Project Officer- THRIVE at World Vision Kenya

Key Responsibilities:

Project Planning and Implementation

• Ensure that business processes, standards and guidelines related to THRIVE Project initiatives are effectively applied on a timely manner in project implementation including integration of cross cutting themes,
• Participate in the preparation of overall and activity work plans and budgets (annual, quarterly, monthly & weekly) for the project specific activities,
• Collaborate with relevant ministries and other relevant partners at the County and community levels to ensure integration and high-level implementation of the planned activities
• Be able to systemically review DIP/budget and other key implementation tools as well as initiate innovative approaches that will open new opportunities for project success
• Conduct continuous activity and budget analysis to ensure adherence to the approved work, budget and procurement plans.
• Make technical input into the planning and design of project specific operational researches, including baseline and end line evaluation and other relevant project assessments
• Ensure compliance with implementation thresh holds for budget and activities
• Timely project activity implementation
• Budget utilization to acceptable thresholds
• Timely and Quality reports

Technical support

• Take lead and provide technical support and timely implementation of the THRIVE Project activities
• Collaborate with the local administration to conduct community mobilization and awareness sessions on project initiatives including community group savings
• Work with the departments of social development and cooperative and local leaders to determine the groups to participate in the project
• Ensure focused quality, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the project’s interventions on livelihood development, economic empowerment & development, increased agricultural production and Climate-Resilient Local Value Chain Development activities.
• Take lead in strengthening famer/producer groups on inclusive and resilient on-farm and off-farm local value chains with a key focus on Climate Smart Agriculture initiatives and Agro-forestry for value chain development 
• Facilitate gender sensitive value chain analysis and support selected value chain development
• Support establishment/strengthening common interest groups, and coordinate economic empowerment activities within the groups.
• Support creation/strengthening of Savings for Transformation groups (S4T) for enhanced financial inclusion
• Collaborate with the county department of cooperative development to map out microfinance institutions (including FAST) and facilitate linkages with the saving groups
• Partner with formal/informal service providers to build the groups’ capacity on Climate Smart Agriculture, Agro-forestry, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, business planning and group governance & leadership
• Support viable and sustainable IGAs identified by men, women and the youth in the target area
• Support entrepreneurs trained and mentored on financial literacy
• Facilitate adoption of best practice/approaches/models in the course of the implementation of the project.
• Identify other opportunities in an ongoing manner that will add value to the overarching goal of the project.
• Facilitate community mindset processes (including Empowered Worldview) as a foundation to project sustainability
• Ensure child safeguarding and integration of Child Sponsorship Management and in Economic Empowerment interventions where relevant.
• Projects are effectively and timely implemented
• Adequate skills available for implementation and sustainability of the projects
• Core models specifically EWV, S4T BSL (LVCD) are implemented wit fidelity.
• Sustainable local value chains  

Quality Assurance - M &E, Reporting and Documentation

• Register, track and regularly update beneficiaries’ database
• Ensure monthly S4T groups monitoring and progress update on the MIS platform and digitized on a World Vision approved digital APP
• Development of Project Designs and Annual Operation Plans. (4D matrices, DIPs, Annual Budgets) and ensure budgetary utilization is within acceptable limits/range.
• Contextualize and use reporting guidelines to track and develop quality, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual and end of projects reports, key lessons and success stories in accordance with the guidelines and standardized tools.
• Develop monitoring plan with communities and partners agreeing on the required standards for monitoring, with support from the DMEAL specialist.
• Conduct regular group monitoring, data collection and analysis in coordination with the relevant stakeholders
• Facilitate regular review and peer to peer learning meetings with government, target communities and relevant stakeholders
• Facilitate documentation of lessons and project impact to facilitate adoption in the course of the project implementation
• Support project assessment and learning processes including baseline surveys, midterm reviews and end of project evaluation. 
• Supervise and monitor project interventions in strict adherence to WV Kenya, Kenya government regulations and other agreed standards.
• Ensure project data is captured, validated and updated on horizon and or any other approved World Vison Kenya (WVK) DM&E system.
• Ensure quality Monthly, Quarterly, Semi- Annual and Annual reports prepared and submitted on timely basis
• Identify and document best practices and successes of approaches & models as a result of the project interventions
• Timely and quality reports and assessments
• Effective project monitoring and documentation
• Beneficiary database generated and updated

