USAID Project Management Food & Nutrition Security Specialist Jobs in Kenya

USAID Project Management Food & Nutrition Security Specialist Jobs in Kenya

General Statement of Purpose of the Contract

The position serves as a senior Cooperating Country National Project Management Specialist working for USAID/Kenya and East Africa (USAID/KEA) as the Food and Nutrition Security (F&NS) Team Leader within the Resilience and Food Security Center of Excellence in the Office of Economic Growth and Integration (OEGI).

OEGI implements a portfolio aiming to reduce hunger and poverty through agricultural interventions; increase resilience of households and communities; enable affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy; increase sustainable delivery of water and sanitation service; and catalyzes finance, trade and investment to bolster development.


Statement of Duties to Be Performed

1. Strategic and Technical Leadership 30%

The Project Management Specialist (F&NS Team Leader) is the senior technical specialist in planning, designing, developing, and managing new and existing economic growth programs and activities within OEGI.

Currently, the FTF Kenya bilateral is a top-tier focal country, and combined with the regional budget, constitutes a project annual budget of nearly $45 million.

The Specialist will ensure that all activities are carried out in a technically sound and cost-effective manner, and in accordance with all applicable Mission and Agency directives and requirements; this will include activity design, procurement processes, activity/project implementation, and concertedly leading in reporting, monitoring and evaluation processes.

2. Program/Activity Development, Management, and Reporting 25%

The Food and Nutrition Security Team Leader plans, designs, develops, and manages new and existing economic growth programs and activities as a technical expert in food and nutrition security, agriculture growth, and poverty reduction.

These duties include activity design, leading procurement processes, and activity or project implementation, identifying and resolving program issues, assuring that all activities are carried out in a technically sound and cost-effective manner, and in accordance with all applicable Mission and Agency directives and requirements.

S/he will serve as the Contracting/Agreement Officer’s Representative or activity manager for programs and activities that include food and nutrition security, agriculture growth, poverty reduction, alleviating malnutrition, local capacity development, and other areas relevant to the FtF objectives of USAID/Kenya and East Africa and the Agency.

3. Representation and Coordination 25%

The F&NS Team Leader will serve as the principal FTF technical representative and liaison to senior GOK national and county officials to ensure effective and timely communication, joint planning and participation, advancing the Agency’s locally led approach to development.

The F&NS Team Leader represents OEGI and USAID/KEA at public events and in meetings with senior leaders in the Kenyan, East African and American private sector; in the Kenyan government; and with implementing partners and other stakeholders.

Representational responsibilities will be to ensure that FTF technical frameworks in each FTF county are monitored, budgeted annually, and aligned accordingly in order to improve productivity, income and resilience for those involved in the Kenyan agricultural sector.

4. Supervision and Management of the F&NS Team 20%

As the F&NS Team Leader, the Specialist will directly supervise three CCN staff. S/he will work with team members to develop and execute work objectives and quarterly conversations to assess progress and adjustments, address and performance issues, as well as conducting timely annual Performance Evaluation Reviews.

The incumbent will also develop Individual Learning and Training Plans and identify professional growth opportunities for team staff to augment the F&NS acumen. As supervisor, s/he will be expected to keep abreast of leadership and supervisory training opportunities for continual individual Team Leader growth.

Physical Demands:

The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.

Minimum Qualifications Required for This Position

Any application that does not meet the minimum requirements stated below

will not be evaluated.

Education:

A Bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics or agricultural science is required.

Prior Work Experience:

At least seven (7) years of professional level directly related experience in project management and market systems development, with substantive experience focusing on analytics and knowledge management approaches.

Experience working on large donor projects, with government in the developing world, and/or institutional structures in agribusiness, monitoring and evaluation, a closely related sector is required.

Language Proficiency:

Fluent (Level IV) English language and Kiswahili proficiency in speaking and writing is the minimum requirement.


Job Knowledge

Advanced knowledge in market systems and production development approaches and programming best practices, and how they affect stakeholders along agriculture value chains.

In addition, experience in the development of key analytic and knowledge management around agricultural initiatives and institutional integration is required.

Expertise in strategic planning and program management; this includes in-depth knowledge of practices, policies, and procedures governing the performance monitoring and learning within development programs and projects, and the practical knowledge of and/or experience integrating national and county-led strategies into development action plans in agriculture value chains and food security is required.

Must have a thorough understanding of development policies, strategic planning, operational systems, and regulations. Demonstrated understanding of the socio-cultural issues and nuances of working in communities and with vulnerable populations is required.

Skills and abilities

Proven technical acumen in planning and goal setting, and in the design, development and use of evidence-based programming through strategic analytics and metrics. The incumbent will work with minimal supervision and work in a fast-paced environment, with strong organizational skills.

Must have a strong work ethic and an entrepreneurial spirit to accommodate high level of responsibility and multiple priorities and creates a culture of mutual accountability.

S/he must possess solid relationship-building and interpersonal skills to develop diverse teams. The position requires excellent listening skills and continuous learning and seeking advice and feedback from others.

Must have proven skills to mentor and supervise staff, developing performance plans and objectives.

The Specialist must be able to provide solid analytic and problem solving at a highly developed level, as well as outstanding communication skills and high attention to detail are critical to success.

The incumbent must have the ability to adapt in the face of change, synthesize new information, and then provide sound advice to Mission management and the ability to develop sound solutions such as planning for and administering funds to best serve agricultural program oversight objectives.

The position requires the ability to prepare reports and technical and policy briefs sometimes with short deadlines. S/he must be able to communicate passionately, effectively, and persuasively across a diverse set of stakeholders.

The incumbent must also be able to create processes and structures to facilitate effective communication both internally and externally.

Advanced competency in MS Office applications, such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, is required.

Excellent English writing and editing skills, as well as an excellent ability to process information from a wide variety of sources into cohesive, polished documents.

How to Apply

For more information and job application details, see; USAID Project Management Food & Nutrition Security Specialist Jobs in Kenya

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