Programme Manager – Governance & Accountability 174 views3 applications

Position Title: Programme Manager – Governance & Accountability

Position Type: 2 Year Contract (renewable)

Application deadline: 25th September, 2020, Midnight GMT

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Language: English

Salary Range:USD 38,000 – USD 49,000 gross per annum

About Africa’s Voices Foundation

Africa’s Voices Foundation (AVF) is a non-profit organization, spun out of ongoing cutting-edge research at the University of Cambridge. We conduct innovative research and produce powerful, insightful evidence that helps to amplify the voices of Africans towards key policymakers and service deliverers.

We use media forums to spark inclusive, interactive discussions, and gather audience opinions through SMS, instant messaging, and social media. We analyse these conversations – often in low-resource local languages – using our own tested methods. We combine social science frameworks with data science techniques to provide powerful insights into the beliefs, ideas and priorities of hard-to reach populations and social groups, and how these change over time. Our evidence helps organisations to better understand, engage with, and respond to target populations.

Our core business is organised around two program areas: Governance & Accountability, and Citizen Evidence & Social Change. To date we have worked in five countries across health, education, humanitarian, governance, livelihoods, security and agriculture domains for a range of partners including UNICEF, Oxfam, Mastercard Foundation, World University Service Canada, Livity Africa, Well Told Story, REACH, Somali Government and BBC Media Action.

AVF combines rigorous academic research and a commitment to innovation with real-world impact. We provide our researchers with a vibrant interface to world-leading university research. Team members often work with faculty, advisors, external researchers, and student interns to bring the latest ideas into our working practices. Our work has been recognised internationally, including being awarded the Market Research Society’s ‘President’s Medal’ in 2016 for our work with UNICEF in Somalia. We have offices in Nairobi, Kenya, and a small but highly qualified and motivated team that we are seeking to grow steadily in the coming period. More at www.africasvoices.org.

Job Summary

The Programme Manager – Governance & Accountability leads AVF’s programme on Governance and Accountability. The Programme Manager will drive AVF’s agenda in this sector to seek meaningful inclusion of citizen voice in decision-making across a diverse range of sectors, focusing on accountability in statebuilding, humanitarian aid, and other programming in East Africa (particularly Somalia but with opportunities in Kenya and Ethiopia). The post-holder will be responsible for securing new partnerships, and designing new interventions grounded in AVF approaches to support greater social accountability, as well as managing the delivery across AVF’s portfolio of projects in this sector. The post reports to the Director of Innovation and Learning, who sits on the Senior Management Team.

The Governance & Accountability Programme Manager tailors solutions that deliver impact by drawing on AVF’s unique methods and capabilities. These methods and capabilities are developed and supported by our Data & Technology team and a range of expertise in Research, Design & Analysis, and Media & Engagement. The post-holder will be responsible for designing and delivering projects that generate large-scale civic dialogue and impactful public opinion research, above all through AVF’s unique interactive radio method. They will demonstrate how audience-driven radio dialogue can be a powerful tool for citizen-authority interaction as a well as a key modality for analysing citizen perspectives on priority topics. With ultimate responsibility for delivery of the programme, they will ensure high quality media dialogue and citizen evidence outputs, with results and insights communicated so as to ensure uptake, impact and recognition in the sector.

Selection Criteria

Essential

Education and Work Experience

• A completed postgraduate degree (Masters or above) in a relevant discipline (such as political science, development studies, international relations, or similar) with strong theoretical and methodological training for public opinion research
• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in designing, managing and delivering civic engagement, accountability to affected populations, public opinion research, media for development or similar interventions
• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in project management, monitoring, or evaluation

Specialist knowledge

• Familiar with key concepts, frameworks, and theories around social accountability, accountability to affected populations, civic engagement etc
• Experience in delivering projects in fragile and conflict and affected states, with a peacebuilding, stabilisation, humanitarian or development lens, ideally across sectors
• Experience working with media-based or technology-driven social accountability interventions (eg. radio, SMS platforms)
• Experience in social research design, in both qualitative and quantitative methods, eg survey design, questionnaire design, focus group discussions
• Demonstrable experience of producing analytical outputs (reports, briefs, blogs) for clear policy and social impact.
• Experience leading complex participatory research design with a wide range of partners, resulting in building consensus on, and political buy-in to, programme design.

Programme development

• Successful track record in securing project funding in areas of peacebuilding, governance, humanitarian response, durable solutions, resilience or similar, including developing relationships, drafting proposals, concept notes and programme design documents
• Demonstrable experience representing organisations at coordination forums, donor meetings, learning events and academic conferences, presenting different methods, learnings and results

Project Management Experience

• Comfortable using standard set of project management tools to ensure effective delivery of multiple projects simultaneously
• Strong client orientation and proven ability to work with a range of stakeholders (governmental and non-governmental), ability to identify problems, provide technical support, build collaboration and arrive at solutions.
• Experience managing large multidisciplinary teams, including recruitment, training and line management

Personal Attributes and Language Competencies

• High levels of energy, initiative, and flexibility in quickly adjusting to changing work requirements.
• Aptitude for and willingness to work in client-facing contexts, focused on delivering research value-add.
• Clear and confident communicator of research design and findings to non-specialist and practitioner audiences.
• Working knowledge of languages relevant to the East African context besides English desirable.

Desirable

• Legal authorisation to work in Kenya. This position is open to international applicants.

Conditions

AVF offers a competitive salary using a single international salary scheme that recognises experience, qualifications and demonstrated excellence at the relevant salary level. AVF also offers medical insurance to Kenya based staff, as well as USD 1,000 in learning credits annually for approved professional development opportunities.

Travel Requirements

• The location of the post will be Nairobi, Kenya. The post holder should be prepared to travel for up to 30% percent of their time to other African countries, the UK or elsewhere. This will include travel to Somalia (including Mogadishu)