Senior Associate, SUN Business Network at Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)

About the Role

The SUN Business Network (SBN) is the world’s leading private sector focused nutrition initiative: a neutral platform to foster partnerships and collaborations. It aims to engage and mobilize business at a global and national level to act and invest responsibly and to innovate in responsible and sustainable actions. It focuses on emerging markets to improve the consumption of safe food and to make good nutrition more aspirational, accessible, affordable and available for all people.

Reporting to the Influencing and Advocacy Manager, the Senior Associate, SBN will identify opportunities to improve the enabling environment for business to increase actions and investments in nutrition. Organize meetings between business, government, civil society, donors and UN agencies to strengthen cross-sector dialogue on nutrition and build consensus on priorities and opportunities for business and nutrition in Kenya. Strengthen the capacity of the SBN sub-national chapters in order to function effectively including engagement with the county governments and consider creation of additional chapters where necessary.

Key Responsibilities include.

• Organize technical and political level meetings between business, government, civil society, donors and UN agencies to strengthen cross-sector dialogue on nutrition and build consensus on priorities and opportunities for business and nutrition in Kenya.
• Roll out the SBN’s finance, technical assistance and business development surveys to assess SBN members for their needs – and identify new partnerships to address the challenges and opportunities facing business in Kenya to scale up their actions or investments in nutrition.
• Map and pilot integration of last mile vendors into the SBN platform and share lessons for scale up.
• Regularly implement policy activities under SBN such as the Use of EBANI .
• Strengthen the capacity of the SBN sub-national chapters in order to function effectively including engagement with the county governments. Consider creation of additional chapters where necessary.
• Work closely with the Country team to manage relevant program information such as reports, minutes, research reports and other reference documents and upload the resources onto online platforms channels to improve access to information and knowledge.
• Work with the SBN Global team and policy and advocacy manager to develop a SBN Kenya fundraising strategy.
• Lead the implementation of the SBN Kenya strategy (2019-2023) – aligning the strategy in Kenya with the SBN’s Logic Model, Theory of Change and where relevant, utilising National SBN tools.

About You

• The ideal candidate should have proven experience working with SMEs involved in food supply chains through project coordination, management, negotiation, and advocacy skills. Capacity to bring cross-sector actors within nutrition space to improve business opportunities.
• The post-holder should be able to build relationships with businesses including last mile vendors and recruit them to the SBN database.
• Experience in convening meetings and forums to identify new partnerships to address the challenges and opportunities facing businesses in Kenya to scale up their actions or investments in nutrition.
• You should have strong (written and verbal) communication and knowledge management skills in multi-cultural, multi-lingual environments.
• Candidate should have an education background in in a relevant field such university level degree in business and marketing, food technology, economics, or other relevant fields