lead policies;
• Lead multi-disciplinary teams (consisting of procurement, finance, logistics) on all aspects of planning and implementation
• Play an active role in recruiting/sourcing short term team members – i.e. consultants – as required by activities
• Play a representational role with USAID and other counterparts ;
• Convene activity meetings and communicate with colleagues and stakeholders;
• Travel as required to key events and play on-site role overseeing logistics;
• Support M&E and Knowledge Management functions as directed.

Capacity Building:

• Work closely with the technical team to develop systemic approaches and solutions to capacity building of key institutions and individuals,;
• Design and implement approaches to strengthening multi-stakeholder learning, team building and collaboration;
• Participate in county and national policy related events and workshops.

Internal Working Relationships and Reporting:

• Provide to Program Lead weekly short bulleted list of priorities for upcoming week and accomplishments from previous week;
• Provide to Program Lead input for quarterly and other required reports to USAID;
• Work with KLC team to identify KM/Learning products based on the Kenya portfolio.

Qualifications, Background and Experience:

Successful candidates will have strong interpersonal, leadership and management skills as well as relevant experience implementing programs to strengthen organizational capacity and teamwork. Demonstrated past performance in managing complex projects is required. Prior experience in resilience and/or humanitarian programming desirable. Specific qualifications include:

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree required in agricultural or development economics, management, economics, social sciences, or other related field of study;
• Applicants must have a minimum of 5 years of demonstrated senior level leadership experience in the field of international development;
• Knowledge of Kenya resilience frameworks and ability to carry out critical analysis of policy issues;
• Experience working with the private sector, civil society, media, and government sectors on communication strategies and monitoring and evaluation programs;
• Strong written, verbal and presentation skills;
• Demonstrated effective interpersonal skills, creative problem solving, conflict and ethical management skills;
• Computer literate in word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software (Microsoft);
• Fluent Swahili and English language skills required.

Key Competences:

• Coordination and Networking – Acknowledges the importance of maintaining and expanding networks as well as a systematic and thorough coordination of incoming and outgoing communication.
• Working with Others – Shows consideration for others’ needs and motivations, values diversity and inclusion. Works efficiently and supportively on shared objectives with colleagues and contacts in the immediate and wider teams.
• Communicating and Influencing – Presents a professional image of self, Africa Lead and the USAID Mission. Conveys information accurately and concisely, adjusting style according to purpose and audience. Able to influence people in meetings and in writing in order to achieve objectives.
• Problem Solving and Judgement – Systematically gathers information, assimilates and evaluates it and reaches logical and timely conclusions which can be defended.
• Delivering Results – Takes responsibility for delivering own work in a timely and professional manner. Responds flexibly to changing priorities, monitoring progress and quality of own work and meeting objectives. Demonstrates the financial and resource management expertise necessary to achieve results.
• Costumer Focus – Understands and focuses on customer needs.

Performance Criteria:

Africa Lead II is a performance-based project, highly dependent on individuals and team core competencies. The successful candidate will therefore participate in a semi-annual evaluation and receive feedback. Based on this evaluation, decisions related to promotion or salary increase will be made.

Supervision:

This position will report to the Kenya Country Lead but will collaborate closely with other senior staff members, including the USAID Mission as necessary to ensure the smooth implementation of activities.

How to Apply:

If you believe you qualify for this job, kindly submit your CV and current and expected salary to [email protected] by 16^th September, 2016.

Only qualified candidates will be contacted.