Programme Manager - Renewable Energy at Rainforest Alliance

Position Summary: The Programme Manager, Kenya, will lead the project entitled “Empowering Rural Communities and Households in Kenya with Renewable Energy,” in close coordination with the Rainforest Alliance’s partners in the project: the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) and Living Earth/Enso Impact Kenya.

The project, which maintains a field office in Thika, promotes the use of biomass briquettes in tea factories, as well as alternative and efficient biomass fuels and cookstoves across a section of the tea growing landscape. It also supports the distribution of energy access products such as solar lanterns through community-run energy enterprises.

The Programme Manager will ensure the project is successfully implemented on time and on budget. Further s/he will be responsible for managing partnerships, sub-grants and/or consulting agreements and lead meetings with key stakeholders on a package of strategic projects to be further defined and developed.

S/he will also take initiatives to develop external relations with donors, government agencies, and civil society organizations to build the Rainforest Alliance’s work in Kenya and the East Africa region. The position is initially for a fixed term to June 2021 and is renewable by mutual consent.

Department: Landscapes & Livelihoods

Job Type: Staff Position

Commitment: Full-time, initially until June 2021

Reports to: Regional head, East Africa

Responsibilities:

• Lead the successful implementation of the “Empowering Rural Communities and Households in Kenya with Renewable Energy” project by meticulously planning and overseeing all project phases and stewarding positive and productive working relationships with key project partners and stakeholders;
• Lead the relationships with KTDA and the biomass briquette processing facilities, manage agreements and policies related to biomass sourcing, and provide technical support to the efficient use of briquette in tea factories, in collaboration with the KTDA and Living Earth;
• Ensure adequate support to Living Earth on the setting up and smooth operation of household energy enterprises and last mile entrepreneurs, including providing technical and business training support as needed;
• Oversee the development of training modules and materials on the correct use of biomass in factories and in domestic cookstoves, in collaboration with the Rainforest Alliance training manager; and secure support from other Rainforest Alliance technical specialists as required;
• Maintain timely project management procedures: arrange and facilitate quarterly project steering committee meetings with key stakeholders and complete narrative and financial project reports on a quarterly basis; monitor project results and provide quality control on relevant data generated under the project, in collaboration with the Rainforest Alliance’s Monitoring and Evaluation team;
• Represent the Rainforest Alliance and make presentations at conferences and networking events;
• Support the heads of the Africa region and east Africa sub-region in exploring and developing further projects to scale-up the Rainforest Alliance’s work in Kenya;
• Generate stories and case studies from the field for use in project reporting, Rainforest Alliance communication and fundraising, including material for at least one blog every quarter; and
• Liaise with the Rainforest Alliance’s Communications team for all communication activities related to the donor’s information needs and campaigns.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This position will oversee the Project Associate.

It carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization’s policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include: interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Energy and/or Climate Studies, Renewable Energy, Development Studies, Environmental and Natural Resource Management or related fields.
• 7-10 years of relevant field experience, with demonstrable skills in project development, operations, financing, project planning and tracking, troubleshooting, budget management, team leadership, and report-writing;
• A minimum of four years’ work experience in the energy access and/or energy efficiency sector; experience in energy efficiency in the industrial/manufacturing sector will be an added advantage;
• Knowledge of energy efficient cooking and/or solar lighting technology, its main market players, and related distribution models;
• Good understanding of value chains and issues in promoting environmentally sustainability practices in business operations;
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint;
• Excellent writing, editing, and verbal communication skills;
• Written and verbal proficiency in English;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with ability to interact culturally, linguistically, and diplomatically with diverse internal and external audiences;
• Initiative, self-motivated, resourceful, detail-oriented, dependability, strong attention to detail; and
• Full, clean driving license valid for Kenya; and
• Ability to travel up to 30% per year in Kenya and East Africa.

Salary: Commensurate with experience.