Senior Manager: PROACT Programme at Institute for Strategic Dialogue

• Reporting to: Deputy Director, Communications, Education and Technology
• Location: Kenya
• Type of Contract: One year fixed-term consultancy contract
• Start Date: ASAP
• Salary Bracket: Commensurate with experience

ISD is seeking an experienced consultant with experience working with national and local level stakeholders in Kenya to lead the PROACT programme. Acting as a Senior ISD representative in Kenya and also the Senior Manager of the PROACT programme, the consultant will serve as an on-the-ground point of contact responsible for managing national and county level government relations and overseeing implementing partners. This role will have responsibility for strategic programme oversight. Together with an experienced team of researchers, analysts, and international development practitioners, the Senior Manager will provide analysis, manage high level national partners and local stakeholders, while fulfilling project management oversight duties.

Role Purpose

To provide leadership to PROACT’s relationships with national and county level government stakeholders and oversee implementation by local partners working in three counties across Kenya.

Responsibilities

Project and Programme Managaement

• Management of the PROACT programme abiding by the scope, schedule and budget
• Delivery of our grant commitments and coordination between different aspects of international programming
• Leading on all Kenyan programming and the development of future opportunities in the East African region
• Managing an expanding portfolio of programming in East Africa
• Monitoring regional trends in East Africa, as well as national, sub-national and local development
• Leading on national stakeholder engagement and managing high level Kenyan and East African relationships
• Overseeing delivery in Kwale, Isiolo, and Nakuru and county level stakeholder engagement
• Strategic management of local partners, including regular field visits and participation in key events
• Working with local partners to identify and recruit local stakeholders to form the Community Teams for locally-led policy and activities
• Overseeing all training courses, including module development and roll out in Kenya
• Coordinating county to county exchanges and board of governor’s roundtables, including setting the agenda and ensuring key participation
• Thematic and technical support to existing local structures and PROACT Community Teams

Grants Management

• Manage multi-million dollar grants to donor satisfaction and act as key point person
• Fostering a positive and collaborative team environment and excellent internal communications among members of global teams, supporting wider professional development
• Grant writing across government, private, philanthropic and multilateral donors
• Writing and editing impact reports, donor reports and public interest pieces

International Oversight

• On the ground delivery and stakeholder management including regional implementation, administration of small grants, and appointment of and liaison with local contractors
• Ensuring delivery of and coordination between different aspects of international policy work
• Assisting in proposal development based on international expertise

Person Specification

We seek an experienced, proactive and dedicated consultant to work with our multi-disciplinary team to set up and deliver PROACT in Kenya. The successful candidate will be a collaborative and solutions-focused professional with the ability to work to deadline and produce outputs to a high quality. We welcome applications from consultants who meet the following criteria:

Essential

• Understanding of human rights frameworks and the application of human rights frameworks in Kenya
• Knowledge of Kenyan violence prevention strategies, policies, programmes and priorities
• Knowledge of violence prevention, conflict de-escalation and peace-building models and frameworks
• Previous experience working with, and supporting, the National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) in Kenya
• Extensive experience developing and delivering programmes with a range of government stakeholders and community groups
• Significant experience working with government, civil society and / or international organisations in Kenya
• Experience delivering a range of national and local programmes in Kenya
• Experience delivering policy recommendations to national and local government stakeholders
• Experience developing, delivering and overseeing locally-led research initiatives to support policy objectives
• Project management
• Stakeholder management and effective communication skills
• Political judgement, diplomatic awareness and policy leadership
• Fluent Swahili speaker with excellent verbal and written English
• Educated to degree level in government relations, policy, peace-building, conflict de-escalation, international development and related fields

Desirable

• Understanding of US State Department strategies and policy objectives
• Understanding of Kenyan government strategies and policy objectives
• Previous experience managing, and overseeing, the work of teams delivering violence prevention, conflict de-escalation, and peace-building programmes in Kenya
• Previous experience advising high-level government stakeholders and local government stakeholders on best practices and policy recommendations
• Previous experience working with local government and civil society organisations in Isiolo, Nakuru or Kwale
• Working in a fast-paced, start-up environment
• Overseeing the work of implementation partners
• Previous policy development experience in Kenya
• Previous research management and delivery experience in Kenya
• Delivering trainings and workshops (in Swahili and English)
• Developing training materials (in Swahili and English)
• Previous experience researching, writing and collating research reports in English