KE- Project Officer Agricultural Education & Extension at Church World Service

Primary Purpose

• This position is responsible for the implementation of the Early Recovery and livelihoods enhancement project (Matumaini) in Marsabit, Kenya under the auspices of the Church World Service (CWS) Early Recovery and Resilience Project.
• The project includes mobilizing and educating farmers to undertake livelihood and resilience activities including crop production, pasture management, farmer managed natural regeneration, beekeeping, village savings and loans associations (VSLA) water and soil conservation and beadworks in Laisamis Sub - county.
• The project seeks to provide comprehensive training to the selected farmers in groups to effectively undertake the enterprises to realize diversified livelihood options, increased, income and resilience. The selected candidate will work closely with the contracted service providers local stakeholders and community leaders.
• The Project Officer will oversee the execution of project activities aimed at enhancing community resilience and preparedness ensuring alignment of project components with program goals, CWS requirements, and international standards .

Key Relationships

Internal to CWS

• CWS Employees
• Other team members in program units

External

• CWS Partners

Work Environment

• Office environment, Periodic travel to other field locations as may be required.

Responsibilities

Program Administration (50%)

• Takes lead in the implementation of Early Recovery and livelihoods enhancement project (Matumaini) in Marsabit
• Communicates with teams and address issues affecting transaction/process execution and service delivery
• Ensure consistency/integrity of all transactions/processes with rules/procedures in a service area
• Ensure alignment of project components with program goals, CWS requirements, and international standards.
• Establish and maintain effective communication and coordination with local authorities, NGOs, and other stakeholders in Marsabit.
• Identify and assess potential disaster risks and vulnerabilities as well as potential threats to the projects within target communities and communicate accordingly.
• Conduct training and capacity-building programs (ToT trainings) for local staff, advisory committees, local communities and on relevant practices.
• Identify opportunities for developing proposals to secure financial support for community projects.
• Supervise and mentor junior project staff, local advisory committees and Lead Farmers in ensuring high levels of motivation, performance, and professional development.
• Foster a collaborative and inclusive work environment, promoting teamwork and shared responsibility.
• Ensure efficient management of project resources, including budgets, supplies, and equipment.
• Support the monitoring and evaluation exercises including baselines, annual and endline surveys
• Provide regular project updates to the Program Manager.
• Adapt and use training materials and ensure existing training materials are up to date.

Compliance (20%)

• Ensure compliance with organizational policies, donor regulations, and international humanitarian standards
• Achieve and maintain a high-performance standard based on a thorough knowledge of, and adherence to, established CWS policies and procedures
• Ensure timely and accurate reporting of suspected fraud, malfeasance, and data breaches and report any identified areas of significant compliance risk for the CWS program.
• Conduct regular process reviews for assigned processing stage to compare requirements vs. current processing and outputs and implement process changes based on the outcome of the process reviews.
• Conduct QCs and job function observations of staff to ensure compliance is met and identify areas of improvement or training needs.

Data Management and Analysis (15%)

• Prepare comprehensive reports for internal use, donors, and other stakeholders, detailing project outcomes, challenges, and lessons learned.
• Contribute to reports and filters development for quality control checks to ensure they are accurate and used efficiently.

Representation/Engagement (10%)

• Establish and manage collaborations with stakeholders at the Sub County, and Ward level.
• Maintain effective relationships with CWS Africa partners and other Agencies.
• Ensure partner communication is professional, timely and proactive.
• May occasionally travel to other field sites to meet with/accompany partners and represent CWS Africa on processing or other programmatic matters.

Additional Responsibilities (5%)

• Any other duties as assigned.

Experience

Qualifications

• A minimum of Four (4) years’ paid work experience required.
• Supervisory experience preferred
• Experience writing reports and proposals are required.
• Previous experience conducting community trainings or presentations preferred
• Previous reporting and monitoring and evaluation experience preferred

Skills

• Thorough knowledge of the Agricultural Extension and Community Development.
• Knowledge of County Integrated Development plans and Strategies.
• Excellent writing skills
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Excellent computer skills, in particular Microsoft Office
• Knowledge of Climate Change Adaptation; Disaster Risk Reduction or Resilience.
• Fluency in English, Swahili and Local languages (Samburu and/or Rendille) preferred

Education & Certifications

• A minimum of bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Education and Extension, Community Development, Agricultural related courses (or additional 4 years of work experience in lieu of a bachelor’s degree)

Abilities

• Communicate effectively both verbally and in writing;
• Follow instructions with a positive and receptive attitude;
• Deal effectively and courteously with collaborators, government agencies, and members of the general public;
• Conduct oneself in a professional and courteous manner to represent the best interests of CWS Africa;
• Maintain a high performance standard with attention to detail;
• Carry out all of the duties of the position efficiently and effectively with minimal supervision;
• Take initiative in the development and completion of projects within the specified timeframe;
• Maintain strict confidentiality with CWS and operational information;
• Manage a large and diverse workload under pressure with competing priorities;
• Work well as a team in a multi-cultural environment while maintaining a high level of motivation.
• Effectively manage CWS resources; and

Important Requirements

• Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment required.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and willingness to support CWS’ Platform on Racial Justice as a CWS employee required.

Special Requirements

• COVID Vaccination is required for all successful candidates.
• The candidate should be in good health, willing and able to travel extensively in often difficult conditions, and have a high degree of flexibility. Must have proof of Yellow Fever vaccination before traveling for RSC Africa.
• This position is based in Marsabit
• This position requires use of laptops at all time, competence in Microsoft office packages is required.
• This position may require travel in sub-Saharan Africa on short notice and under sometimes difficult conditions to meet demands of a dynamic operational program.
• Background check which includes references, and an educational and criminal check is required before the start of employment.
• A valid passport and the ability to maintain a valid passport throughout the entire appointment is required, which includes having enough passport pages for travel.
• Environmental: Incumbents in this position will be exposed to excessive noise, marked changes in temperature and/or humidity, dust and infectious diseases, harsh weather climates, long work hours, bumpy roads, extended travel, excessive sun exposure, and non-ventilated spaces.
• The US Embassy rates Kenya rates as security level 1; incumbents should exercise normal security precaution.
• Full time
• All employees should be prepared to work from the CWS office within their location of hire. Remote work arrangements may vary depending on location and the governing rulings regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.