Position Details

Department: Programs.

Position Type: Full-time.

Reports to: Program Officer.

Direct Reports: None

Location: Kakuma,

About Village Enterprise

Village Enterprise Kenya is a leading economic inclusion organization dedicated to ending extreme poverty through entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and access to markets. Village Enterprise is implementing ASCEND - Advancing Scalable, Cost-Effective Entrepreneurship through Digital Innovation - a three-year, multi-country initiative across Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia.

ASCEND will scale Village Enterprise's digitally enabled approach to poverty graduation, combining entrepreneurship and livelihood development with digital learning, savings, coaching, financial inclusion and market access. The project will use technology and data to increase the reach, quality and cost-effectiveness of delivery while maintaining strong participant engagement and programme quality.

The project will support 21,600 businesses and 64,800 households, reaching an estimated 388,800 lives across the four countries. At least 80% of direct participants will be women.

ASCEND is both a major delivery initiative and an important opportunity for Village Enterprise to demonstrate how digitally enabled Graduation programming can achieve quality, scale and cost-effectiveness across diverse operating contexts.

Project and Position Overview

Village Enterprise is implementing ASCEND - Advancing Scalable, Cost-Effective Entrepreneurship through Digital Innovation - a three-year, multi-country initiative across Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia.

ASCEND will scale Village Enterprise's digitally enabled approach to poverty graduation, combining entrepreneurship and livelihood development with digital learning, savings, coaching, financial inclusion and market access. The project will use technology and data to increase the reach, quality and cost-effectiveness of delivery while maintaining strong participant engagement and programme quality.

The project will support 21,600 businesses and 64,800 households, reaching an estimated 388,800 lives across the four countries. At least 80% of direct participants will be women.

ASCEND is both a major delivery initiative and an important opportunity for Village Enterprise to demonstrate how digitally enabled Graduation programming can achieve quality, scale and cost-effectiveness across diverse operating contexts.

Position Summary

The Project Officer is a frontline implementation professional responsible for directly delivering Village Enterprise’s SPRINT digital Graduation methodology in assigned communities. The role manages the full participant and enterprise journey from community entry and targeting through digital learning, business formation, savings, coaching, financial and market linkages, and graduation follow-up while maintaining strong participant engagement and implementation quality.

Each Project Officer is expected to support the establishment of approximately 300–600 businesses during a 16-month implementation cycle, subject to approved country and project targets, geographical conditions, and resourcing. The role reports to the Program Officer, works independently across dispersed field locations, and coordinates community Tech Champions and partners without holding formal line-management responsibility unless specifically delegated.

Responsibilities

1. SPRINT Delivery & Participant Journey (35%)

• Translate approved implementation plans into weekly and monthly community activity schedules and deliver all assigned SPRINT milestones.
• Lead community entry, geographic mapping, sensitization, targeting, verification, enrolment and group formation in line with approved protocols.
• Facilitate digital learning, entrepreneurship and livelihood training, savings group formation, coaching, mentoring, and market and financial inclusion linkages throughout the Graduation journey.
• Support establishment of approximately 300–600 viable group businesses per 16-month cycle, alongside corresponding savings groups and participant milestones specified in the approved plan.
• Track attendance, retention, participant progression, business functionality and savings-group performance; follow up promptly on participants needing additional support.
• Integrate gender equality, youth inclusion, climate resilience, participant agency and locally relevant adaptations within approved methodology.

2. Digital Facilitation & Tech Champion Support (30%)

• Use approved SPRINT digital learning platforms and tools as the primary delivery mechanism, supplemented by appropriate in-person support.
• Identify, orient, train and coach community Tech Champions to facilitate learning, use digital tools and provide sustainable peer support.
• Support participants to access and navigate digital content, address routine digital-literacy and connectivity barriers, and escalate technical failures
• Maintain accurate digital activity and participant records using approved systems; avoid unauthorized parallel tracking tools.
• Share user feedback and practical insights with Systems and Product & Innovation teams to improve usability and implementation effectiveness.

3. Program Quality, Monitoring & Adaptive Management (15%)

• Apply SPRINT implementation standards consistently across training, coaching, mentoring, savings and business support.
• Verify the completeness, accuracy and timeliness of participant and enterprise data, collaborating with MEL on spot checks and data-quality corrections.
• Use approved dashboards and monitoring findings to identify lagging groups, weak businesses, attendance gaps and emerging implementation risks.
• Document participant feedback, delivery innovations and lessons learned; propose feasible improvements without independently changing core methodology or eligibility rules.

4. Community Engagement & Local Partnerships (10%)

• Maintain trusted working relationships with participants, community leaders, local administrators, private-sector actors and relevant service providers.
• Coordinate local stakeholder engagement and facilitate practical financial, input, business and market linkages for participant groups.
• Represent Village Enterprise in routine community and local government forums within delegated authority, escalating strategic commitments or sensitive issues.

• Translate approved implementation plans into weekly and monthly community activity schedules and deliver all assigned SPRINT milestones.
• Lead community entry, geographic mapping, sensitization, targeting, verification, enrolment and group formation in line with approved protocols.
• Facilitate digital learning, entrepreneurship and livelihood training, savings group formation, coaching, mentoring, and market and financial inclusion linkages throughout the Graduation journey.
• Support establishment of approximately 300–600 viable group businesses per 16-month cycle, alongside corresponding savings groups and participant milestones specified in the approved plan.
• Track attendance, retention, participant progression, business functionality and savings-group performance; follow up promptly on participants needing additional support.
• Integrate gender equality, youth inclusion, climate resilience, participant agency and locally relevant adaptations within approved methodology.
• Use approved SPRINT digital learning platforms and tools as the primary delivery mechanism, supplemented by appropriate in-person support.
• Identify, orient, train and coach community Tech Champions to facilitate learning, use digital tools and provide sustainable peer support.
• Support participants to access and navigate digital content, address routine digital-literacy and connectivity barriers, and escalate technical failures.
• Maintain accurate digital activity and participant records using approved systems; avoid unauthorized parallel tracking tools.
• Share user feedback and practical insights with Systems and Product & Innovation teams to improve usability and implementation effectiveness.
• Apply SPRINT implementation standards consistently across training, coaching, mentoring, savings and business support.
• Verify the completeness, accuracy and timeliness of participant and enterprise data, collaborating with MEL on spot checks and data-quality corrections.
• Use approved dashboards and monitoring findings to identify lagging groups, weak businesses, attendance gaps and emerging implementation risks.
• Document participant feedback, delivery innovations and lessons learned; propose feasible improvements without independently changing core methodology or eligibility rules.
• Maintain trusted working relationships with participants, community leaders, local administrators, private-sector actors and relevant service providers.
• Coordinate local stakeholder engagement and facilitate practical financial, input, business and market linkages for participant groups.
• Represent Village Enterprise in routine community and local government forums within delegated authority, escalating strategic commitments or sensitive issues.

• Digital facilitation and digital-literacy support
• Community engagement and stakeholder coordination
• Entrepreneurship and livelihood training
• Coaching, mentoring, and participant follow-up
• Monitoring, data verification, and quality assurance
• Savings-group, financial-inclusion, and market-linkage support
• Use of digital learning platforms and approved data systems