Hivos is an international development organization that seeks new solutions to persistent and emerging global issues. With smart projects in the right places, we oppose discrimination, inequality, abuse of power and the unsustainable use of our planet’s resources. Our primary focus is achieving structural change and impacting lives. We do this through cooperating with innovative businesses, citizens, governments, and development organizations across four continents.
Job Context
With long standing experience in development programmes, the East Africa Regional Office is looking to fill the position of a Programme Officer for the 4S @ Scale programme, situated within the Green Foods and Productive Landscapes domain. The programme’s key focus is on: building a viable business case for the coffee industry in East Africa through promotion of good agricultural practices, diversification of incomes through dairy and horticulture, biogas and bio-slurry use, gender and youth mainstreaming and monitoring and evaluation.
The Programme Officer (4S @ Scale) works under the supervision of the Programme Manager, Green Foods and Productive Landscapes and hierarchically reports to the Regional Director. She/He will provide technical support for the various result areas within the programme and provide strategic guidance to management. The programme officer works as the liaison between Hivos and the partners in the programme and ensures the programme outcomes are delivered in the highest quality possible. He/She works closely with 4S @ Scale and green foods programme staff in the Hivos regional office and in the Head Office. The position is based in Nairobi with regular travel in the region.
Your responsibilities
- Provide technical direction and backstopping as well as strategic advice to ensure that the 4S @ Scale programme activities are implemented in line with the agreed work plan and programme documents.
- To maintain effectively manage relationships with programme partners and to ensure they deliver their assigned outputs and outcomes in the highest quality possible and in a timely manner.
- Collect and analyse data to inform programme progress and decision making as well as to report successes and lessons to a wider audience through various print and electronic media.
- To guide partners in development of work plans, implementation strategies and models, field reports, donor reports, collection and processing of Means of Verification for the programme.
- Conduct regular field visits to assess the programme’s progress, identify bottlenecks and come up with actionable solutions.
- Develop methodologies and databases to assess, track, and profile farmers/clients and partners within the programme and generate actionable information for programming and decision making.
- Organize and coordinate logistics as well as provide technical support during programme related meetings such as programme implementation committee and steering committee meetings.
- Work with the finance and green food staff to ensure financial information, monitoring and evaluation systems for the programme are up to date, variances are identified and recommendations for action made.
- To support the development and management of the programme’s monitoring and evaluation system through active consultation and feedback sessions with program’s M&E Specialist.
- Provide technical support in the development of the programme’s donor reports and other program related reports in high quality and in a timely manner.
- Notify Hivos of emerging funding opportunities in the coffee industry through close collaboration and engagement with stakeholders in the industry.
- Generate technical content to inform sharing of Hivos’ experience on national, regional, and international contexts and platforms.
- Prepare and manage contracts of service providers, partners, and donors through prudent planning and provision technical, logistical, and administrative guidance and making use of Hivos platforms such as Osiris.
- Contribute to relevant policy debates and discussions to the coffee industry and represent Hivos in a strategic manner and as a leader.
- Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior staff and interns in the programme.
- Support and provide technical guidance in the generation of reports, briefs, factsheets, articles, and position papers on the green foods programmes as and whenever needed.
- Create and support active linkages with Hivos’ programmes related in East Africa and globally to learn and exchange best practices.
- Contribute to other programme support roles within Hivos’ green foods and productive landscapes team as and when required by the Programme Manager or the Regional Director.
Your Profile
- MSc. in Agriculture, Environment, Community Development or Agriculture Economics, or a related discipline.
- At least 5 years of relevant experience in agriculture programme implementation and management in East Africa.
- Good research and analytical skills.
- Experience in producing high quality project reports, training manuals and publications.
- Ability to work effectively in multi-regional teams and partners with members drawn from a diverse range of nationalities, cultures and scientific disciplines.
- Ability to work under pressure, often to tight deadlines without compromising the quality of deliverables.
- Ability to prioritize tasks and able to work with little or no supervision.
- Strong English language skills, both written and spoken.
- Willingness to travel frequently, often to rural areas in East Africa for sustained periods of time.
- High level of personal integrity and accountability.
What we offer
We offer a competitive package based on qualifications.
Like to apply?If you meet the requirements of the position, please send a letter of motivation (your letter should indicate current salary) and CV (should include names and contacts of 2 referees) to be submitted to eastafricajobs@hivos.org by 29th April 2016. Indicate the reference: Programme Officer – 4S @ Scale Programme on the Subject line of your email. We do not appreciate third party mediation based on this advertisement.
