Executive Secretary at World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)

About the position

• The African Forest Forum is recruiting for the position of an Executive Secretary to be based at its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, and reporting to the Governing Council of AFF. The Executive Secretary provides overall oversight as the Chief Executive Officer of the institution.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

• Under the guidance of the Governing Council of the African Forest Forum, the Executive Secretary shall:
• Serve as the Chief Executive Officer and spokesperson of the Forum.
• Provide efficient and effective leadership to the Secretariat.
• Manage and provide accountabilities for all the resources of the Forum.
• Draft, for the approval of the Governing Council, regulations, procedures, and guidelines for recruitment and remuneration of staff, fellows, and consultants for operations of the Forum, and oversee adherence to same.
• Appoint (or recommend to Executive Committee for appointment) staff, consultants, and fellows required for the operations of the Forum.
• Draft, for the approval of the Governing Council, the strategic plan for the Forum, business plans,annual plans of work and budget, financial and technical reports on the work of the Forum.
•  Apply approved procedures and other ways of evaluating and monitoring performance and impact of the work of the Forum.
• Develop new project proposals and initiatives for funding by donors and other agencies.
• Implement decisions of the Executive Committee and the Governing Council.
• Be secretary to meetings of the Members’ Forum, the Governing Council, and the Executive Committee.
• Undertake any other duties as directed by the Governing Council.

Qualifications

•  Be a member of the African Forest Forum.
•  Have good experience in resource mobilization.
•  Have an advanced degree, preferably at Ph. D level, in any field in forestry.
•  Have very good understanding and experience (over ten years) in African forestry.

Competencies

•  Have demonstrable administrative and management skills in institutions and/or networks, preferably at sub-regional and regional African levels.
•  Have experience and/or exposure in managing international and regional organizations or networks.
•  Be fluent in English or French and have excellent writing skills in one of them. Working knowledge of Portuguese or Arabic will be an advantage.