Regional Program Manager - Western Kenya
Job Details
Full Job Description
Job Title: Regional Program Manager - Western
Kenya
Supervisor: Deputy Chief of Party
Location: Kisumu,
Kenya
Grade: 9
About TechnoServe:
Everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better future. This
simple idea has been at the heart of TechnoServe’s work around the
world for over 50 years. TechnoServe is a pioneer in leveraging the
power of businesses and markets to create sustainable pathways out of
poverty.
The communities in which we work are full of
enterprising people. Their small-scale farms and businesses are the
keys to economic development. But they face many challenges: low
literacy, lack of access to jobs and markets, unpredictable political
dynamics, and, increasingly, the effects of climate change. For many
women and young people, the challenges are even more daunting. Working
with TechnoServe staff, people around the world are lifting themselves
out of poverty. The results are amazing...when incomes increase and
living conditions for families get better, they are able to access
health care and education previously out of reach. Communities and
even whole countries are better off.
Program Overview:
The United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) anticipates funding the five-year Feed the Future Local Food
Systems (LFS) activity in Kenya. The activity will promote inclusive
agriculture-led growth with a focus on climate-smart approaches,
strengthen the resilience of people and systems by expanding economic
opportunities, improve nutrition of women and children, as well as
integrate cross-cutting themes. This activity is anticipated to cover
a combination of staple and high value crops.
The activity will
implement solutions including:
â Improving resilience of
vulnerable populations
â Building the capacity of food system
enterprises
â Catalyzing investment into local agricultural
market systems
â Establishing strong and transparent
relationships between food system actors
â Improving the
availability and affordability of nutritious food products, especially
for women and children
â Expanding employment and
entrepreneurship opportunities, especially for youth and women
The
Program will have the following teams: Financial and Administrative
Team (Nairobi and regions); CLA Team (Nairobi and regions); Technical
Integration Team (Nairobi); and Regional Implementation Team
(regions). The role is contingent on award and funding.
Job Summary:
TechnoServe seeks a Regional
Project Manager - Western (RPM-W) to provide strategic and technical
leadership of project activities in the LFS Western Kenya zone of
influence. Reporting to the DCOP, the RPM-W will have strong technical
knowledge of the food and market system of the sectors and geographies
prioritized by the LFS project in Western Kenya counties. With
guidance from the Technical Integration Team, the RPM-W will be tasked
with operationalizing activities across a number of work-stream;
identifying county and regional level priorities and supporting
relationship building with county stakeholders; supporting the
development of specific partnership opportunities across the
work-streams; coordinating training and capacity building preferably
by integrating a market systems development approach; coordinate
activities across implementing partners and; fostering collaboration
among stakeholders across the region and project objectives.
Therefore, the RPM-E will work closely with local communities,
government entities, private sector partners, and an international
consortium to deliver tangible outcomes that improve food security,
nutrition, and climate change adaptation in the region.
Under the direction of the DCOP and COP, the role will oversee all aspects of project management, including strategic planning, partnership development, on-the-ground implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and stakeholder engagement. This role will require close collaboration with the Financial/Admin team, the CLA team, and the Technical Integration Team.
The RPM-W will supervise a team of technical professionals across areas such as first/last mile distribution, agro-processing, nutrition, policy, monitoring and evaluation, access to finance, gender, youth and social inclusion (GYSI), and entrepreneurship. The RPM-E will have a matrix management role with admin, MEL, grants, procurement, finance, and other staff based in the regions.
The RPM will collaborate with the Technical Integration Team to conduct applicable research around various market systems and identifying constraints to be addressed, identifying and coordinating local partners; supervising members of the project team; and overseeing project implementation, reporting, and monitoring and evaluation of the project.
Main Activities and
Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership:
â Under
the guidance of the COP and DCOP, provide strategic guidance,
leadership, management, and general technical oversight of the
activities in the LFS’s Western Kenya zone of influence.
â
Support in the contextualized development and implementation of food
and market system interventions with a focus on gender, localization,
and sustainability.
â Generate innovative ideas, and effectively
manage partnerships to drive program success within the
region.
â Identify new strategic program opportunities to expand
the impact of the project.
Stakeholder Engagement:
â
Independently engage with local-level executives from the private and
public sectors to encourage solutions to local food systems
â
Support the development and ongoing relationship management of county
and inter-county level partnerships
â Engage with external
stakeholders to build essential partnerships, as determined by the COP
and DCOP
Program Management:
â Work closely with the
Technical Integration Team, CLA Unit and Finance and Admin units to
ensure alignment of resources, activities, and key performance
indicators.
