Position Title: National Project Manager
Contract Type: National Project Personnel
Duty Station: Maralal, Samburu County
Organizational unit: FAO Representation Office in Kenya
Position Level: SC8
Duration: 12 months with possibility of extension
Eligible candidates: Kenyan Nationals
Anticipated Start Date: May 2017
Background
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in partnership with Kenya Forest Service (KFS) with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to support implementation of a sustainable forest management project entitled Capacity, Policy and Financial Incentives for PFM in Kisiria Forest and Integrated Rangelands Management in Samburu County would like to fill up the above post.
The global environmental objective of the project is to strengthen biodiversity conservation and enhance carbon sequestration through sustainable forest management systems in dryland forest and communal rangelands, while its development objective is to improve livelihoods of communities from dryland forest-based products and services. In particular, the GEF investment will be used to put in place strategic capacities and incentives to influence the considerably larger baseline investment, to change the pattern of development currently happening at the expense of the natural capital, towards a more sustainable economic development model.
Reporting line and specific tasks
Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Kenya and the direct supervision of the Head of Unit – Natural Resource Management (NRM) with technical backstopping from GEF Lead Technical Officer and in close collaboration with KFS-the lead government agency, the Project Manager will be responsible for the overall management and full implementation of the project in accordance with FAO/GEF regulations and guidelines.
The programme manager will supervise a team of experts in various disciplines and closely work with local communities, line departments, NGOs and the private sector to deliver the project results in a timely manner. Under the direction of both the Project Steering Committee and FAO, the programme manager will deliver the following tasks:
Technical
- Take overall responsibility for the technical quality of implementation and results delivered by the project. In this regard, the Project Manager will work with the rest of the project staff, communities and the County teams to ensure that any project activities are based on an analysis of best practices and informed by lessons generated, locally, in the country and abroad.
- S/he will also make sure that the project results are consistently captured, recorded and shared widely with appropriate audiences, and, as much as possible, technical publications meeting internationally accepted standards.
Management and Coordination
- Lead and co-ordinate the activities of the project specialists and ensure their effective deployment for dispensing the inputs and collection of results.
- Regularly organize the PSC and other coordination meetings.
- Facilitate the mobilization of resources and prepare / regularly update the work plan for the program.
- Interact with other donors and stakeholders, develop joint work plans, and mobilize resources for the project.
- Develop competence in the counterpart government staff and others in producing the project outputs through a participatory process.
- Identify, together with the specialists the need for additional short-term consultancies or sub-contract inputs, prepare TORs and initiate their process.
- Prepare and timely submit all the reports required by FAO/GEF and the Government (particularly the PIR).
- Contribute to the procurement of equipment and ensure its full operation and maintenance;
- Liaise with FAO, other UN agencies, multi-lateral and bi-lateral funding agencies, GOK and NGOs operating in the project area for possible coordination in project implementation and mobilize resources for scaling up the project activities, consistent with the project’s objectives.
- Performs any other technical or administrative duty as requested
Minimum Requirements
- University Degree in a field related to forestry, natural resources management, environment and 8 to 10 years of relevant working experience in forestry, natural resources management, environmental management or Advanced university degree in a field related to forestry, natural resources management, environment and 3 to 4 years of relevant working experience in forestry, natural resource management, environmental management
- Strong project management skills including ability to provide strategic guidance, technical oversight, building strong teams, mentoring staff, developing work plans, and manage budgets and project expenditures;
- Good interpersonal skills with experience in networking with partners at all levels (ministry, donors, private sector, NGOs and local community based organizations);
- Demonstrated written, analytical, presentation, reporting and computing skills and familiarity with modern communication systems
- Experience in implementing UN/GEF and KFS related projects would be an added advantage
Competencies
- Results Focus
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Building effective relationships
- Knowledge sharing and continuous Improvement
How to apply:
Candidates are requested to submit their application by email to [email protected] quoting the position title and vacancy announcement number.
A duly completed Personal Profile Form (PPF) generated from FAO’s IRecruitment portal as a PDF-file is to be submitted by email together with a cover letter. Please note that attached resumes or CVS in place of the PPF will not be accepted.
In order to prepare a Personal Profile Form, you must first register on the FAO IRecruitment site by clicking on the following link to register: http://www.fao.org/employment/irecruitment-access/en/ In order for your application to be properly evaluated, please ensure that all sections of the on-line profile are completed.
Applications received after the closing date will not be given consideration. Only short listed candidates will be contacted.
This vacancy is open to both male and female candidates. Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply. Persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply.
More Information
- Job City Samburu