Senior Program Officer - Commodities at World Vision Kenya

Purpose of the position:

This is a position within Program Development Unit focusing primarily on the acquisition and management of food, non-food (GIK) and cash programming grants. The job holder will collate, review, and submit monthly, quarterly, and annual reports to ensure quality, compliance, and donor satisfaction. The position will play a role in the management and strengthening of relationships with food assistance, GIK and cash donors. The position holder will contribute to the capacity development of implementing partners to deliver quality/accountable programming. The position holder will serve as focal point for cash-based programming initiatives with stakeholders, ensuring consistent information provision to internal and external forums; continuous learning/improvement; and best-practice dissemination.

Major Responsibilities:

Programming & Proposal Development:

·Pursue resource mobilization opportunities aligned to WV Somalia strategy;

·Mobilize and lead cross-functional proposal development teams;

·Anticipate, plan for, and write proposals with high win rate;

·Regularly review project evaluations, lessons learnt, workshop documents, field visit reports, and project reports across the program and from other NGOs and donors and apply emerging innovations and best practices in proposals;

Program reporting & donor compliance:

·Provide timely, detailed and quality program reports to Support Offices and donors;

·Support field staff in internalizing and following donor regulations and guidelines;

·Support monitoring and proactively bring implementation and compliance challenges to the attention of Quality Assurance, Operations, and Support Offices;

·Contribute communication material to enhance the visibility of programming;

·Assist the Food Assistance Manager in following up on the implementation of audit recommendations from internal and external audits and reviews;

·Conduct compliance reviews for food assistance program;

Management of implementing partners

·Ensure the recruitment, contracting, and management of partners implementing food/cash assistance is aligned with World Vision procedures and regulations;

·Trigger and take the lead in the capacity assessment for all potential GIK and food assistance implementation partners;

·Support the capacity development action plans, and work with the capacity development coordinator to implement the action plans;

·Support the performance review processes of sub-grantees or implementation partners for Food Assistance and GIK;

External Engagement and competitive intelligence gathering:

·Regularly provide updates to current and prospective donor representatives, both formally and informally to build and strengthen relationships;

·Represent WV Somalia in the assigned cluster meetings, technical meetings and donor forums;

·Monitor donor strategy, funding, or regulatory environment and inform Program Development & Quality Assurance and Operations about emerging trends;

Field Support:

·Plan and lead start-up processes to ensure comprehensive hand-over of project to Project Managers and wider Project Teams;

·Participate in field-level Quarterly Review Meetings, visit field project sites, and meet with operations staff to gather emerging challenges, lessons learned, and innovations to apply to future proposals;

·As required, support Operations in implementation challenges with hands-on capacity building;

Qualifications: Education/Knowledge/Technical Skills and Experience

· A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Development studies or related field. Master’s degree holders will have added advantage.

· Strong knowledge of Cash/Food/Voucher programming and good working experience with UN WFP, FAO, USAID.

· 5 years minimum experience in humanitarian or development work, preferably in developing and fragile contexts.

· Excellent written and verbal English.

· Must be a strong writer. Demonstrated ability to mobilize cross-functional proposal team with the right staff and right time to meet deadlines.

· Proven experience in networking with donors and partners to bring about funding opportunities. Persuasive presentation skills: face-to-face and in public settings.

· Demonstrates well-developed interpersonal skills, excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, as well as negotiation skills.

· The candidate will be able to positively influence others who are not necessarily part of their team.

· Culturally sensitive in professional and personal life.

· Team player; the ability to mobilize and work as part of a diverse team to achieve the overall goal.

Working Environment / Conditions:

·Work environment: Nairobi- based

·Travel: Domestic and international travel is required for this position. The position requires 35% to 45% travel to Somalia, a dynamic and often insecure context; when in Somalia accommodation is at team houses.