Chief of Party – Kenya Resilience Program (KEN-REP) 151 views0 applications

Reports to: National Director and “Indirect” reporting line to the Consortium Steering Group

Provides Supervision to: Learning, Innovation and Knowledge Management Specialist, Livelihood & Resilience Senior Program Officer, Technical Advisors, Finance Manager

Purpose of the Position:

The Chief of Party (CoP) will lead the design, resource acquisition and implementation of the proposed multimillion dollar Kenya Resilience Program (KenReP) to strengthen the resilience (absorptive, adaptive and transformative) capacities of households and communities in arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) through innovative strategies, knowledge management and learning. The CoP will have overall responsibility for the leadership and management of all grant activities, consortium members and staff. He/she will have principal responsibility for representation of the Program to major donors including (not limited to) DFAT, European Union, Sida, UKAid, USAID, and local Government entities and provide strategic leadership and supervision of sub-grantees and sub-contractors.

The Chief of Party will provide oversight of all procurement, personnel, and financial activities, and coordinate the implementation of all aspects of the program to ensure quality, timely and efficient delivery of program results while ensuring the security, feasibility, and sustainability of the program and contribution to child wellbeing outcomes. He/she must demonstrate strong experience as a Team Leader in managing large and complex livelihood and resilience-building grants from major donors preferably in Africa and operate within World Vision’s organizational structure, principles and values.

Major Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership and management 40%

Design

• Lead the Technical Support Unit in the conduct of pre-assessments (landscape analysis, vulnerability assessment) and disseminate the results to all key stakeholders.
• Lead and provide technical direction in the design of the resilience program and proposals that are responsive to local community needs and aligned to the priorities of key stakeholder and donors.
• Conduct mid-term reviews and evaluations and apply lessons learnt to program redesigns as required.
• Design strategies, partnerships and interventions to guarantee the Program is gender and ability-sensitive and that WV and implementing partners are accountable to beneficiaries.

  Management

• Direct and oversee grant implementation, ensuring that all strategic objectives are met through proper design, staffing, implementation and quality assurance.
• Responsible for the overall planning, implementation and management of the Program as well as the achievement of the goals and objectives of the Program in a timely and cost-effective manner.
• Ensure strong communication and coordination with all team members as a means to effectively achieve program objectives.
• Encourage transparency among and between consortium members to promote coordination and effectiveness.
• Lead the planning of Program activities and set high quality performance targets ensuring adherence to technical standards, best practices and donor guidelines.
• Ensure grant management compliance for the Program in alignment with donor and WV regulations.
• Primary in-country point of contact for the team and key stakeholders, including donor, implementation partners, government partners and other key stakeholders.
• Ensure timely, high-quality and complete submission of work plans, quarterly and annual reports, financial reports, and any other reports required by the donor.
• Promote sustainability of Program activities with effective networking, linkages to other programs, capacity building of Program staff, and institutional strengthening of implementing partners and community-based organizations.
• Supervise a team of senior level international and national staff with skills across a diverse set of technical areas.
• Develop and maintain and adequate human resource plan to ensure proper technical capacity to manage Program work.
• Ensure low-risk audits for the Program

  Strategic Engagement and Donor Relations, 20%

• Represent the KenReP to major donors including (not limited to) DFAT, European Union, Sida, UKAid, USAID, the Government of Kenya, UN agencies, technical, research, private sector and other relevant partners.
• Lead resource acquisition, research new funding opportunities and develop funding proposals.
• Ensure effective liaison with representatives of local governments, local communities, donor agencies and key stakeholders on ongoing resilience-focused initiatives and as appropriate in a way that fosters linkages, knowledge sharing and project complementarity.

  Monitoring, Reporting, Documentation & Knowledge Management, 15%

• Develop and implement a comprehensive capacity building strategy for training, planning and monitoring KenReP partners.
• Establish and maintain effective project monitoring, reporting, evaluation, and communication systems to be implemented for each consortium partner based on relevant activities and interventions.
• Submit timely accurate and quality reports that comply with donor requirements.
• Document and disseminate Program best practices, lessons learnt and success stories.
• Support innovation and learning between consortium members by organizing exchange visits, joint learning events, technical briefs and sharing training materials.
• Maintain a database of key learning from partners’ work, and build up an evidence base of effective/less effective approaches

  Budget Management, 20%

• Manage grant/Program budget within approved spending levels and ensure accurate and timely financial reports to donors and World Vision.
• Ensure grant/Program expenses are reasonable, allocated as per assigned budget, prudent and spent in accordance with donor rules and regulations to ensure low risk audits.

  Others 5%

  Qualifications: Education/Knowledge/Technical Skills and Experience

• Master’s degree in community development, social science, international studies or related field.
• Bachelor’s degree in agriculture, agricultural economics, agribusiness, animal production, NRM or other livelihood- and resilience-related fields
• Minimum 12 years’ experience in design, management and implementation of major donor-funded resilience-oriented programs, preferably DRR, in the Horn of Africa.
• At least 5 years’ experience in pastoral, agricultural or urban livelihood activities, including livestock marketing and production; natural resource management and animal health services; value chain facilitation, agri-business; dryland and irrigation farming; small savings groups, income generating activities, and cash for work programming.
• Proven ability managing complex consortia or partnerships including effective coordination with national and county governments and diverse stakeholders.

Other Competencies/Attributes:

• Demonstrated strong analytical, managerial, leadership, communications and interpersonal skills.
• Proven ability in the management of large integrated programs.
• Managing inter-agency consortiums.
• Familiarity with major donors programs, their history and their development;
• Mastery of major donor regulations governing such programs.
• Positive collaboration and facilitating skills
• Leadership of large and diverse teams; diplomacy,
• Excellent communications skills.