â Conduct frequent field visits to stay informed
about intervention progress and support ongoing collaboration,
learning and adaptation.
â Working with the Technical
Integration Team, support the development schedules, tools, and
processes for deploying a robust local partnerships fund; work closely
with the regional implementation teams to ensure targeted calls for
partnerships are released to address constraints in the local food
system.
â Identify issues and risks related to implementation
promptly, suggesting appropriate program adjustments
â Lead, or
in supporting role, manage, contribute to, and provide quality control
to data analysis and report writing within the region.
Capacity Building and Support:
â Support
subawards and grantees in intervention design and operational
management.
â Collaborate with the Technical Integration Team to
provide Food and market systems coaching and guidance to program staff
and partners
Monitoring and Evaluation and Reporting:
â
Collaborate with the M&E team to monitor and evaluate program
progress.
â Support or contribute to knowledge management
activities including writing articles on project developments,
learning or opinion pieces.
Innovation and Best
Practices:
â Develop innovative approaches to enhance
TechnoServe's work and share these innovations to promote the adoption
of best practices within the organization.
Representation and
Networking:
â Represent the program at networking events with
private and public sector actors, as per the guidance of the COP and
DCOP
Miscellaneous
â Perform other related duties as
required to contribute to the program's success.
Basic
Qualifications and Competencies:
â Bachelor’s degree
in management, economics, statistics, agribusiness, business
administration, agricultural economics, agriculture, international
development or relevant field, or equivalent work experience, master’s
degree preferred.
â At least 7 years of experience in food and
market systems, or related fields
â Strong knowledge of the
business and agricultural ecosystem in Kenya with familiarity with the
various market actors and players, including financial sectors, input
suppliers, service providers, etc.
â Strong gender leadership,
supervisory, problem-solving, communication, and coordination skills
required.
â Demonstrated commitment to advancing gender
equality.
â Track record of building and managing strong client
and stakeholder relationships, including with government, civil
society and private sector
â Proven ability to develop
strategies and conduct analysis on complex commercial questions
â Experience in authoring concise and well-written reports and
presentations
â Demonstrated competency in program and staff
management, coaching, and team leadership
â Experience working
on donor-funded projects is preferred.
â Strategic and
analytical thinking skills
â Exceptional interpersonal and
cross-cultural skills
â Fluent user of MS Word, Excel, and
PowerPoint
â Verbal and written fluency in English and
Kiswahili
Preferred Qualifications:
â
Experience in LFS Western zone of influence preferred
â Proven
experience in incorporating complexity awareness with programmatic
implementation
â Proven experience with catalytic grants programs
Required Languages:
Fluency in
English and Kiswahili, with excellent oral and written communication
skills required.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
â Demonstrated Leadership: Proven ability to inspire
and lead teams toward program goals, fostering adaptability and
creative problem-solving.
â Results-driven: Committed to
achieving measurable impact and program outcomes, consistently seeking
improvement opportunities.
â Strategic Management and
Adaptability: Proficient in systems thinking, quick to adapt
strategies in response to change, with expertise in Market Systems
Development (MSD), entrepreneurship, and regenerative solutions
development.
â Problem-Solving Expertise: Strong at addressing
market system challenges and developing innovative solutions.
â
Stakeholder Engagement: Skilled in building effective relationships
with diverse stakeholders to drive collaboration and results.
â
Gender and Inclusion: Familiar with gender-sensitive and inclusive
program approaches, dedicated to reducing social and economic
inequalities.
â Initiative and Independence: Takes initiative,
works independently, demonstrating self-motivation and
proactiveness.
â Effective Communication: Friendly and
approachable, facilitating communication and collaboration with
colleagues and stakeholders.
Supervisory
Responsibilities:
â Directly supervise a team of
technical staff, matrix management to additional sub-awardee and
functional area staff.
The deadline for submitting applications is on 29th April ,2024.
We encourage
all qualified individuals who share TechnoServe's vision of improving
the lives of others through proven business solutions to
apply.
With our commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an
equal opportunity employer and affirmative action employer and do not
discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion,
sexual orientation, gender identity, age, HIV/AIDS status, protected
veteran status, disability and all other protected classes.
We are
also proud of our commitment to protecting staff, partners, and
beneficiaries from abuse and exploitation and thoroughly vet all final
candidates through rigorous background and reference checks.
If
you have a disability that affects your ability to use our online
system to apply for a position at TechnoServe please contact the Human
Resources at or call +1 202 785 4515
Regional Program Manager - Western Kenya
TechnoServe
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