Job Purpose

Lead the strategic delivery and growth of the Financial Inclusion Fund – SBDC Pilot Programme, driving impactful support for high-potential entrepreneurs across Uasin Gishu, Nyeri, and Mombasa counties while building a scalable model for national expansion across Kenya.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight for the successful implementation and scale-up of the SBDC Pilot Programme across Uasin Gishu, Nyeri, and Mombasa counties.
• Manage high-level relationships with the Financial Inclusion Fund, Livelihood Impact Fund (LIF), government stakeholders, development partners, and other key institutional partners.
• Oversee programme execution, ensuring timely delivery of milestones, quality outputs, budget accountability, and compliance with donor and institutional requirements.
• Supervise and support the Project Manager and wider programme team, fostering a high-performance and impact-driven culture.
• Lead programme monitoring, evaluation, learning, and adaptive decision-making to strengthen evidence generation and inform national scale-up.
• Ensure the quality and integrity of programme deliverables, reports, communications, and stakeholder engagement activities.
• Represent the programme in high-level forums, policy engagements, and strategic partnerships, positioning the SBDC model as a leading MSME development approach in Kenya.
• Drive resource mobilisation and strategic growth opportunities to sustain and expand the programme beyond the pilot phase.
• Identify and manage strategic, operational, and financial risks to ensure effective programme delivery and long-term impact.

Qualifications

The post holder will be required to have and to demonstrate evidence of the following qualifications, attributes, and skills:

• 15+ years of senior leadership experience managing large, complex development or donor-funded programmes.
• Master’s degree in a relevant field such as International Development, Public Administration, or Economic Development.
• Strong experience (7+ years) in building and managing multi-stakeholder partnerships across government, donors, private sector, and civil society.
• Proven expertise in programme leadership, including financial management, contract oversight, and team management.
• Experience in donor-funded programme compliance, reporting, and results-based management.
• Willingness to travel as required for programme delivery and stakeholder engagement.

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight for the successful implementation and scale-up of the SBDC Pilot Programme across Uasin Gishu, Nyeri, and Mombasa counties.
• Manage high-level relationships with the Financial Inclusion Fund, Livelihood Impact Fund (LIF), government stakeholders, development partners, and other key institutional partners.
• Oversee programme execution, ensuring timely delivery of milestones, quality outputs, budget accountability, and compliance with donor and institutional requirements.
• Supervise and support the Project Manager and wider programme team, fostering a high-performance and impact-driven culture.
• Lead programme monitoring, evaluation, learning, and adaptive decision-making to strengthen evidence generation and inform national scale-up.
• Ensure the quality and integrity of programme deliverables, reports, communications, and stakeholder engagement activities.
• Represent the programme in high-level forums, policy engagements, and strategic partnerships, positioning the SBDC model as a leading MSME development approach in Kenya.
• Drive resource mobilisation and strategic growth opportunities to sustain and expand the programme beyond the pilot phase.
• Identify and manage strategic, operational, and financial risks to ensure effective programme delivery and long-term impact.

• Senior leadership experience
• Programme management
• Financial management
• Contract oversight
• Team management
• Stakeholder management
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Risk management

• 15+ years of senior leadership experience managing large, complex development or donor-funded programmes.
• Master’s degree in a relevant field such as International Development, Public Administration, or Economic Development.
• Strong experience (7+ years) in building and managing multi-stakeholder partnerships across government, donors, private sector, and civil society.
• Proven expertise in programme leadership, including financial management, contract oversight, and team management.
• Experience in donor-funded programme compliance, reporting, and results-based management.
• Willingness to travel as required for programme delivery and stakeholder engagement.