****Job Purpose****: The role will lead on the strategic programme growth of Build Africa Kenya programmes, advising the Country Director of upcoming project and funding trends identified through forum membership and designing projects in line with best practice and donor markets. Project design will include responsive, high quality monitoring and evaluation to gather evidence which will contribute to our influence with decision makers and other stakeholders in the field. She/he will enhance Build Africa’s profile at technical level through attendance at national educational and livelihoods fora, participating in technical discussions and creating momentum and influence around our existing and new projects with other NGOs, national and local government officials and donors. With a background in educational programming, he/she will advise other programme staff in best practice technical approaches throughout the project cycle, seeking advice from the Country Director on livelihoods approaches. He/she will manage donor relationships through timely and accurate reporting, engage in reflective analysis of projects, incorporate lessons learned into ongoing project management and take innovative approaches to challenges.
****Authorities****
- Lead the BAK Programme Implementation team
- Support Country Director on strategic programme growth in line with upcoming donor and programming and development trends
- Establishment and maintenance of stakeholder network with relevant government departments as well as with other I/NGOs and implementing organisations.
- Donor relationship management for existing projects
- Design and management of project cycle for BAK, with technical specialisation in education
- Technical support to other programmes staff in education
****Key responsibilities****
- Design of projects in line with strategic growth
- Work collaboratively with other BAK staff members as well as Ugandan and UK staff to develop projects which lead towards our programmatic goals, taking a multi-year approach to the growth of the programmatic portfolio.
- Analyse donor market and programme trends to lead on coordination of project development and proposal-writing;
- Design research processes (including needs assessments) to lead into project design, carrying out research where appropriate and creating ToRs for when external consultants are engaged.
- Identification and assessment of partners at strategic and project level, including engagement in joint design processes
- Conduct due diligence for potential partners and drafting of agreements and MOUs for sign off at management level
- Use Theory of Change, Do No Harm and other project design tools to create project concepts approaches.
- Design log-frames and staffing schedules from concept stage, with corresponding budget structures to be fed into donor bidding templates. These must incorporate Child Safeguarding with capacity building plans for implementing staff members and partners.
- Integration of M&E systems into project design, with learning questions and accountability measures which allow for the collection of data which will lead to organisational growth.
- Establishment of networks and maintenance of relationships
- Identification of relevant government agencies and establishment of relationships within these offices.
- Keeping informed with upcoming educational programming and policy initiatives at national and local level and sharing this information with colleagues
- Attendance at strategic conference and fora to influence policy and donor decisions and raise BAK’s profile, as instructed by Country Director
- Establishment of networks with technical staff at government agencies, I/NGOs and other relevant stakeholders
- Development of a strategic partnership framework for engagement at technical advisory and implementation level.
- Donor relationship management
- Development of systems for continuous monitoring of project progress at country-level
- Review of monthly and quarterly reports to donors from implementation team as an additional quality check and to ensure donor compliance. Capacity building for implementation team where required.
- Familiarity with donor requirements, guidelines and expectations for BAK projects
- Oversight of timeline reporting to donors on existing projects.
- Regular liaison with implementation teams to ensure project performance is on track and challenges are highlighted at SMT level when relevant.
- Cross-checking of budget expenditure against forecast outlined in project proposal
- Lead on communications with existing statutory donor partners in liaison with Fundraising Manager and Country Director
- Identification of new funding opportunities through membership on technical fora.
- Responsibility for incorporating lessons learned into existing projects in their later phases and into new projects. Communication of this to the donor through recommendations.
- Technical support for programme implementation staff where appropriate
- Support programmes staff in BAK and across the organisation in specialist education projects
- Identification of skills gaps across BAK and recommendation of capacity building solutions
- Responsive approach to relationship with field offices in terms of trouble shooting and longer term personal development of staff
- Oversight of the Project Coordinator role in the roll out of education initiatives
- Establish and implement capacity building for all BAK programme staff in project cycle management, for analysis in design, planning for implementation and reflection on lessons learned and how to use them to improve
- Active membership of the SMT
- Production of monthly and quarterly project development and contracts management updates for review with the SMT.
- Supporting roll out and communication of key SMT level planning/ decisions
- Whenever possible, acting as cover whilst peer SMT members are on leave, on in-country visits etc.
- Serve as a role model at all times, personally embodying Build Africa’s mission and values, whilst helping to ensure that Build Africa’s code of conduct, policies and standards are understood by all and adhered to in practice.
- Other Duties required
Other duties as required include: support to the CD on special assignments, annual/periodic development/review of key organization documents such as BAK strategy; and other specially assigned occasional work on weekends for which in time off in lieu can be taken.
****Person Specification****
- Educated to graduate level (preferably Masters level);
- Practical hands-on field background
- Minimum of 3 years’ experience of working in the INGO sector , preferably in education
- Experience of developing and successfully implementing basic education programmes, including demonstrable experience of strategic planning, representation and policy work
- Knowledge of basic education including child centred and activity based learning approaches
- Strong skills and experience in all aspects of programme development, including programme/project monitoring, review and evaluation and proposal writing
- Experience of working at both policy and implementation level
- Ability to analyse information, evaluate options and to think and plan strategically.
- Excellent interpersonal, communication and presentation skills.
- An understanding of the role of INGOs and Civil Society in current development debates, particularly participatory approaches, organisational development and capacity building with/for both state and non-state partners
- Interest or experience of PPP initiatives in education is desirable.
- An excellent understanding of and proven experience in project and grant cycle management, including theory of change, problem/objective trees, stakeholder analysis, development of log-frames, staffing schedules and staffing capacity analysis.
- Knowledge and experience of developing projects to international development standards, including evidence gathering, monitoring and evaluation frameworks, learning and accountability mechanisms and child safeguarding measures.
- A track record in developing winning bids/proposal to donors, especially institutional donors and maintaining those relationships
- Strong history of using stakeholder networks to maintain knowledge of current and future development environment and funding trends, especially in education.
- Ability to train, coach and mentor teams of people with varying capacities in all aspects of project management, development and grant management;
- Excellent verbal, written and communications English skills;
- Excellent networking and representation skills at high-level events, meetings and forums;
- A strong personal commitment to the values, principles and organisation strategy of Build Africa;
- Ability to work well both individually/independently as well as part of a team;
- Computer competencies in the use of Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
****Competences:****
- Experience of working in development in a rural community context;
- Experience of working in a multi-cultural environment;
- Experience of corporate, individual fundraising and government funders;
- Experience facilitating others in developing successful bids.
HOW TO APPLY:
****Application procedure****
To apply, please submit an application letter of no more than 2 pages and a copy of your current CV explaining how you meet the person specification and why you are interested in working for us, details of current and expected salary, contact details and the names of 3 professional referees to hr@build-africakenya.org ****by Friday November 27th, 2015****.
