Summary
Date Posted: Thursday, October 08, 2020 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible.In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.
Program / Department Summary
Mercy Corps began working in Kenya in 2008 to address the societal wounds following the 2007 post-election violence. Since that time, Mercy Corps has built a robust and diverse portfolio in Kenya that is working to address structural causes of poverty and injustice and to strengthen systems that enable men, women and children to access opportunities, participate in and contribute to peaceful democratic processes, and thrive in the face of ecological and social change. To do this, we deliver integrated programming to strengthen market and governance systems, address the root causes of conflict, and equip vulnerable populations- in particular youth, women, adolescents and marginalized communities- with the skills, opportunities and resources they need to be healthy, productive and to drive the development of their communities. We work closely with the private sector, civil society and governance structures at local and national levels to facilitate change and ensure that opportunities are inclusive of all Kenyans.
A five-year USAID-funded Kenya Feed the Future (FtF) Livestock Market Systems (LMS) Activity for northern Kenya. The associate award 2 will support the Strengthening Community Capacities for Resilience and Growth component. This activity will contribute to USAID’s Feed the Future Initiative and specifically will improve households’ income, productive assets and resilience to drought and other shocks. Specific areas of focus include strengthened and sustained rangeland and water management; strengthened drought risk management; strengthened conflict management; improved and sustained health, nutrition, and hygiene practices; improved literacy, numeracy, and life skills; and collaborative action and learning for community empowerment.
General Position Summary
Under the direction and management support from the Deputy Chief of Party, the County Project Coordinator will be responsible for the overall county-level planning, coordination, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of the Strengthening Community Capacities for Resilience and Growth (SCCRG) project. S/he will ensure all project initiatives are implemented to achieve maximum impact as per project objectives while remaining on schedule and budget. The Project Coordinator directly manages the SCCRG county-level staff and closely coordinate with staff from other LMS partners such as ACDI VOCA, BOMA and Smart Regional Consultant on planning and implementation and layering of activities across all LMS awards. .

Essential Job Responsibilities
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
• Provide overall managerial leadership for the project at the county level
• Develop county specific work plans and budget while ensuring teams implement activities on time, within the approved budget, and project deliverables achieve desired impact;
• Review project implementation strategies and contextualize to specific county
• Lead effective coordination, collaboration and integration among all technical, support and project units including with our lead partner – ACDI/VOCA and implementing partner – the BOMA Project
• Attend all quarterly project meetings in Nairobi as well as facilitate planning meetings and workshops with government, NGOs, private sector and community partners to revise plans and promote partner acceptance/buy-in;
• Provide timely updates to supervisor on progress and issues, identifying risks and proposing solutions for action and early resolution
• Develop program risk matrix and update the same on an ad hoc and quarterly basis
• Coordinate with procurement, logistics, security, administration and human resources teams to ensure operational systems support field activities
• Ensure integration of nutrition, youth and gender into project activities
• Assist in the development of technical curricula, basic education (numeracy & literacy), basic nutrition literacy, WASH awareness and campaign, financial literacy and reproductive health;
COUNTY GOVERNMENT ENGAGEMENT
• Act as the primary liaison with county and national government officials at the county level including representation
• Identify county and national government departments relevant to LMS and outline areas of synergies and collaboration
• Initiate an MoU with county government outlining roles and responsibilities and potential areas of collaboration
• Conduct periodic presentations of project progress, challenges and lessons learned to county government department, assembly and partners
• Organize periodic joint field visits with relevant government departments
• Facilitate and ensure the participation of relevant county and national government departments in the implementation of the project
SUB-GRANTS PARTNERS
• Support the grants and compliance team to conduct due diligence and capacity assessments
• Participate in the capacity building of partner staff in identified areas of weakness
• Review partners work plans and budgets and submit to supervisor
• Review partner progress reports and conduct periodic spot checks
MONITORING AND EVALUATION
• Ensure effective and timely monitoring, documenting and reporting on all project activities including reports from sub-awardees
• Conduct regular visit to field sites to assess progress of activities and provide formal and informal feedback to staff, beneficiaries and supervisor
• Identify potential areas for learning and documenting the same to share with other counties and/or the larger LMS and PREG partners
• Ensure the submission of all require M&E data and conduct validation of monitoring data before final submission to MEL Manager
• Participate in the development of intervention designs, sector strategies and M&E frameworks;
TEAM MANAGEMENT
• Assist team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance and achieve objectives;
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on ones and performance reviews;
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence;
• Work closely with the HR department to recruit, orient and lead team members as necessary.
• Conduct capacity assessment of team members and develop capacity building plans as part of sfatt development
INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION
• Represent Mercy Corps at government, donor, NGO and other relevant events, in close coordination with the Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party and country leadership;
• Coordinate activities with consortium partners, sub grantees, local government and other implementers such as Partnership for Resilience and Growth (PREG), as well as with other Mercy Corps programs.
SECURITY
• Work closely with the county team’s security focal points to develop and maintain systems that promote the safety and security of all team members. Coordinate closely with our partner, ACDI/VOCA on security issues at the county level;
• Ensure that programs are designed and implemented with a clear analysis and understanding of security.
OTHER
• Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission;
• Other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibility
3 to 5 Project team members
Accountability
Reports Directly To: Deputy Chief of Party
Works Directly With: Regional Program Manager (partner), Chief of Party, finance and operations teams, HQ Regional Program Team, HQ Technical Support Unit, and Partner Organizations.

Knowledge and Experience
• Master’s Degree or equivalent in development studies, business, planning, social sciences or other relevant field is preferred;
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in multi-sectoral programs, managing teams, strategic planning and implementing programs;
• Strong managerial skills, including effective personnel management, adaptive management, coordination and decision-making;
• Strong facilitation and consensus-building skills;
• Competent in building networks, strong problem-solving skills, and ability to influence with effective listening, persuasion, negotiation and other techniques;
• Strong understanding of USAID compliance issues;
• Internationally recognized qualification in project or program management or a commitment to obtain the qualification in the early months of work;
• Excellent and persuasive oral and written communication skills, including report writing, in English and other language(s), as required;
• Spoken fluency is Swahili is required and primary local dialects in the respective County is strongly preferred;
• Previous working experience in northern Kenya is desirable;
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members;
• Ability to work comfortably in a sometimes tense and changing security environment is required.

Job Education Requirements: Not Specified

Success Factors
The successful County Project Coordinator will have a strong understanding of project approaches and represent the project professionally at all times. S/he will combine exceptional management skills and capacity to manage relationships with different stakeholders. A heavy emphasis will be placed on coordination with other actors implementing in the areas of intervention. S/he will be committed to long-term program sustainability and the delivery of high-impact activities at the community level.
Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail and strategic vision are essential. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority. S/he will be committed to working closely and collaboratively with the County Government structures and our lead partner, ACDI/VOCA.
Applications should be submitted on or before 18th October, 2020 and will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Females are highly encouraged to apply.
Mercy Corps does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process.

Work Hours: 8

{module 312}

Job application procedure
  click here to apply

All Jobs

QUICK ALERT SUBSCRIPTION

{module 316}