Capacity building

• Mobilize and sensitize community for empowerment and sustainability
• Build the capacity of Producer Groups identified under the Value Chain Analysis
• Build capacity of community resource persons to spearhead implementation of the core models (EWV, S4T, BSL) activities
• Ensure capacity building of women & youth groups on the core models, entrepreneurial skills, market and financial services access, production and business planning.
• Work together with other stakeholders to ensure that key trainings meet the standard required to facilitate, provide knowledge and required skills set on economic empowerment initiatives and practices
• Ensure relevant project community champions (S4T, EWV, LVCD Facilitators) are well trained in the respective capacity areas
• Capacity of target groups build for project uptake and sustainability

Advocacy, Engagement, Partnership and Networking

• Ensure representation of WV Kenya in key stakeholder forum/meetings at the County level.
• Actively participate in County level technical working groups and relevant to policy forums.
• Foster County government collaborative relationships for LVCD work leveraging
• Ensure communities are mobilized and participate in the project interventions
• Facilitate strategic partnership with Vision Fund Kenya (VFK) to ensure groups receive financial literacy training/embedded education training and business loans
• Forge strategic collaborations with financial service providers including VFK (FAST loans), other MFIs, banks, government funds to ensure Savings groups members access financial services including business capital, insurance, asset financing and other selected products
• Partner with formal financial service providers to facilitate financial literacy, business planning and group governance & leadership trainings for S4T groups
• Together with partners, conduct regular reflection and learning sessions
• Work with community groups to utilize advocacy approaches such as Citizen Voice and Action (CVA) to enable service users and local partners to engage directly with local government service providers to improve the quality of government services for children and to generate information and evidence for use in national level advocacy work.
• Effective coordination with other stakeholders in the L&R sector
• Efficient skill, capacity and resource transfer to the target beneficiaries

Other duties

• Perform any other duty as may be assigned by supervisor or designee from time to time.
• Participate and contribute in committees and task forces which you may be appointed to
• Participate and lead devotions as appropriate
• Other duties effectively supported
• Office continues to run smoothly even when unexpected issues crop-up

KNOWLEDGE/QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE ROLE

Required Skills & Professional experience

• Minimum two years of work experience in economic empowerment, Livelihood and economic development, entrepreneurship, value chain development and related sectors including gender mainstreaming in projects. Experience in implementing multi-sectoral projects will be an added advantage. 
• Experience in Project Management including program design, implementation, monitoring & evaluation and reporting
• Knowledge of and experience working with the Government and community structures  
• Experience in implementation of integrated development programs with a focus on economic empowerment
• Ability to conduct community economic empowerment needs assessment, program planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of economic empowerment and entrepreneurial interventions
• Must have ability to develop good working relationships/partnership developed with all stakeholders (GoK, INGOs)
• Excellent communication, Networking and advocacy skills

Required Education, Training & Certifications

• Minimum of a Bachelor Degree in Agriculture/Agri-business/Agricultural Economics/Agricultural Education & Extension/Dryland farming Systems/Entrepreneurship/Business studies, Community Development or Any other related discipline from a recognized university/institution. 

Preferred Knowledge & Qualifications

• Excellent English communication skills (both oral and written).
• A team player, capable of building staff and community capacity in entrepreneurship sector through training.
• Ability to take initiative, a team leader able to work with minimum supervision
• Cross-cultural sensitivity and emotional maturity
• Must be a committed Christian who is able to stand above denominational diversity challenges
• Ability to maintain performance expectations in diverse cultural contexts
• Good analytical and interpersonal skills
• Computer literacy particularly in Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Working knowledge on Gender and Social Inclusion with additional training or skills in gender mainstreaming/integration is desirable