Officer - Government Relations and Fortification Compliance at SankuPHC

The role holder is responsible for managing and maintaining Sanku relationships with County Governments Nutrition and regulatory authorities, especially departments which implement and manage the food fortification strategy. He/she will also be responsible for providing technical support to relevant stakeholders within the Counties that Sanku is actively engaged with on Sanku's food fortification policies, strategies, and implementation management with an aim of creating an enabling environment for Sanku and the partner millers.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Implement and deliver approved capacity-building strategies and plans aimed at strengthening multi-sectoral coordination for improved SANKU relationships at National and County levels.
• Ensure all required licenses and regulatory approvals are secured for Sanku to ensure we are compliant with all relevant laws and policies; identify, track, and report on changes in the regulatory environment to ensure Sanku is always a step ahead.
• To support government Inspection activities and Services in the section to ensure that imported premix comply with approved National, Regional and International Standards according to the Standards Act cap 496 and KEBS strategic plan. Among others, work with the inspectors to ensure they:
• Recommend for rejection of premix that fail to comply with Kenya standards, East African standards and approved international standards
• Joint regular mill  auditing to the count and sub-count levels
• Collaborate with othe r Sanku partners to cascade the SMEs Maize flour Fortification strategies.
•  To support the implementation of Kenya Nutritional Action Plan (KNAP), the National Fortification Strategic plan and any other fortification related strategic plan targeting Counties.
• Follow up on the implementation of action points from Nutrition Forums whether organized by Sanku or organized by partners, taking note of action plans, budgets, and resource mobilization plans to ensure SMEs fortification indicators that support Sanku operations are integrated.
• Provide updates of ongoing fortification-related activities at County level that target Sanku partner millers to the Senior Manager Partnerships and Government relations Manager and contribute to the development of actions where needed.
• Providing support to the planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting processes of Government Relations Department projects.
• Contributing to the tracking of the department’s annual plan activities on an ongoing basis and escalating any issues and challenges to Senior Manager Government Relations to ensure resolution.
• Assisting in drafting internal communications and ensuring good communication within organization teams.
• Perform any other related duties as assigned from time to time.

Competencies Required

• Strong personal ethics and passion for a multi-stakeholder approach to drive Sanku's mission.
• Ability to work effectively with a wide range of cultures and teams and levels of expertise.
• Influencing and networking capabilities to embrace, drive change and make things happen.
• Knowledgeable on Food and Nutrition aspects and interventions
• Ability to analyse and interpret County and Country’s legislation and policy documents.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.
• A demonstrated passion for Sanku mission.
• Should be well organised with keen attention to detail and ability to review documents for accuracy combined with strong written and verbal communication and presentation skills with the ability to effectively communicate information to a diverse audience.
• The postholder should demonstrate experience working with a diverse range of stakeholders coordinating country, technical and professional services to contribute to effective management and delivery of programmes. Report writing skills are required in addition to the ability to manage programme data and information. 

Educational Qualifications and Work Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Public Health Nutrition, Food Technology or any other related field.
• 3+ years of relevant experience with progressively increasing responsibilities in the field of nutrition and health, food fortification and/or food technology.
• Experience working with or within the governments on developing fortification policies and/or implementing fortification programmes (within food security or health) is preferred.
• Experience conducting food fortification assessments, analysing data both quantitative and qualitative and drafting recommendations.
• Experience working on the prevention and control of micronutrient deficiencies including food fortification would be highly valued.