Stichting Red een Kind (Help a Child) is looking for an:
External Relations Manager, Youth for Work (Nairobi, Kenya)
Organisation
Help a Child (HaC) is a Christian international NGO specialized in community development with its headquarters in the Netherlands and operating in Kenya for more than 30 years. Founded in 1968, HaC’s mission is to improve the wellbeing of children through supportive communities. Main sources of income are child & family sponsorship, foundations and institutional donors. Main activities are early childhood development and education, vocational training, work and income security, with special attention for the position of girls and women, and child’s rights. HaC’s strategy is to empower marginalized children, youth, parents and the broader community, and other stakeholders to grow out of poverty. This is also reflected in the anticipated changes:
A. Children are able to overcome barriers to participate successfully in life;
B. Parents are able to take care of themselves and their children;
C. Youth are self-reliant and ready for work;
D. Communities are able to link to and make use of economic opportunities and services and gradually take full ownership of their own development.
For more information, please visit https://www.helpachild.org
Based on our 2016-2020 strategy, Youth for Work (YfW) and Early Childhood Development & Education are priority sectors.
Job Summary
The job has two main elements:
- Help A Child is a Consortium member of an ICCO-led Strategic Partnership: Convening and Convincing program (SPCC). HaC will participate in the program with a focus on two selected pathways to support civil society organizations (CSOs) to enhance their lobby and advocacy capacities i) to address access to adequate food and ii) to ensure that conditions exist for small holder farmers to access inclusive markets. On averagethree days per week the External Relations Manager is responsible for designing, overseeing and guiding the implementation of the Convincing and Convening program for Help A Child, it’s partner and Consortium members as needed.
- Help A Child is also implementing youth empowerment programs as part of its integrated child-centered community development projects. On average two days per week the External Relations Manager is responsible for overseeing and guiding the implementation of current YfW programs and as well as supporting new program development.
Job Responsibilities
Lobby & Advocacy (SPCC) - to report to the ICCO Kenya SPCC Programme Coordinator
- Overall program design, development and management of our lobby and advocacy program as part of the ICCO coalition;
- Technical capacity development of local Partner and/or Consortium members as needed;
- Monitor and evaluate implementation of SPCC activities as per program plan;
- Develop and maintain good relations with government representatives at County level in project target areas, at National level, as well as with the Coalition partners and other relevant CSOs;
- Engage in relevant lobby and advocacy activities and forums at County and National levels;
- In partnership with the local partners, develop and deliver both narrative and financial progress reports;
- Research and document the results and evidence of the lobby and advocacy program.
YfW Program Management
- Project design and proposal development, which may include overseeing needs assessments, market surveys, individual youth assessments and value chain analysis;
- Overall supervision of program management, development and implementation of our YfW programs, including monitoring and evaluation;
- Develop the YfW program ’s annual plan, Result Framework and budget, and conduct reviews if necessary;
- In partnership with local partners, develop and deliver both narrative and financial progress reports;
- Coordination and supervision of project activities to ensure that interventions are compliant with the standards and principles of not only the organization, but also of the Kenya government and the donors;
- Contribute to developing, implementation and reviewing of YfW program Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (PMEL) Systems.
Networking and Partnership Management
- Determine and assess the need to join appropriate networks of project-related experts and influential groups;
- Develop strong relationships with existing and potential donors in the youth and L&A sectors to promote SPCC and YfW approaches and to pursue funding opportunities so as to attract adequate funding for the programs;
- Develop and maintain relationships with private sector players, including Microfinance Institutions and companies involved in agro-processing;
- Identify, develop and recommend programs for potential partnerships. This includes attending learning workshops, organizing joint field visits with other parties and participating in donor events on YfW (and SPCC as needed).
Capacity Building and Organizational Learning
- Build knowledge and technical capacity of implementing partners to implement and monitor quality youth for work interventions and to take on their lobbying role;
- Conducting capacity assessments, providing training and coaching to partners on youth entrepreneurship, agribusiness, private sector engagement, innovative use of ICT in youth programming, lobby and advocacy, among other areas;
- Planning for organizational reflection and learning opportunities, such as special studies, after action reviews, partners’ meetings and organizational learning surveys;
- Support in developing knowledge related to Lobby and Advocacy and YfW, including incorporating research design and methodologies in project design and management.
Qualifications and Experience
- MA in International Development, Entrepreneurship, Agribusiness, Business Administration, Economics or other relevant field
- 7-10 years of progressive experience managing multi-year programs for youth
- Minimum of 5 years of agribusiness experience, including engaging the private sector, would be an advantage
- Experience in Lobby and Advocacy in Kenya’s context as well as in Africa
- Significant experience and strong technical skills in the field of entrepreneurship and job creation
- Demonstrated strong understanding of value chains and workshop/job based youth technical vocation
- Experience representing an organization in the public arena
- Knowledge of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) and entrepreneurship training as well as inclusive growth.
- Ability to set and achieve clear objectives and deadlines
- Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities and under minimal supervision
- Passion for innovation, research, technology and entrepreneurship
- Results driven and motivated by a sense of performance excellence and urgency
- Strong communication skills, both verbally and written (including presentation skills).
- Fluent in English and preferably proficient in Swahili.
- Demonstrated exceptional interpersonal skills
- Ability to adhere to Help a Child’s Christian Core Values
- This post will have contact with children and young people. The candidate that will be hired will be required to sign and adhere to the Help a Child Protection Policy. Recruitment is subject to successful completion of all applicable background checks, including criminal record checks.
HOW TO APPLY:
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates are kindly invited to send a cover letter and resume before September 27th, 2016 to vacancies@hacafrica.org.
In your cover letter please reflect on your motivation for wanting to become part of the HaC organization. For more information please contact Mrs. Linda Ndethiu, stationed in Kenya at info@hacafrica.org. An (e-) assessment will be part of the selection procedure.
