Job Title: Local Food Systems Regional Program Manager - Eastern Kenya
Supervisor: Deputy Chief of Party
Location: Makueni, 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:
- Improving resilience of vulnerable populations
- Building the capacity of food system enterprises
- Catalyzing investment into local agricultural market systems
- Establishing strong and transparent relationships between food system actors
- Improving the availability and affordability of nutritious food products, especially for women and children
- 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 – Eastern Kenya (RPM-E) to provide strategic and technical leadership of project activities in the LFS Eastern Kenya zone of influence. Reporting to the DCOP, the RPM-E will have strong technical knowledge of integrated food systems and sustainable agriculture initiatives and of the geographies prioritized by the LFS project in Eastern Kenya counties. The RPM-E will be responsible for leading the implementation of multi-year project activities to strengthen the local food system, build community resilience to address critical challenges at the intersection of food production, water resource management, private and public sector engagement, and agriculture. 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-E 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.
With guidance from the Technical Integration Team, the RPM-E will operationalize activities across a number of work-streams; 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.
The RPM-E 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 – Food Systems- Eastern:
- Under the guidance of the COP and DCOP, provide strategic guidance, leadership, management, and general technical oversight of the activities in the LFS’s Eastern Kenya zone of influence.
- Facilitate linkages between producers (livestock and crops), cooperatives, agribusinesses, and consumers to improve food system efficiency and equity
- Support in the contextualized development and implementation of food and market system interventions with a focus on gender, localization, and sustainability e.g. an integrated soil and water management regime, potential for carbon sequestration initiatives to address soil health concerns, maximization of high value horticulture and tree crop value chains in the food system, leveraging county government investments, etc.
- Generate innovative ideas, and effectively manage partnerships to drive program success within the region.
- Continuously assess the current state of local food system, value chains, and market dynamics in Eastern Kenya and identify new strategic program opportunities to expand the impact of the project. Liaise with the Technical Integration Team on policy and enabling environment issues that can be addressed at the national level.
Strategic Leadership – Resilience and community engagement:
- Identify key climate, environmental, and socioeconomic shocks and stresses affecting communities in the LFS Eastern Kenya zone of influence,
- Ensure project activities enhance the capacity of individuals, households, and communities to anticipate, absorb, and adapt to disruptions
Stakeholder Engagement:
- Work with stakeholders to co-create interventions that strengthen the production, processing, distribution, and access components of the regional food system
- Independently engage with local-level executives from the private and public sectors to encourage solutions to local food systems
- Support the development and ongoing relationship management of county and inter-county level partnerships
- Facilitate multi-stakeholder coordination, joint planning, and collaborative problem-solving
- Ensure continuous, meaningful engagement with local communities, incorporating their feedback and leadership into project design and implementation
- Engage with external stakeholders to build essential partnerships, as determined by the COP and DCOP
Program Management:
- Develop and oversee the execution of detailed project work plans, and budgets related to the LFS Eastern Kenya zone of influence,
- Lead a team of technical specialists, field officers, and support staff to deliver high-quality, timely results
- Ensure compliance with all donor requirements, organizational policies, and ethical standards
- Work closely with the Technical Integration Team, CLA Unit and Finance and Admin units to ensure alignment of resources, work-plan activities, and key performance indicators.
- Working with the Technical Integration Team, support the development of 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.
- Identify issues and risks related to implementation promptly, suggesting appropriate program adjustments
- 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:
- Support sub-awards and grantees in intervention design and operational management.
- 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:
- Working with the Monitoring and Evaluation, and CLA unit, document and disseminate lessons learned, best practices, and project impacts to inform future initiatives
- Collaborate with the M&E team to monitor and evaluate program progress.
- Support or contribute to knowledge management activities including writing articles on project developments, learning or opinion pieces.
Innovation and Best Practices:
- 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:
- Represent the program at networking events with private and public sector actors, as per the guidance of the COP and DCOP
Miscellaneous
- Perform other related duties as required to contribute to the program's success.
Basic Qualifications and Competencies:
- Bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics, agribusiness, business administration, agriculture, international development or relevant field, or equivalent work experience, master’s degree preferred.
- 7 years of experience in project management, food systems development, market systems, and/or community resilience programming, preferably in a rural, developing context
- Strong background in agricultural/livestock value chains, natural resource management, climate change adaptation, and/or social protection
- Demonstrated track record of building and managing strong client and stakeholder relationships, including with government, civil society and private sector
- Strong leadership, supervisory, problem-solving, communication, and coordination skills required.
- Demonstrated commitment to advancing gender equality.
- Excellent communication, facilitation, and problem-solving skills
- Willingness to travel extensively within LFS Eastern Kenya zone of influence,
- Proven ability to develop strategies and conduct analysis on complex commercial questions
- Experience in authoring concise and well-written reports and presentations
- Demonstrated competency in program and staff management, coaching, and team leadership
- Experience working on donor-funded projects is preferred.
- Strategic and analytical thinking skills
- Exceptional interpersonal and cross-cultural skills
- Fluent user of MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience in LFS Eastern Kenya zone of influence an added advantage
- Proven experience in incorporating complexity awareness with programmatic implementation
- Proven experience with catalytic grants programs
Required Languages:
Fluency in English and Kiswahili, with excellent oral and written communication skills required. Knowledge of local languages is an added advantage.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- Demonstrated Leadership: Proven ability to inspire and lead teams toward program goals, fostering adaptability and creative problem-solving.
- Results-driven: Committed to achieving measurable impact and program outcomes, consistently seeking improvement opportunities.
- 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.
- Problem-Solving Expertise: Strong at addressing market system challenges and developing innovative solutions.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Skilled in building effective relationships with diverse stakeholders to drive collaboration and results.
- Gender and Inclusion: Familiar with gender-sensitive and inclusive program approaches, dedicated to reducing social and economic inequalities.
- Initiative and Independence: Takes initiative, works independently, demonstrating self-motivation and proactiveness.
- Effective Communication: Friendly and approachable, facilitating communication and collaboration with colleagues and stakeholders.
Supervisory Responsibilities:
- Supervise a team of 4 technical staff, matrix management to additional sub-awardee and administrative, CLA, grants, and finance 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 recruitment@tns.org or call +1 202 785 4515
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